Book Review: A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder
Written by Suri Desai
Some may believe that the genre of a murder mystery is defined by old manors, a detective with a thick mustache, and a killer whose motivation is fueled by greed or revenge.
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (also known as AGGTM) takes that belief and turns it on its head. Pip Fitz-Amobi isn’t solving the case of the murder of Andie Bell for wealth or notoriety. Rather, Pip is solving this case for her senior capstone project, and more importantly, to prove Andie’s so-called killer, her boyfriend, golden boy Sal Singh, innocent.
The tragedy still looms large in the town of Fairview, where both Sal and Andie’s families still reside. But Pip knows that Andie’s death, and Sal’s subsequent suicide, are things that the town needs to face to move on. Pip dives in headfirst, interviewing everyone and anyone, drawing up maps, creating timelines, and breaking the rules of her project, rules that were put in place to ensure people don’t get hurt.
In the process, Pip befriends Sal’s brother, Ravi, questions the facts, comes up with a wide range of suspects, and discovers more buried secrets than she was expecting to find. But Pip soon discovers that someone wants the facts around Andie’s death to stay a mystery– and is willing to do anything to make sure they remain that way. As the story progresses, the stakes only get higher, and only one question remains: After all of this, will Pip still be able to remain a good girl?
I really enjoyed this book (it was the definition of a page-turner!), it was so engaging, and I found it especially interesting the way that Jackson can show the reader exactly what the consequences of exploring this mystery would be for Pip. The book does cover some mature topics, and I would say that you should probably be at least thirteen to read this book, so maybe don’t recommend it to younger readers. There is also the Netflix TV adaptation, which I’ve heard makes some significant changes in the setting from the book. If you like YA books, mysteries, and determined heroines you’ll love AGGTM! You won’t regret reading this one!
