One Investigation, Countless Secrets: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

Original picture by the author

Book: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. Date of publication: 2019. Genre: YA/Mystery.

Murder Mysteries and Thrillers have always been my favorite genres.

Just because I want that to be true doesn’t make it true. — Pippa

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by English author Holly Jackson contains a thrilling chase to discover the truth behind a girl murdered 5 years ago.

The protagonist of the book is a 17-year-old girl, Pippa Fitz-Amobi, known as Pip, who selects a kidnap-and-murder case that was closed five years ago as her research for Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). The victim is Andie Bell, who was also 17 years old, and her boyfriend, Salil Singh, who commits suicide two days after Andie went missing, with a message that it was he who had kidnapped and murdered Andie Bell. Though the police discover Andie’s car with traces of blood in the trunk, her body is never found. Pip believes that Salil has not committed the offense, since he had always been nice to her, and she wants to free him and his family of the charges. She joins hand with Ravi Singh, Salil’s younger brother, and together they strive to uncover the truth. As they delve deeper, they realize that, in a small town riddled with secrets and crimes, one never knows the truth until they seek it.

Despite being narrated in the third person, it switches into the first-person view to document Pip’s research as ‘Production Logs’. This change adds excitement to the story and provides the reader the impression that they are investigating a real crime. In order to provide readers with an inside look, she also carefully organizes the photos, interviews, chat transcripts, and other material that she gathers. Even though a variety of emotions are included, the plot stays on course and keeps readers interested as they must determine who the real offender is.

The several people readers encounter in the story are carefully knit and constantly add something to the narrative, and the characters are realistic with their inherent imperfections.

“I’m not sure I’m the good girl I once thought I was . I’ve lost her along the way,” — Pip (Holly Jackson)

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder explores themes of justice and truth as Pip seeks to uncover the truth behind the murder case. As she delves deeper into the investigation, she confronts ethical dilemmas and grapples with the consequences of revealing long-buried secrets.

Throughout the novel, the dynamics of friendship and betrayal play a significant role. As Pip enlists the help of her friends in her investigation, she discovers that trust can be fragile, and loyalty can be tested in unexpected ways.

One quote that stayed with me was, “There’s no such thing as a good person. Just a messy mixture of both.” This line perfectly captures the novel’s exploration of truth, morality, and the complexity of human nature.

A very fast-paced mystery book about a cold case. It’s filled with twists and turns and was engaging till the end. It has a bunch of interesting characters with backstories and secrets, which are revealed piecemeal, which makes it an engaging novel. It even has a dash of the budding romance between the protagonist and the suspect’s brother. Overall a well-rounded mystery novel.

For non-readers, you can watch the adaptation of the first 2 books on Netflix.