Member Reviews

I can't believe this is a YA thriller. It exceeded my expectations and I want to read more from this author.

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This book started off super strong and I totally found myself relating to the main characterโ€”I would have LOVED to investigate a murder as a school project ๐Ÿค“ The middle kind of lagged and I felt like some parts could have been left out to get to the ending quicker, but overall I definitely enjoyed this. 4 stars!!

The story follows Pippa, a high school senior working on her capstone project. Her topic is the mystery of Andie Bellโ€™s murder, as the verdict has always troubled her. Andieโ€™s boyfriend at the time, Sal Singh, was found guilty. Evidence was stacked up against him and he killed himself 3 days after she went missingโ€”but it all never fully made sense to Pippa.

As she starts investigating and interviewing people connected to the case, she starts to uncover secrets that multiple people in her hometown have fought years to keep hidden. As she grows closer to the truth, she starts receiving threatening letters from an anonymous source. So if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pippa from the truth?

There were two plot twists at the end that I thoroughly enjoyed. I saw one coming, but one was definitely a surprise! I highly recommend this book if youโ€™re looking for a YA thriller thatโ€™s not too graphic but still suspenseful. If you liked ONE OF US IS LYING or ONE OF US IS NEXT, youโ€™ll definitely like this one ๐Ÿงก

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Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title.

I kept seeing this one around with good reviews so I decided it was time to see for myself. I definitely agree with the praise this has been getting and will be recommending often!

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This thriller will be a hit with my true-crime fans, and it will dovetail with the classes that study Serial. A must-purchase.

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If your YA reader loves NCIS and Criminal Minds style TV shows, then this the YA book for them! Ms. Jackson does an amazing job of pulling the reader into this murder/suicide mystery. The ending will leave you wanting the second book that will be coming out soon.

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I absolutely adored everything about this book! I had heard only good things about it for months and my expectations were so high I knew I was going to be let down- but I wasn't. A Good Girls Guide to Murder was full of twists and turns, realistic teenage crime solving scenarios, so many completely believable murder suspects with motivation and means, and all the emotions that sucked me it. This review will be very brief because this is a book that you need to experience and I don't want to spoil anything. The format of the story delivery was really unique, having the current plot mixed in with police interviews, evidence discoveries, and the main characters own interviews. It also didn't hurt that there was a really cute slow romance in the story too (no, it was not the focus of the book, I just loved it and need to mention that).

I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes realistic murder mysteries with some dark subject matter. I just saw that there is another book coming out with the main character involved in another mystery and I am so there for that!

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Suspenseful and engaging, this book is sure to please any fans of true crime and mystery. Highly recommended for fans of Karen M. McManus.

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Loved this. Crime fiction and podcasts are huge right now. My students will love this. I have so many idea to tie this to curriculum.

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An exciting and topical YA novel that focuses on finding out what truly happened to a missing girl, using modern technology and social media. As a fan of true crime, I really enjoyed this novel - I can't blame the protagonist for wanting to take a deep dive into solving an unusual local missing persons case. A great read!

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trigger warnings for: rape, drug use/mention, death of a pet, kidnapping,

there was something about this book - i think the writing style and the fact that the murder mystery was crazy as hell - that kept me on the edge of my seat and made me want to keep reading. it's not a scary thriller but it was such an addicting mystery and i really enjoyed it!

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๐˜ˆ ๐˜Ž๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ ๐˜Ž๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ญ'๐˜ด ๐˜Ž๐˜ถ๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜”๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ by Holly Jackson is a well crafted debut & a highly enjoyable read - even for a mystery/thriller lover well past the intended YA age group. ๐Ÿฅฐโฃ
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I loved this book! ๐ˆ๐ญ'๐ฌ ๐š ๐Ÿ๐š๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐š๐œ๐ž๐, ๐š๐๐๐ข๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž, ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐š๐ฒ๐ž๐ซ๐ž๐ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ž๐ซ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ. All the mixed media was such a treat - maps, journal entries, diagrams, police reports, etc. It made reading the book feel interactive. I found myself taking notes to see if I could figure out the whodunnit before the big reveal. โฃ
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I thoroughly enjoyed Pip. She is intelligent, tenacious and sometimes makes impetuous choices that had me wanting to scream. Sheโ€™s a ๐ฆ๐จ๐๐ž๐ซ๐ง ๐๐š๐ฒ ๐๐š๐ง๐œ๐ฒ ๐ƒ๐ซ๐ž๐ฐ and I was completely sucked in to solving the case of missing HS senior Andie Bell with her. Was it her boyfriend, Sal Singh, as everyone was so quick to accept or ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ช๐˜ค ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜บ? โฃ
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Pip delves into the mystery determined to uncover the truth and prove Salโ€™s innocence. What she uncovers is a twisty, tangled web of deception that haunts everyone involved and has her risking her life as she digs for answers. โฃ
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I heard this is set to be a series and ๐ˆ ๐š๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐จ ๐ข๐ง ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐š๐๐ฏ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ข๐ฉ! My advice - if you enjoy a twisty mystery donโ€™t waste another second. ๐˜™๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ! โฃ
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Pippa "Pip" Fitz-Amobi decides for her senior class project that she is going to write about a murder that occurred in her small town several years prior. The murder involved high schooler Andie Bell, and her boyfriend Sal Singh, who was found dead in apparent suicide a few days later, was charged with her murder and the case was closed. But Sal, who was good friends with one of her best friend's older sisters, being named as Andie's murderer just doesn't sit well with Pip. As she starts to research her project, she becomes friends with Sal's brother, Ravi, who also wants nothing more than to clear his brother's name. Soon, Pip and Ravi are working together, and they start to uncover more and more secrets within their small town about not only Andie, but others in their community, leading to a number of prime suspects, all of whom could benefit from Andie being gone. Unfortunately, Pip's detective work and research begin to put not only herself, but those she loves in danger...โ€ฆ

"A Good Girl's Guide to Murder", although listed as a YA book, is definitely a mystery that any adult would enjoy! Pip is a smart, and engaging character, and it was fun to follow her along as she builds her list of suspects and uncovers the many secrets of those around her. She and Ravi make a good team, with a little bit of budding romance, though not enough where it takes away from the main focus of the story. It was a good, quick read, and well-written; I just recently learned that it is the first of a new series, and I'd definitely be interested in reading those as well!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's/Delacorte Press for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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My speed at reading this was pathetic! Therefore, I didn't get the flow needed to keep me 100% engaged. Maybe that's the point! It needed to keep me engaged, so I would want to continue reading to create the flow. Hmmm.

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Everyone in town knows the story, but is it the real story? That is the question Pip is going to answer but re investigating this closed case as a senior project. Pip knew Sal as a child and knows there was no way he killed his girlfriend than himself, and she is going to prove it with the only other person that believes her, Sal's brother.

This was a great action packed, suspense filled story that will hold any amateur sleuths attention. The characters could come from anytown USA, and that helped me insert myself right in the story and was willing to help the kids.

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I was impressed with "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder." The format rang true as a senior student's capstone project with telephone interview transcriptions, photocopied notes, typed impressions, and a murder board interspersed throughout the narrative. The characters rang true and the way the story unfolded seemed believable since not too much of the story was given away at one time. I think, though, some readers may guess at the villain because of the way the plot is set up, but that's always part of the fun with murder mysteries. Definitely for fans of McManus and Henry.

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I just want to preface this review with one statement: I love surprises, twists, and unexpected endings. They make or break a book for me.

I've been dying to read this book for months, and it was well worth the wait. While this book was one of my most anticipated of the year, it wasn't quite a 5-star read for me. Although I loved the setting, cast of characters, and the many twists and turns, I can't get over the fact that the ending, for me, was unsurprising. With how interactive this book feels, I truly enjoyed seeing the mystery expanded before my eyes. However, there is a downside to this-if the reader has all of the clues, they might solve the murder before the main character does. Unfortunately, that was the case for me, and it detracted from some of the potential enjoyment I could have gotten from this novel.

With all of this in mind, I still greatly enjoyed this novel. I would recommend it in a heartbeat. I just wish there had been more of a surprise, in my case.

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If you like Karen McManus, then this is the new book for you! Such a great story and was a real page turner.

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This was really great! Super twisty and fun without being convoluted or pretentious. I found our main character likable, thoroughly enjoyed her relationships and dynamics with the other characters, and felt very satisfied once I had finished. It's by no mean a perfect book, and can be cheesy and a bit predictable at times, but I was very impressed!

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An incredible read from start to finish. Riveting, smart characters, I finished this in one day. I absolutely loved it and can't wait for more of Jackson's writing.

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What a wild ride! I really enjoyed this page turn and all it's twists and turns. I thought I had figured things out, but I was wrong, and I'm totally ok with that. :)

Pippa is a determined teenager to investigate the 5 year old murder of Andie Bell. I really liked her drive, ambition and her desire to get the truth, whatever that may be. I also enjoyed what I hope is her developing relationship with Ravi (the presumed murderer's younger brother).

It's hard to review a book like this because I don't want to give any spoilers, but if you like mystery books then I highly recommend this. Jackson does such a good job of keeping you guessing and weaving small town politics throughout the book. Nothing is as it seems. Pippa also uses innovative techniques to complete her project, which I appreciated.

Read A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. You won't be disappointed!

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