A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder | Holly Jackson | Book Review
This whodunit, detective read, kept me engrossed
When you find the right mystery to read, it’s both unsettling and intriguing. I'm dying to read the following two books in this series.
A Good Girl's Guide To Murder was a great rollercoaster, bullet-paced read for me. There were a slew of creepy suspects to heighten the suspense and tension. This whodunit, detective read, kept me engrossed.
Besides being entertained by the protagonist and her amusing sidekick, I was continuously on the hunt for hints as to what was going to happen next.
Some of my guesses were correct, but the author's brilliant mind, which I couldn't keep up with, came out on top.
Reading this mystery was a lot of fun. I’m really delighted I found this book.
Storyline
Andie Bell went missing five years ago, and her boyfriend Sal Singh was suspected of murdering her. Singh confessed to the crime via text message before killing himself.
But Cops could not locate Andie. The investigation finished. The entire population of Fairview Town branded Sal Singh as a monster, and the public's rage was directed at Sal's family.
Their house appeared haunted. Nobody wanted to talk to or visit the Singhs anymore. The entire town disowned them, and someone spray-painted 'SCUM' on the front wall of their house. Everyone treated them as if they were a monstrous family.
But, five years later, when Pippa was in her senior year. She did a capstone project on the police investigation and media coverage of Andie Bell's mysterious cold case.
Her ulterior motive, however, was to reopen and re-investigate the entire case, as cops riddled the earlier investigation with flaws.
Pippa suspected Sal did not murder his girlfriend, Andie. Naturally, Pippa found a co-conspirator in Ravi, Sal's younger brother, 20 years old. He too thought that his brother had not done it.
Pippa's person of interest list got bigger as they dug deeper, until it included Pippa's best friend's sister. My mind was racing with questions as I read.
Who handled Andie's death? Is Andie really gone? Who was it that blamed Sal? What if Sal was the true murderer?
Someone didn't want Pippa to go any farther, and they began sending her threats. Who was sending Pippa threatening messages to get her to stop digging?
The clock was ticking. Would she be able to find the true perpetrator before the perpetrator caught her off guard?
To find out, get your book now.
Review
It has Indians in the story, which was a personal plus for me. Finding Sal and his family was fantastic.
But life wasn’t so great for them. They were dealing with racism and prejudice constantly when Sal was identified as the murderer of Andie Bell.
Don’t worry, I won’t drop any spoilers and ruin the fun for you.
The best part of this book was that the author didn’t force readers to suspect characters for the sake of suspense only. Every suspect had ulterior motives, which was enough to make the story real.
It wasn’t like the suspense of “Not A Happy Family,” where poor Dan was constantly thrust into the spotlight.
As Pippa probed deeper and her inquiry became more thorough, the reality about Andie emerged, layer by layer, and her good girl image faded.
Everyone’s connection to Andie, as well as the truth about her that emerged during the investigation, appeared genuine to me.
All the backstories added to the suspect list, raising the level of suspicion and tension to new heights.
The scene in which Pippa cried was moving. And to top it all off, there was romance and humor thrown in between the phenomenal chaotic mystery.
In a nutshell
A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder was thrilling: full of surprises, suspense, adventures, murder maps, murder boards, secrets, guilt, mind-bending theories and possibilities, and it has a satisfying ending.
I thoroughly enjoyed every clue and page. Every chapter ends on a cliffhanger, which always caused me to reconsider my theories about the killer. Sometimes I got it right, and sometimes I didn’t. I had a great time reading it.
Recommendation
It will eventually become a web series. And, to fully evaluate or enjoy that show or movie, you should first read this book. It is suitable for readers who enjoy young adult crime thrillers.
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