Thank you to NetGalley, and the publisher for letting me read this book early in exchange for an honest review. This book is about a seventeen year old girl named Pippa who decides she want to solve a murder. Five years ago, Andie Bell was murdered in Pippa’s hometown and her boyfriend, Sal, killed himself. The case is closed, everyone in town knows Sal killed Andie. The evidence points to him. But Pippa isn’t sure she believes it. She starts investigating the crime for a school project, hoping to discover that Sal is innocent. But as she investigates, she starts to uncover dark secrets about the town and the people she though she knew.

So this is a little different from the classic YA mystery/thriller, in a good way. It feels unique, and stands out to me. Its not the traditional story of a main character currently in the middle of whatever mystery is going on around them, and a lot of suspicious things happening, ect. It definitely has a more procedural feel to it because the main character is activity investigating a mystery and I love that. Its like a crime thriller, but the cop is a seventeen year old girl, which is just really cool.

One of the ways it’s unique is the narration style. So every chapter we get two sections of distinct narration. Every chapter opens with third person narration following Pippa. The next section is Pippa’s investigative notes. So we’re constantly being updated on her thoughts and theories about the crime. We also see transcripts from interviews she’s conducted, and then we get to see her thought process and whatever conclusions she is brought to based on them. Because of this, we as the readers feel like we are also investigating the crime, which is a really cool thing that the author was able to accomplish. I wanted to build my own murder board with pictures, push pins, and red yarn.

I really liked the characters. What Pippa did in this book is my absolute dream, so I loved that I was able to vicariously live through her. I liked Pippa’s character in general a lot too.

In mystery/thrillers I’m always looking to be surprised. This book did not disappoint. I had so many theories throughout the book, but none of them were right, at least in the exact way I was sure they would be. The two major twists at the end were great, and I 100% didn’t see them coming.

Overall this is defiantly one of my favorite, if not my new favorite YA thriller. It’s really a combination of the unique narration, how good the plot was, and the really strong procedural tone (that is just not common in YA, but I love) that make this book really stand out

Big thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

WOW this book is everything I didn't know I needed until I finished it. It's dark, twisted, unpredictable, fast-paced, and creepy. I would watch this as a TV show, listen to it as a podcast, and reread it. There were quite a few parts where my skin started to crawl with how unnerving the writing was. The plot was very engaging and was always developing. The characters were never trustworthy and were somehow still likeable. The writing style was fast-paced and I loved that it was split between Pip's capstone entries and real-time 3rd person POV.

I feel like this book is what a lot of YA thrillers/mysteries tried to be but never became. I will definitely be recommending this to everyone and buying a copy once it's released.

Clear your calendar for the day for this book, because once you start you will not want to put it down. Luckily for me I did start it on a day when I didn’t have much going on, so I was able to read it pretty much in one go and I barely noticed the day slipping by.

I loved Pippa, she was so confident on the outside, but so insecure inside her head. She really wanted to solve this murder mystery, and became so obsessed by it that she almost didn’t get anything else done. She has great parents who support her with out smothering her which was awesome. Her group of close friends were also always there when she needed them, even when she spent days totally ignoring them because she was so obsessed with her project. There is a little bit of growth in her character as she does become a bit more self assured as she comes closer to figuring it all out. Her relationship with Ravi, Sal’s younger brother, was also fun to watch develop. There was just the right amount of time between them moving from just working together to becoming friends and then more.

As much as I enjoyed the characters, it was really the story that kept me captivated. There were so many potential people responsible for the disappearance of Andie that it sometimes became hard to keep track. There were many times when I wasn’t sure that Andie was really dead or what really happened to Sal. I did have to dock a star from my Goodreads rating though, because I did feel that the final solution was a bit mundane and typical of YA mysteries. I was really hoping that when things started pointing to a certain person, that another twist was going to be thrown in, but alas no. So much potential for a different ending. Although the execution of it was brilliant.

I also loved this author’s writing style. She would often put in little moments of humor into the dialogue which were often needed and helped to develop the characters. I also liked the use of the journal entries, it helped to keep all of the suspects and motives separate. There was also a great use of interviews. Although this wasn’t particularly dark, there were some tense moments when Pippa was heading into danger and you just wanted to stop and take a breath and scream at her to stop. She does become very brave but also doesn’t think things through sometimes.

I am so looking forward to reading the other books in this series. I am sure that as stunning as this debut was that the rest of them will be just as good if not better.

This book was one I was super anticipating. I was lucky enough to score a paper ARC as well as netgalley. I recommend not reading any spoiler reviews. You absolutely want to go into this blind.

As a fan of true crime, this book was so appealing. It had an Adnan Syed serial feel mixed in with more. I loved that our victim had flaws, she wasn’t’ perfect and it made the suspect pool so much larger. I am usually quick to guess the culprit in books like these but not this time. I was sucked down so many different rabbit holes. I truly had no clue how it would end.

The only negative for me is the editing. The author is British but the story is set in the states, so some of the words and phrases did not fit in.

This was a great read and I highly recommend.

Loved this one! Definitely entertaining & addictive... a tad bit cheesy/unrealistic feeling at times (no spoilers, but I found it a little hard to believe a high school student was putting herself in these situations/questioning these people with no actual repercussions) but overall I really enjoyed & would definitely recommend. I cannot WAIT for the next book in the series!

At times predictable and unrealistic, a little long, but fun. Pippa, a senior working on her capstone project, decides to research a murder from 5 years ago. It’s entertaining to be with Pippa as she investigates and uncovers clues that the police never noticed. Pippa’s details tend to slow things down a bit. I don’t feel many YA readers will connect with the characters. And you do have to suspend belief that a teenager is better than the police and news reporters on investing and questioning people related to the case. Some readers will be riveted by the growing tension as Pippa uncovers more and more and will hang in for the twists and turns in this murder mystery.

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder keeps readers guessing until the end with its twists and turns. A perfect book for mystery fans.

Everyone assumes Andie Bell was murdered five years ago by her boyfriend Sal Singh. After all, he was found in the woods with her cell phone when he committed suicide and Andie's never been found.
Pippa Fitz-Amobi knew Sal and there's no way that she would ever believe he committed such an act.
So for her senior capstone project, she seeks to find the truth of what really happened to Andie and Sal. She enlists the help of Sal's brother, Ravi, as she creates a list of suspects.

Being an avid reader, I can usually identify the killer in the first third of the book. Not so for this one. It kept me guessing til the end. Strong female protagonist, diverse characters, and a satisfactory whodunnit with twists and turns. I also really liked that the parents in this YA book were not absent or dysfunctional but very supportive. Highly recommended for YA collections and I look forward to the second in the series.

Thank you for the ARC! Enjoyable, quick; like listening to my favorite podcast while seeing some of the research and background work that went into it. Pippa and Ravi are wonderful characters, and looking forward to where their adventures lead next.

Thanks to @delacortepress and @netgalley for the advance Kindle copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
•
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for this murder mystery. Five years after golden girl Andie was murdered by Sal, who killed himself out of remorse, high school senior Pippa investigates the case for a school project. She has a feeling Sal didn’t do it, and sets out to prove his innocence. Along the way, her search turns dangerous, and the twists keep piling up. The author is British but the story is set in Connecticut; as a result, some of the word choices were a bit awkward and tough to ignore. Recommended for grades 9+ for quite a bit of drug use, references, and sexual activity. This one is out in the U.S. on 2.4.20.

I think teens will love this book, which is perfect since YA is the intended audience but there were a lot of elements that didn't vibe with me. I liked that there were multiple formats within the book itself and it helped add to the true crime feeling to the story. I liked Pippa at first but she felt like an untouchable character as the story went on. It was a combination of the first season of Serial, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Twin Peaks, specifically Laura Palmer's characterization in that series. The romance felt forced. I give it credit for having me fall for thinking multiple people were the murderer though.

Pippa Fitz-Amobi has decided to look into a five-year-old crime for her Senior Capstone project. Everyone knows that Sal Singh killed Andie Bell and then killed himself. Seems simple, but...

Andie's body has never been found and Sal wasn't the kind of young man you'd think of as a murderer. Pip knew Sal and always found him to be a kind, quiet young man. As soon as she starts looking into the past, she finds questions that weren't answered to her satisfaction. As she interviews people who were part of the investigation, she finds lies and cover-ups. Even her best friend's older sister Naomi who was one of Sal's friends seems to be keeping secrets.

She goes to interview Sal's younger brother Ravi who is completely convinced that his brother wasn't a killer and he becomes her partner in the investigation. She doesn't have as much luck when she tries to interview Andie's younger sister.

The investigation becomes something of an obsession for Pip as she uncovers more and more and keeps finding new suspects and new avenues to investigate. But the investigation gets really close to home and someone desperately wants Pip to stop investigating.

This was an excellent, fast-paced story filled with twists and turns. The characters, especially Pip, were well-drawn and interesting people. The plot kept up a fast pace and the ending came as quite a surprise.

Pub date: Feb 2020
Really good YA mystery! This is a well-paced story with Pippa, a senior in high school, doing her final project on her town's famous 5 year old murder, since she doesn't believe that the person accused did it. Once she breaks all of the rules (e.g. no talking to the relatives, no putting herself in danger, amongst others) she's all in, revealing lots of secrets and lies to get to the truth. It's clever and fun with some twists that you don't see coming, and a solid debut from a new author!

It was simultaneously the best and worst thing to get an ARC of the (US) debut of this novel as I was in the airport about to board a plane for a 12 hour flight. It was the best because I had been looking forward to reading it and was happy to have (yet another) book to keep me busy on the plane. It was the worst because I flew through the entire novel in about half the plane ride and now I am really sad that it’s finished and keep staring out the window wondering how I will move on to another book.

I loved everything about this novel: the characters, the setting, the plot, the twists, the conclusion...literally everything was perfect. This novel has very concise storytelling. You are in it for the murder mystery and you get the murder mystery. There’s no fluff, there’s no subplots that later come off as just being filler to make a novel longer. You get stories within stories and a variety of narratives but they all lead back to the overarching mystery. They also all keep you guessing right up until the last few pages. I pride myself on being able to predict storylines a good amount of the time, especially when it is a mystery—I am always looking for clues and reading into every little detail. I think what worked so well with this novel is that there are so many people with motive and opportunity that you have your list of suspects but when something new is revealed, you doubt what you think you know. This is what keeps you as a reader guessing. I kept second guessing myself and was unsure how everything was going to wrap up. Even it started to wrap up and I was putting everything together a few seconds ahead of Pip, even when I thought I had everything figured out, I still didn’t know everything. This was truly a well written, edge of your seat, second guessing, can’t put it down, spectacular novel.

Wow!! A Good Girl's Guide to Murder is outstanding. I truly cannot rave enough.

The story follows Pip as she embarks on her senior project investigating a closed case that happened five years earlier. A popular student was murdered by her boyfriend and then he killed himself. Pip doesn't think the case was so open and shut, but as she does her project, it becomes clear someone doesn't want her finding out the truth.

Holly Jackson's writing is excellent. It is smart and complex. There is even a layer of humor, but mainly the story is a mystery/thriller the best plot twists I have ever experienced. The book has a multi-media format that moves the plot along. This will be THE next hit YA thriller. Readers will struggle to get anything done because they will need to finish this book and find out what really happened five years earlier. Highly recommended to readers who enjoyed One of Us Is Lying.

This was a twisty, complex mystery! Pippa and Ravi team up to try to clear Ravi's brother Sal of the murder of his girlfriend five years earlier. Though the police and the town had decided Sal was guilty, Pippa uncovers clues and suspects and chases down every lead. The characters are diverse and well-developed. There are many secondary characters, but they were easy to keep track of during the course of the story. Pippa's discoveries and actions were believable, although I really wish she had stopped confronting potential murderers on her own! A satisfying read to recommend to everyone interested in a good mystery.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a DRC of this title for review. All opinions are my own.

This was an amazing read from start to finish. It was the first book in a long time that I finished in a day, one that I couldn't put down and couldn't figure out until the very end. I loved it and can't wait to recommend it to other readers. Plus, I just saw that there will be a sequel and you can bet your bottom dollar that I preordered it.

Andie Bell died five years ago and everyone knows who killed her. Of course they know it was her boyfriend Sal, especially because he killed himself two days after she disappeared. The fact that her body has never been found doesn't factor into this story that everyone tells themselves. Until now. Pip has chosen to do her senior year project on the case and its portrayal in the media and she is determined to figure out if Sal actually did it. Because to her, the case has never been clear cut at all. And she doesn't believe the story that everyone else tells. But as she digs further in to the past, it becomes clear that someone wants her to stop. And they will do anything to make the questions go away.

Highly recommend this one. It is a first purchase type of book for all collections serving YA readers.

As a true crime addict I was hooked at the Serial reference.
Pippa, a high school senior sets out to "solve" a five year old closed case. The victim, a popular student, was never found, but her boyfriend's suicide note confesses to the murder. Pippa is not convinced. As she begins her investigation she realizes that she is on to something. The further she digs the more nervous the real killer becomes.
Full of red-herrings and surprise twists, this book will keep readers guessing to the final shocking reveal. Pippa is a wonderful character and I am excited to see that there are more books planned with this smart, young sleuth.

A pretty standard mystery/thriller with the appropriate twists and turns to keep you reading until the very end. Was there anything particularly unique about this story? Not really - but Pippa was a likable protagonist and the story moved at a pace that will keep readers turning pages.

Exactly the right mix of thrill and intrigue, a true whodunit with multiple suspects and a murder board.