A Good Girl's Guide to Murder Review: A strong debut
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, from the mind of Holly Jackson, is a book that I've heard many good things about. I love amateur sleuth stories if they're done well, and I was pretty excited for this one! This book—now a Netflix TV show—instantly shot up my list because I was a huge fan of The Reappearance of Rachel Price, which I read after someone recommended it as a comp title for my work-in-progress novel, Lu Patrick Easley and the Groovy Penguin Avenue. While that was a misguided recommendation, I'm glad, because I'm now a Holly Jackson fan. So, how did this hold up for me as a major The Reappearance of Rachel Price fan? That's what I, Brighton Nelson, will be discussing in today's review. Thank you so much for joining me; it means the whole world and a bucket of chicken to me, and I hope you enjoy your time on the site.
Let's start with the negatives. This book is a really good mystery that homes in on the process much more than The Reappearance of Rachel Price or many other amateur-detective novels do. However, I wasn't too keen on the reveals. They weren't bad, but a little underwhelming, and feel like a debut novelist still coming into their own. Which is totally fine, since every author needs a bit of time to fully come into their own—I'm sure multiple people will feel the same about my supernatural mystery debut. The process is meticulous, but then so much happens in the last few minutes that it's a little unrealistic. However, I will combat some people: I don't think Pip is unrealistically competent. My brother is smarter than her and younger. Just because some people weren't that competent in high school doesn't mean they should project their own experiences onto every character. I say this as somebody who'd be so out of my element solving all that. I promise I'm not simping for Pippa!
My biggest problem with the book is the characters. Pip and Ravi are great (more on them in a second), and Pip's dad is chill as hell, but everyone else is pretty forgettable. Cara becomes a lot more memorable in the sequel, but here, she's not the best. I probably couldn't tell you the names of anyone else, other than Sal. I can't remember the name of the girl who died. Thankfully, Holly Jackson's books are all uphill from here—the characters in her most recent book are genuinely so likable. Due to the emotional disconnect from most characters, I felt the middle dragged when it honestly could've been a perfect time to pivot to a more introspective flavor.
All that being said, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder did not disappoint, and the good easily outweighs the bad. First off, while most of the characters are just okay, Ravi is a solid, cute, memorable love interest, and Pippa Fitz-Amobi is an icon. Literally one of the greatest character names I've ever heard. Holly Jackson definitely peaked with the character names in this story, even though I prefer her other works—Bel Price? Jet Mason? Come on... what about like Alejandrita Gómez-Gómez or something? I just digress. Pip is a great character, well-rounded and equally competent, likable, abrasive, and meditative. Her personality is pretty different from Ravi's, which makes his softer, simpler personality pop.
The meticulous evidence-gathering is really legit here, building on the decent foundation of the premise. The book doesn't particularly have the compelling hooks of Jackson's later works, instead focusing on honing a tried-and-true formula, with the comedic spin that it all starts as a low-stakes school project. I really like the variety of clues and suspense it all builds. I want to write a mystery novel like this at some point—after all, my novel is a little more of a mystery in the way Remarkable Bright Creatures is, but with a macabre twist. She uses logs, transcripts, trespassing, social media, texts, and more. No clue feels too similar to the last, keeping it fresh. My favorite bit had to be faking being hotel guests—that was intense.
Holly Jackson is quite the artist when it comes to writing invisible prose. For those who don't know, that's a compliment! Some books want to keep a fast-paced tempo that feels like an oral retelling of a story—if you love this kind of story and prose, you should definitely add The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands to your to-read list! My last comment is that I loved the balancing of tones. It's dark and gritty, yet still unashamedly teenage and a bildungsroman. I thought this balance made this feel rather unique to other projects.
The Brighton's Bookshelf Verdict
Brighton's Bookshelf Score: 7.5/10
Letter Score: A-
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder may struggle in the character and pacing departments, but it excels with its unique tone, effective mystery process, and a cute budding romance between the leads. All of which established a great auteur who has just gotten better and better since with her recent projects.
Interested in checking out some of my other Holly Jackson book reviews? Check them out below!
Author Bio
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