A Good Girl's Guide to Murder: The first book in the globally bestselling crime thriller trilogy, now a major TV series starring Emma Myers from ... (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Book 1)

When I saw this book all over my TikTok feed, I was curious but skeptical. A thriller with a high school setting and a murder mystery? It seemed a bit cliché, but the hype was undeniable. And let me tell you, "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder" did not disappoint—it had me hooked from the first page! The story centers on Pip, a high school senior who decides to investigate a closed murder case for her senior project. The case? The mysterious death of Andie Bell, a popular girl, and the conviction of her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who allegedly killed her. But as Pip digs deeper, she starts uncovering secrets that don't add up—and the truth seems far darker than anyone expected. From the beginning, the writing is gripping, and the pacing is spot-on. I couldn’t put the book down, constantly wondering what would happen next. The mystery unfolds in a way that kept me guessing, with plenty of twists and turns. Just when I thought I had figured it out, another piece of the puzzle would fall into place, throwing me off course. The suspense kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. Pip is an incredibly likable protagonist—smart, determined, and brave. She’s relatable and feels real, which made me care about her journey. What I really loved about this book was the balance between the intense mystery and the emotional depth of Pip's character. It wasn’t just about solving a crime; it was about understanding people, uncovering painful truths, and dealing with the consequences. The themes of justice, guilt, and the power of perception are explored in a way that feels fresh and thought-provoking. The twists were absolutely jaw-dropping, and the ending left me stunned and desperate to know what happens next. I can’t wait to dive into the next book in the trilogy! If you're looking for a fast-paced, addictive thriller that will keep you guessing, I wholeheartedly recommend "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder." Trust me, TikTok didn’t steer me wrong, and I’m already hooked for the rest of the series.

From the moment this book came out, it has been so hyped and I kept putting it off because I was worried I wouldn't feel the same... But I'm happy to say that this is totally deserving of the hype! I can't believe this is Holly Jackson's debut and now I can't wait to pick up the other two books in this series. I read through this book in a matter of hours because it was simply unputdownable and I'm so glad that I can finally check it off my TBR! I really enjoyed Jackson's writing style—it was engaging and highly entertaining. As it's written in mixed media format (with maps, images, interview and email transcripts, text messages, etc.) it wasn't difficult to imagine this story playing out in my head like a movie/show and I think it would be awesome if they ever decide to make an adaptation! There are a lot of characters introduced throughout the story, and though not many of them were developed, it was easy to picture each one and I was pulled in right alongside Pippa as she delved deeper into the mystery of Andie Bell's murder and examining potential suspects. I really enjoyed the smart and witty humour of a lot of the characters too, which added a levity that was much needed at times. Jackson really knows how to keep raising the tension as the story gets murkier as more lies and secrets are uncovered! That said, the story was very well-paced and not once did I feel bored or overwhelmed as I read. Pippa was such a wonderful protagonist. She's a big nerd who knows it and embraces it wholeheartedly. She gets teased for always geeking out over homework and being too serious and her character was so well-formed around these traits that I felt as if I knew her and was friends with her, too. Aside from being the wickedly smart good girl, she's devoted to her family and friends, spouts random facts when she's worked up and is fiercely determined once she sets her mind to something. I loved how she tackled this mystery and made her deductions—nothing was so far-fetched or over-the-top and she made her conclusions very logically. I also really enjoyed her relationship with her family—her parents were wonderful (her dad Victor was amazing!) and though they weren't always there throughout the story, they were at least more present than parents usually are in YA! I also really liked how the relationship with Ravi developed. They had their rocky moments as they were figuring out their friendship but they came to know each other so well and developed a strong unshakeable bond through their investigation. They made a great team! Jackson really kept me on my toes with the mystery and had me suspecting pretty much everyone in this town because they were all shady AF! 😂 That said, the reason why I didn't give this a higher rating is that I felt the reveal was a bit anticlimactic? I was still surprised but I think I was expecting more of a gut-punch/breathless feeling by the time Pippa went for the final confrontation. It didn't make me enjoy the book any less though because I thought Jackson did a great job answering all the questions and tying in the pieces very nicely!

This book, I loved it! It was intense and everything you want in a Mystery novel, with developments in the plots in all the right places to keep readers enthralled with the story line. The book is set in a small English Town, I loved that this book is set in England. The description of the towns perception on the accused murderer is what you would expect from a rural town and the impact on the accused murderer’s family is very realistic, seeing them ostracised as they are is how I’d imagine it would be in real life. I left like this little town could be placed in any part of the UK and this story still make sense which I really like, as it isn’t restrictive to a certain area. I love Pippa, I’m not as smart as her but the nerdy parts of her I could totally connect with. I loved how tenacious she is and that she wasn’t put off by picking such a tough and sensitive topic for her project. As you get through the book you really can’t help but route for her and at parts feel for her. I admire her greatly and as soon as I finished this book I pre-ordered the second book so that I could spend more time with Pip and her adventures. My heart bled for Ravi, being treated like dirt on peoples shoe for what they think his brother but still having such a lovely disposition. There’s a lesson to be learned in this book on how we treat people and human decency. Ravi’s sense of humour really bounced of Pip’s more serious nature and created an enticing rapport between them, seeing them both learn to trust each other than become friends. Beautiful work. I give major kudos to Holly for not have a romantic sub-plot within the book, I feel that would have detracted from the over story arc. Saying that, I did route for Pip and Ravi as they started to drawer closer so I’m super excited to see what happened with them in the second book. If they’re together, I’ll be super interested how Holly balances their relationship with the new plot. There are two narrative styles in this book, one based on Pip’s project logbook and the other following Pip’s investigation in real-time. I found this balance worked really well and supported the progression of the plot. The real time sections takes the reader on the discovery of new information, introduction to new characters and also experiences Pip’s life during and around the investigation. These sections helped me build a connection with Pip and Ravi, seeing and feeling how they do as the investigation gets closer to discovering the truth. They’re also the more emotive causing chapters, I went from being tense to laughing to tears in a few chapters. The logbook is where the facts and outcomes of Pips investigation are presented along with her suspect, these allow the reader to create their own hypothesis and agree/disagree with Pip’s representation of the facts and suspects. This totally suits me, I’ve watched a whole heap of crime TV series (Elementary, Bone, NCIS) so guessing the bad guy is part of the fun with murder mysteries. These styles latch on to you and create so much suspense to that you can’t help but read on. Who is the murderer?! Summary I loved pretty much everything about this book. It gave it a full 5 stars. The way this book is written with the two narrative styles kept the pace running smoothly. The characters, even the side characters are relatable and people you can imagine knowing. This is a book where you check the time at night and know you should be going to sleep cause you need to get up in the morning and if you don’t go to sleep like RIGHT NOW you’re going to be a grumpy pants in the morning. BUT still debate reading just one more chapter! It is that addictive. If you love murder mysteries, or mystery books in general this is an excellent one. It is described as a YA book, but I think people of any adult age could enjoy reading this book. I just need to find out where I can squeeze the sequel into my tbr list cause I gotta know what happens next for Pip and Ravi.

Ok I dont even know where to start with this book! At the end I was speechless and shocked by the plot and second of all the writing style was incredeble and engaging. At the opening of this book, It forwarded you right to files of Andie(aka missing girl) which would have definitly engaged eager readers like me although it was quite hard to read on kindle (wish I could have read it in paperback first!!) I would say she used the writing technique 'In medias raes' which means starts right 'in the middle of things' and in this context, it was opened when pips (aka the 17 year old 'dectective') interest got to the case of andie bell for a school 'project' was introduced though her interest was far to great for it just to be a project, which she knew herself. This book is written in a view that it shows in-dept emotions of pip but shows an elaborate text of others talking, which interested me and felt light and enjoyable to read. Pip is gifted with great knowledge and really has a clever way with her words which made me feel like i was the detective alongside her especially when it gives context of a 'wait hold on' minute for you to work out things in your head as she does the same, making gripping suspence for the reader which was capitlised in this book. One thing I noticed was was that many of the charecters in this book appeared very naive and soft with exceptions of howie and max, even when it came to when pip had figured it out the victims of her itellegence of unfolding the mystery of andie bell the words tumbled out of their mouths like a tumble weed and often a tear due to in my opinion, the indimidation a 17 year old just solved a murder and the police force couldnt! ( Its more realistic in the book!) In the end pip tired herself out peeling mysteries out of people over phone calls, interviews ect, showing her determination her to open the mystery of andie bell and to prove the innocence of sal singh which is one of the victims of the crime, alongside her as the story unfolds sal singhs younger brother ravi helps her to prove sal singhs innocence as he pushes her even when things get bad when she recieves the warning notes not to dig deeper, she destroys her laptop and her dog gets killed by in the book described as 'unkown' until the close of the novel (which i will not reveal! ) The determination of them both really inspired me. This really shows pip is determined, kind and overall a totally non- cliched character which made her peronality shine especially when she nearly decides to quit for her familys safety. This book was very non- predictable and its always the innocent characters who is it in the big finale especially with all the suspence i will happily describe it as a 'big finale'.This book would be great read for teenagers like me and great for ones who arent into the very 'scary' type of murder mystery novels. 100% recommend :) Through this review I have metioned pips character, descprition of reading and little insight into characters and plot. I hope it was enough to let you know how astonished I am about how amazing it was and how it 'unfolds in front of your eyes'. I usually dont do long reviews but this book couldnt be left un reviewd by me! Alas my VERY long review this is my new favorite book and I hope you enjoy it as much as i did :) xxxx

I was hooked from the very beginning and the way the author slowly unravelled the story and introduced us to new suspects was so well done. I had my suspicions, but I was not ready for that ending. The characters felt so relatable and were so well written that I felt like I was part of the group. I became so invested in their lives and my heart was breaking alongside them. *small spoiler ahead* The comment Pip made at the end is probably my favourite quote, "Collectively we turned a beautiful life into the myth of a monster.". It spoke volumes about how much damage a small community can make. Although they had good intentions, we should never take things at face value. This is an incredible crime/thriller YA novel and I am looking forward to continuing the series.

I was looking forward to reading this book, as it was cropping up everywhere, but I found it quite slow going. The book is written as if by a teenager, which is appropriate considering the protagonist, but is quite annoying, especially as Pippa isn't telling the story herself; I’m also not sure the writing style of her journal etc. fitted with her being a clever and meticulous student destined for Cambridge. As a character Pippa is irritating and not at all likeable. Her lack of consideration for any of her friends and family is appalling and she comes across as very arrogant. As she uncovers more and more clues (that the police failed to find), the story got more ridiculous; Pippa harasses people with quite murky pasts, yet they casually give this teenage sleuth incriminating information about themselves and then let her walk freely out of the door. In my opinion, the reader is given far too many clues; I worked out the murderer (and which other character was going to die) quite early on and the ending is a little far fetched. That said, there are still some good plot twists and I did want to keep reading to the end. It’s worth reading, but sadly doesn’t live up to all the hype.

Being a crime lover, the title alone grabbed my attention for this book. Even though it is of the YA genre, it can of course be enjoyed by adults also and would highly recommend giving it a go. Pip decides to investigate the death of a school girl that happened five years prior for her project for school which just happens to be the same school that the dead girl went to. As you can imagine, this opens a can of worms for a lot of people in the town who would rather things be left alone. I wondered how a teenager would be able to find out anymore than what the police had previously done as after all, what could she possibly learn? I think in Pip’s favour, people don’t take her too seriously so tend to open up that bit more. It isn’t long before she is compiling a list of suspects but also putting herself in danger. I enjoyed how she becomes friends with Ravi, the brother of the one who was blamed for the school girl’s murder. The friendship that grows between the two was lovely to see, more so as Ravi and his family have been made to feel like outcasts after what had happened. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is the first in a trilogy of which I can’t wait to read more of Pip’s antics. If you loved murder/mysteries when you were growing up, more so books with a young protagonist like Nancy Drew, you will enjoy this novel. The author kept me guessing throughout as to who the real killer was with some well played out twists that made this an entertaining read. A dark and not too gritty story with a likeable teenager at the heart of it!

I have already bought Holly Jackson’s next novel, Good Girl Bad Blood so yes I absolutely bloody loved this YA mystery. It’s been so long since I read something YA that was so highly entertaining and well plotted. Under the pretext of writing her EPC school project about the role of the media when high school student Andie Bell disappeared 5 years before, Pippa goes on a quest to discover what happened to her. Andie’s body was never found and Pippa has her doubts about the alleged killer since the very beginning so this is her chance to dig in and she’s quite brilliant at this digging in. Pippa is your next Veronica Mars and there’s no trouble big enough for her so she goes to investigate, interview, befriend strangers or occasionally even trespass a friend’s house. What I absolutely loved the most about this novel was the long list of suspects that Pippa compiles while working this case. It seems Andie wasn’t the perfect sweet girl that the media made of her after all. There were plenty of twists and turns and while Pippa started out with one suspect, the clues she follows make her add loads of suspects to the list. She didn’t make it easy on me as the list grows and grows. Holly Jackson surprised me with her debut novel. She made the story really engaging as well by including sms conversations, police reports, productions logs where she includes the transcripts of interviews and most importantly shares her thoughts and conclusions of what she has discovered so far. As a reader you’re totally on the same page as Pippa that way and it’s pretty addictive to keep on reading so you can discover even more. There’s much to like about this book. The protagonist is young but clever, she’s not your usual detective or journalist so people don’t see her as threat and she’s not running into dead ends right away, it’s silly how they underestimate her. It makes this novel a fast and easy read. She also gets help from Ravi, Sal’s brother who also believes in his innocence and although Pippa does most of the legwork and everything, his contributions were just what the story needed. I also thought I felt a spark of interest between them early on in the story and while it never takes the upperhand, I was actually hoping for them to give in as it would make me quite happy. Overall an entirely compelling novel with a great ending too. I can’t wait to read her next book and I can only hope it’ll be just as great as this one.