Book Review: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

I’m not one for a thriller normally but this was a fantastic book. It has a really amazing nerd-hero protagonist, a mystery that has so many layers, a cast of interesting and suspicious characters and a cute friendship. It does include a variety of triggers, some of which are spoilers so I’d definitely look at some reviews. I’m going to avoid spoilers in this review because it’s a really great mystery!

Star rating: 5 stars

My favourite thing in this book has to be Pip. She is the biggest nerd – always studying, already has a plan for a future (wow this 17 year old has her life sorted more than I do, love that). I imagine her to be the kind of girl that frowns upon studyblrs as a waste of time. For her EPQ Pip is investigating the murder of Andie Bell, a girl who went missing 5 years ago. She was allegedly murdered by Sal Singh, who then commited suicide. But Pip isn’t convinced at all. (EPQ is a weird project thing that A-level students do in the UK to make university applications stronger – I quit mine after about a month, but then proving an alleged murderer innocent is much more interesting than mathematics in sport).

Even though Pip is this giant nerd who makes awkward puns, she also stands up for people – including Sal’s younger brother Ravi. I really liked their growing friendship as they start putting the pieces of Sal’s and Andie’s lives together. I also liked that Pip had such a good friend in Cara.

The book is told in a variety of ways – normal prose, transcripts from interviews and Pip’s project log that reads like a journal. The format really makes it a fast read, keeping it interesting the whole way through. The actual ending manages to be plausible and wild at the same time.

Overall, this is a great book and I’ll definitely be reading Holly Jackson’s Good Girl, Bad Blood soon!