Poorwa's blog

Haven’t read ‘A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder’ yet? Well, here’s your sign to dive into Holly Jackson’s best-selling series before the TV show hits the screens. Welcome to my first book series review!”

When I first started reading AGGGTM, I didn’t know it had two sequels. I found out when I was halfway through the first book when you guys hyped me up about the series in my previous post. I had to do this review (Also, this happens to be my first book review ever, so I’m quite excited about this post hehe). Now without any further ado, let’s get started…

“You go around asking dangerous questions, girl, you’re going to find some dangerous answers.”

SYNOPSIS

“Five years ago, Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who later killed himself—or so the town believes, including the police. But Pippa Fitz-Amobi can’t accept Sal’s guilt and is determined to uncover the truth. What starts as a school project turns into an obsession as Pip digs deeper, discovering someone who will stop at nothing to keep the town’s secrets buried. How far will they go to silence her?”

(Even though this is a review of the whole series, I’m keeping the synopsis to the first book only so it doesn’t ruin the fun for those who haven’t read the series yet.)

My thoughts

“I’m not sure I’m the good girl I once thought I was. I’ve lost her along the way”

Rating: ⭐ 5 Stars

“‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’ is undoubtedly a five-star read. The plot had me investigating alongside Pip, which is the hallmark of a great mystery. Each chapter introduces new clues, keeping the intrigue high and never allowing boredom to set in. The author doesn’t pause the plot to insert any additional teenage drama or fillers, which I liked a lot because when the suspense is on top you don’t really want any other distractions. And those plot twists… OMG! The second half of the book is particularly gripping, keeping you on the edge as danger finds its way into Pip’s personal life.”

Talking about the characters, I love team Pip and Ravi so much. Pip is clever and brave, though she sometimes out of bravery makes reckless decisions like- “I’ve already learned my lesson here: when you catch someone lying about a murdered girl, you go ask them why.” But I ain’t complaining here, am I?

Ravi, Sal’s brother, is such a sweetheart. It’s just impossible to not like him. This quote was stuck in my brain throughout the book whenever we saw Ravi… “It’s not just that he’s gone.  It’s that… well, we’re not allowed to grieve for him, because of what happened. And if I were to say “I miss my brother”, it makes me some kind of monster.”

Another reason why this line stands out for me is that here it somehow shows what Pip’s main goal is, in the first book. She believes in justice, believes that truth opens the door to justice. That’s what a good girl believes. And here comes the second book of the series- Good Girl, Bad Blood where things start to change because there’s a difference between investigating an old case lost in the past and investigating a present case which of course the police won’t take seriously.

Rating: ⭐ 4 Stars

“What do you do when the things that are supposed to protect you, fail you like that”

Last time, Pip came close to losing everything, so she’s decided that she won’t play the detective ever again. But there’s someone out there who wants her to investigate another case for their personal motives, someone who might have to do something with the disappearance of her friend’s brother.

“I think we all get to decide what good and bad and right and wrong mean to us, not what we’re told to accept.”

When I was reading GGBB, I didn’t really see many connections to the first book so I wasn’t really that invested in it. But the ending had me going for the last book of the series straight away.

“She’d been looking out for trouble, and so it had found her.”

Rating: ⭐ 4.5 Stars

Just one last case and that will fix it. No more grey areas, no more blurry lines between what is right or wrong.

“The game had changed. Her against them. Save herself to save herself.”

I have developed a love-hate relationship with this book. The whole time reading I was giving expressions like “What??” and “Noooo”. It kept me hooked from the beginning, and when you realize the hints about Pip’s changing behavior were there from the start… it gave me goosebumps. I loved the flashbacks from the previous books and the circular plot design where the beginning is the end and vice versa—truly impressive.

I’d hate to read this book again because I could literally feel the agony and all sorts of emotions while reading it, but still I think I must reread it in future (maybe after watching the show once it’s been released) to better understand each character’s pov and their actions. There’s a whole debate about whether what Pip did can be justified or not. That’s what makes this series more worthy of giving a try, leaving the readers in a grey area, completing the circle, and justifying the title of why it was A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder, to begin with.

“Who will look for you when you’re the one who disappears?”

Phew… I think that will do! Grab ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’ off your TBR list and start reading before the show airs, so you can join the ‘I read the books before the TV show came out’ club. Then we can chat about the ‘wows’ and ‘mehs’ of the trilogy, which I’m looking forward to.

Also, let me know what you think of my review—I got a bit too excited for my first one, but I hope you enjoyed reading it!”