A Good Girl's Guide to Murder: Volume 1

Holly Jackson

Feb 2020 · A Good Girl's Guide To Murder Book 1 · Sold by Delacorte Press

About this ebook

THE MUST-READ MULTIMILLION BESTSELLING MYSTERY SERIES • This is the story about an investigation turned obsession, full of twists and turns and with an ending you'll never expect. Coming to Netflix soon!

Everyone in Fairview knows the story.

Pretty and popular high school senior Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who then killed himself. It was all anyone could talk about. And five years later, Pip sees how the tragedy still haunts her town.

But she can't shake the feeling that there was more to what happened that day. She knew Sal when she was a child, and he was always so kind to her. How could he possibly have been a killer?

Now a senior herself, Pip decides to reexamine the closed case for her final project, at first just to cast doubt on the original investigation. But soon she discovers a trail of dark secrets that might actually prove Sal innocent . . . and the line between past and present begins to blur. Someone in Fairview doesn't want Pip digging around for answers, and now her own life might be in danger.


And don't miss the sequel, Good Girl, Bad Blood!

"The perfect nail-biting mystery." —Natasha Preston, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Ratings and reviews

4.5 stars — I will admit, I’m not good at reading mystery/thriller books. I find myself to be too impatient, just wanting to know the answers, and getting frustrated knowing that I probably don’t have a chance in hell because my mind doesn’t work that way. And while I had a million suspicions, I can say that I never came up with any concrete answers. BUT, that doesn’t mean the final solution was unreasonable, or that I couldn’t follow it. It definitely made sense and worked with the story.

I almost never read anything in the YA thriller genre, but I decided to give this a try for the Barnes and Noble YA Book Club. Plus, I love shows like Criminal Minds and Law & Order, so I figured this was right up my alley. And I was able to snag a copy from my library so it was fate. Anyway, this book was pretty enjoyable. I loved/hated that this book kept me guessing. Every chapter revealed a new clue and made my head spin because so many things were interconnected. It was hard to keep track, but also made me want to keep reading because I NEEDED to know how it fit in! There were some summary pages thrown in there to remind the reader of everything, which I greatly appreciated. I tried so hard throughout the book to guess who the real killer was. I'm usually pretty good at predicting plot twists and endings. Like Pip, my main suspect kept jumping from person to person! It definitely did not play out like how I thought it would! I also really enjoyed the mixed media format. We get to see transcripts from interviews, maps, text message exchanges, Pip's project notes, etc. It was really cool and made it more 10 times more immersive. I loved following along with Pip's thoughts and seeing how her thought process and the case evolved. Sometimes you can get lost in crime TV shows because it moves so fast, but I definitely wasn't lost here. Another thing I enjoyed were the characters. Pip and Ravi were so cute! I loved their banter and interactions. I also really liked how this book was NOT about their romance. Their romance was definitely there and it was adorable, but the murder investigation was at the forefront. This aspect was quite different as I'm used to the romance taking over the story in most YA books I read. It was nice to have a break from that. PIP DON'T NEED NO MAN MMM HMMM. Pip was such a great character. I could relate to her so much, and she was hilarious. Plus, her family felt so real and cute. However, I do have a few holes that I desperately need explained. Overall, I enjoyed it but I wasn't entirely shell shocked. I had my suspicions and they were right, just not in the way I thought. I will probably read the next book because I need to see where Pip and Ravi's adventures lead them and get my remaining questions answered!

I overall did love reading this book. It had so many plot twists that shocked me and so much drama that was uncovered as well as many secrets. I liked Ravi and Pip's relationship and the character development was great. I never expected what happens in the end and this book is just amazing overall.

About the author

Holly Jackson is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series. She started writing stories at a young age, completing her first (poor) attempt at a novel when she was fifteen. Holly graduated from the University of Nottingham, where she studied literary linguistics and creative writing, with a master's degree in English. She enjoys playing video games and watching true-crime documentaries so she can pretend to be a detective. She lives in London.
Follow Holly on Twitter and Instagram at @HoJay92.