A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (2019)

4.5 stars for this Teen book! I had noticed a strong trend in young female readers checking this series out from the library, so of course, I had to check it out! Fast mystery read, but I realized that it was 12/31 and I had ONE MORE BOOK to read to finish my reading challenge for the year. I am So glad it was this book I was reading! I was about 1/2 way through and finished at midnight on the dot. There is a lot going on in this book, lots of dysfunctional teens and families. Five year old "solved" murder that is being reopened by a smart gutsy senior in high school. Lots of triggers potentially and if you want to get a heads up, try https://www.doesthedogdie.com for the breakdown; spoilers will be learned, however. I will be putting the second in the series on hold! Happy New Year's Eve/New Year 2022! ( )

A very smart and original story! ( )

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson starts out when a high school senior and aspiring journalist, Pippa, decides that her Senior Capstone project will be to investigate the disappearance of high school student Andie Bell. It has been presumed that she was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, but her body has never been located. At the time, the evidence and witness accounts all pointed to Sal but before he could be formally charged, he was found dead, an apparent suicide. But Pippa, who knew Sal, remembers him as a kind and gentle boy, and could not imagine him lashing out at Andie in any manner. She connects with Sal’s younger brother, Ravi, and the two embark on a quest to clear Sal. They do not realize that by digging into the evidence and re-interviewing the witnesses, they are exposing secrets that others want to stay hidden and putting themselves in danger.

This YA teen crime thriller is both fast paced, intricate and addictive. At first I did think that Pippa was a little to good to be true, very mature for her age and she seemed to know exactly how to progress her theories about the crime, but eventually, she shows that she is indeed an impulsive teen who sometimes acts before she thinks. I was a little hesitant about reading a YA crime thriller, but this book totally worked for me. I liked the main characters and I thought the plot was intelligent and there were a few twists that certainly held my attention.

The book is written with journal-like entries, charts, text screenshots and interview recordings and this unique format brought a sense of reality to the story. For me, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder was a book that I found hard to put down, I was constantly wanting to read “just a few pages more” as Pippa stumbled ever closer to the truth. ( )

This is probably one of my all-time favorite books! I loved the plot and how the book was set up. This book really held my interest and kept me in suspense. This was the type of book that made me want to read more because it was just such a fun and enjoyable read. I highly recommend this book! ( )

Super fun and fast read. Loved the characters and the storytelling. ( )