Written by: Kriti Nepal - 24022, Grade XII
Posted on: 08 August, 2023
A good girl's Guide to Murder is a young-adult fictional mystery novel written by a renowned British author Holly Jackson which was published in 2019 by Electric Monkey. This novel is the first book in a trilogy and also her debut novel. The story explores various themes and genres like crime, murder, mystery, romance, and more. This novel is very popular amongst teens and has also won 'Children's Book of the Year' at British Book Awards 2020 and got nominated for other awards as well. The novel is set to have a TV series adaptation later in the year, and the production is in the making.
Living in a small town named 'Little Kilton' everyone knew of the tragedy that happened there five years ago. A high school student Andie Bell is allegedly murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh who later commits suicide, and that is the talk of the town. The police found the evidence, everyone knew he did it and the case was closed. But Pip sensed something was wrong, and Sal was not the culprit. Determined to prove the innocence of Sal, Pip undertakes the study investigation of the same case as her final project. Pip then joins forces with Ravi Singh, Sal Singh's brother who believes in the innocence of his brother and wants to uncover the truth. Pip takes the investigation further. She interviews various suspects and tracks the progress through her logs and voice recordings. As she starts to get closer to the truth, she is threatened by several notes asking her to stop the investigation. But will she stop when her loved one's life is in danger or will she finally catch the murderer? Too many questions that need to be answered, but all the answers lie within the book itself. Explaining the plot without spoiling too much is very difficult for this novel so I suggest the readers read the book.
The novel explores the crime and mystery theme to the peak and has the readers thrilled and at the edge of their seats throughout the book. The unpredictable twists and turns in the story, the unique characters with distinctive personalities, and the quick pacing of the book all is a plus point making the novel more enthralling and fascinating for a reader. The hard work of the author behind all the suspense build up is seen throughout the novel. Whenever the author feels like they are closer to solving the mystery, she makes sure the plot takes a complete turn and leaves the readers like me too stunned. Along with crime and mystery, the novel has sparks of comedy, and romance but deals with heavy topics like rape, drug abuse, and more. One of the unique parts of this particular novel that distinguishes it from other books is how it has various tracks, logs, recordings, entries, and images that help visualize what goes through the head of the protagonist, understand the conversation better, and switch between different perspectives easily which I was very engrossed in reading.
The protagonist of the story Pippa Fitz Amobi, alias Pip is one of the main reasons why I had a lot of fun reading the book as well. The smart yet brave little girl who's always one step ahead of everybody with her unwavering heart was inspiring and admirable to see. The character dynamics between her and the other characters are really enjoyable. The character development of each character by the end of the story is satisfying to read.
I would love to recommend this book to readers of all ages. However, there are certain factors throughout the book which need major trigger warnings and maybe a bit of trauma for young readers to go through. The novel has depicted rape, drug abuse, murder, physical violence, suicide, and inhumane behaviors in some parts of the book which not all readers might be comfortable reading. I would recommend this book to teen readers and above who are not triggered by the following. I, as an individual reader, who previously did not have much interest in murder mystery novels, had me hooked throughout the book. The easy-to-pick-up plot, diverse and distinct characters, suspense built up, climax, and room for a sequel all had me on my toes throughout the novel; and made me not want to leave this book unfinished. The way the author deals with heavy themes and graphic content in a distinct way which feels a lot light-hearted to read was very commendable. Overall I rate this book almost a five star, and surely do want people to pick up this masterpiece and give it a try.
