‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’ Review

I actually read this one a while back, but it’s taken me FOREVER to catch up on writing my book reviews. I picked up this fantastic debut in Waterstones back in the summer, and seeing as I’m trying this newfangled thing where I actually READ the books I buy rather than condemn them to my shelves for years upon end, I thought I’d give it a go.

Right from the first page I knew I was going to love this book. I’ve gushed before about how much I love it when authors mess with the media in which they tell a narrative, and Holly Jackson does this right from the first page with a photo of the protagonist Pip’s coursework. Jackson used a mixture of close third person prose, as well as snippets from Pip’s coursework such as first person progress reports and transcripts from interviews Pip conducted, to tell her story. Everything was melded together to help us figure out this mystery along with Pip, and it worked so well. I loved it from start to finish!

Pip was an absolutely adorable character to read about. I found her to be really engaging right from the start; the murder case that she was looking into was closed already, yet she was convinced that the murderer couldn’t be who everyone said it was. All this was because she was convinced of Sal’s innocence, which already tells you all you need to know about her as a person. I thought it was really sweet she was going on a mission to prove Sal’s innocence, and the more you read, the more you hoped that Pip would prove everyone wrong. Ravi, Sal’s brother, was also adorable. I loved the witty banter between the two of them, and I was desperate for it to turn into something more.

The plot was so well done. I am always envious of mystery and thriller writers, because you have got to know your plot inside out to pull off the big twists that no one sees coming. Jackson did a wonderful job with this book – just when you thought everything was all cleared up, another amazing plot twist comes crawling out the woodwork to hit you smack in the face. I really didn’t see those final few plot twists coming! Honestly this was such a good read; I can’t wait for the sequel to come out next year.

Jackson has created a brilliant debut novel with ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder‘. The pacing and the plot went hand in hand; you had Pip trying to figure out this old murder case, as well as the threats from the anonymous note-leaver to heighten the tension. My heart absolutely broke when I read about Pip’s dog! I was a bit worried that Pip would let herself be deterred by the threats and we would never find out the end of the mystery… but Ravi came to the rescue. I was hooked right up until the last page.

This was honestly such a brilliant book, and I heartedly recommend you give it a go! I’m going to give it a well deserved 5/5, and I can’t wait to see what Jackson has got next in store for Pip.