Book Review: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder 

By Holly Jackson 

4 Stars 

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder was one of the first mystery books I have ever read, and it is definitely a great introduction to the genre. Firstly, all the characters are clearly well-made and actually evolve throughout the book instead of staying shallow. I especially enjoyed the set-up of this book. I believe it was really smart to introduce our main mystery through Pippa’s (main character’s) project. For context, the mystery that is being solved in this book is solved through the school project of a high school student, Pippa Fitz-Amobi. Throughout the book, we read transcripts of interviews she took, her entry logs and the articles she used for research, which was really neat.  

A little teaser to the mystery itself: Pippa is solving the famous Andie Bell case, the case of the 17-year-old girl who went missing in her town years ago. No one really knows what happened to her, and the prime suspect, her boyfriend at the time, had died under mysterious circumstances. So, even though the case was closed, it was never really solved. At the beginning of her project, Pippa only meant to gather more information about the case through witnesses and people connected to it, but it got a lot more messy very quickly.  

Also, I think the evolution of the mystery itself is cleverly done. In the very beginning, there is very little at stake. In the beginning, it is easy to take the mystery lightly because it is just a school project. However, as the story progresses and we piece together more things that happened, including nasty secrets, there is a ton more at stake, which makes it nearly impossible to put the book down.  

This book, in my opinion, is perfect for any mystery fan. 

Reviewed by Avni 

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