“A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder,” Holly Jackson’s debut novel, was an immediate hit when it was published, quickly rising to the top of New York Times Young Adult Best Sellers list. It is the first in a four-book series and is packed with suspense, making it a page turner from front to back. This past summer, Netflix released its show adaptation that also experienced massive commercial success.
The book follows senior Pippa Fitz-Amobi, or Pip, who is hot on the trail of a cold case, which she calls the Andie Bell case. Andie Bell disappeared five years ago and significant evidence seems to connect her boyfriend, Sal Singh, to her disappearance. Then when Singh’s alibi is discovered to be a lie he was suspect number one. However, before police can confront Singh, he dies, seemingly by suicide. After Singh’s death, even more evidence seems to prove that he murdered Bell. Since it is impossible to put a dead person on trial for murder, the case was dropped by authorities. Something about this case has never sat right with Fitz-Amobi, so when the opportunity presents itself in the form of a school project, she decides to do her own investigation.
At first all evidence seems to support exactly what the police had suspected: Singh murdered Bell and then took his own life. However, the more Fitz-Amobi discovers, the more she starts to suspect that the Andie Bell case is not as straightforward as it seems. As Fitz-Amobi gets closer to the truth it becomes clear that somebody does not want her to know what really happened all those years ago, and she discovers a web of dark secrets that all connect to Bell. Fitz-Amobi is determined to untangle the lies, but she realizes the truth is also messy. She is faced with a difficult choice: reveal the truth and make things right, or protect the people she cares about.
The story is fast paced and filled with mystery and plot twists making it hard to put down. On top of a suspenseful plot, it also shows the internal struggle Fitz-Amobi faces when she realizes solving the case could hurt the people around her.
In this work of fiction, Jackson simply outdid herself. The writing is extradinary and the way that the plot is outlined is not only mind-blowing but admirable. It is not often that books like this come around, but it is certain that “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” is one of the best mystery series on the market right now for young adults.
The Netflix adaptation of “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” is slightly underwhelming given how spectacular the book is. While the show did a good job of portraying the characters, masterpieces such as this novel are extremely difficult to adapt into film and unfortunately Netflix did not do a good job at capturing the essence and suspense of the book.
The book is very thorough, filled with foreshadowing and clues, allowing the reader to solve the case along with Fitz-Amobi. Overall, “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” is full of plot twists and cliffhangers, the themes are insightful, and keeps the reader engaged from front to back. This book is certainly perfect for any readers looking for a page-turner.
