Book Review of 'A Good Girl's Guide to Murder' by Holly Jackson

Premise: 

The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.

But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn't so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth?





Review:
    5 years prior, Andie Bell was (allegedly) murdered by Sal Singh, who then (allegedly) committed suicide. And no one doubted that he was guilty… except Pippa Fitz-Amobi, a high school senior, who never quite believed the police’s version of events. So when she has to do a final senior project, she jumps at the excuse to re-investigate the murder case which rocked her small town years ago. But when new information is unearthed, Pip digs deeper into the lives of two people she never really knew. Can she aside her personal connections? How far is she willing to go for justice? 

    I’ve always enjoyed mystery/suspense novels, and while this book wasn’t as good as ‘One of Us is Lying’ by Karen McManus (who is my favorite mystery author to date!), I still enjoyed it.


    It was hard to get into, especially since the first half of the book was quite slow. But the pacing of the second half of the book suddenly picked up, and the overall story was better too. While the ending was based on very coincidental evidence uncovered earlier on, it was still shocking.


    The main character, Pip, was likable, and admirably determined, persistent, and tenacious. And these characteristics are part of her personality, not just applied to this one case. She learns that she’s on the right track, when she starts to receive death threats telling her to stop investigating.


    Of course, she doesn’t stop, even teaming up with the alleged killer’s brother (who is an amazing character in their own right) who also believes that Sal was innocent.

It was very interesting following Pip’s progress, following along with her, discovering more clues. 


    I would recommend this book to anyone who would enjoy mysteries, cold cases, amateur detectives, and the like. This plot-driven book is for ages 14-17. I would rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.


⭐⭐⭐⭐


- Candria

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