A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

By: Holly Jackson

“I’ve already learned my lesson here: when you catch someone lying about a murdered girl, you go ask them why.”

Holly Jackson, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

*This post contains spoilers for A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

*Also warning, the dog doesn’t make it

---

Overview:

Pretty and popular high school senior Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who then killed himself. It was all anyone could talk about. And five years later, Pip sees how the tragedy still haunts her town.

But she can’t shake the feeling that there was more to what happened that day. She knew Sal when she was a child, and he was always so kind to her. How could he possibly have been a killer?

Now a senior herself, Pip decides to reexamine the closed case for her final project, at first just to cast doubt on the original investigation. But soon she discovers a trail of dark secrets that might actually prove Sal innocent . . . and the line between past and present begins to blur. Someone in Fairview doesn’t want Pip digging around for answers, and now her own life might be in danger.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

My thoughts:

The Format

I liked the different chapter layouts. Having half the chapter be traditionally formatted and the other half be transcriptions from Pip’s interviews, broke down the book in a more interesting way. It makes the story less dense to just have dialogue.

Also, without the author describing body language or environment you are relying on what the other characters are telling Pip. The reader has to choose whether or not to believe what is being reported by the interviewee.

It is similar to the book Fantasticland that I discussed last year. Each person gave a different perspective on the events but some people contradicted others. Unlike Fantasticland, where the reader has to decide what they believe, we do have a resolution to the truth. Knowing that, the reader could go back again and look for the clues and lies that the killer tells Pip.

The Main Character

It is insufferable to have a main character that is “not like the other girls”. Pip doesn’t have time to party or worry about boys. She’s going to solve a murder that everyone else got wrong because she is just better.

Also, I can’t stand when regular characters do things like get early acceptance to a prestigious college. The likelihood of someone like her getting an acceptance to Columbia is very little. There was nothing to suggest that she was exceptional with extracurricular activities. The other characters would often mention that she does a lot of homework but so did everyone else in the story.

It’s just unrealistic and I hate when books or TV shows do this. It sets too high of expectations for people that age and makes them feel as if there is something wrong if they are not striving for the very best schools. In reality, it is very hard to even get into state schools now a days and often the person with the best GPA in high school doesn’t get close to a place like Columbia.

The Title

A Good Girls Guide to Murder is cringe. I think that is why I didn’t read this book for the longest time because it seemed cheesy to call a book that. Also, I don’t think the title really fits. Yes, Pip is a “good girl” but the title more suggest that Pip is the one committing crimes. Honestly, that would have been a way better story.

Pip’s Judgement

At first I thought it was so great that Pip didn’t let her personal relationships cloud her judgement. She quickly recognized that the people closest to her were most likely guilty in some way. Pip still marked them as suspects and investigated them earnestly.

All of that is ruined with her treatment of Naomi’s crime. Pip makes sure everyone else faces justice but Naomi gets away with almost killing someone. All because she is her best friend’s sister and she doesn’t want Cara to lose her entire family. Pip doesn’t care about the person who is forever a paraplegic? His life is forever changed not to mention she cares so much about Cara’s family, what about this poor person’s family? Where is the justice for them? I know there are more books in the series and I hope it gets rectified because it is something I cannot get over.

The Resolution

The killer was hidden very well but still understandable once it was revealed.

I appreciate that it is difficult to find the culprit. Clues keep popping up that Pip isn’t ignoring like some stories will do. She recognizes clues for what they are and walks the reader through them. All possibilities are explored.

I was tricked into thinking it was a Gone Girl situation the whole time. Not having a body is a big read flag to look for. If a character dies off screen they are often still alive and more often than not a guilty party.

Also, Andie is described as this popular girl that everyone like but slowly people tell the truth that they didn’t really like her that much. Similar to Gone Girl where Amy seems to be this genuine person but really she is cold and calculating. It would have been natural for Andie to be alive the whole time and Sal’s murderer.

---

Overall,

A Mary Sue main character makes for an uninteresting read. Pip wasn’t complicated or flawed she was just perfect. Only she has the knowledge and gumption to investigate this and find the true answer.

I wanted more stakes. I wanted there to be actual danger and consequences. Everything just seemed to work out with everyone getting what they wanted in the end.

I also took off a star because they killed the dog for literally no reason. Just trying to be shocking for shocking sake.

Rating: 2/5 stars