A Good Girl's Guide To Murder, By Holly Jackson- Spoiler Free Book Review, By Makaila Odoom

"The perfect nail-biting mystery." —Natasha Preston, #1 New York Times bestselling author

When I bought A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder at my favorite store, Barnes & Noble, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it. I’m more of a fantasy reader, and mystery was definitely out of my comfort zone. I have to tell the truth…I was not expecting it to become one of my favorites.

The story follows Pip, a high school senior who, for her final project, decides to investigate the murder of Andie Bell — a girl who was allegedly killed by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who then took his own life. Five years after the tragedy, Pip’s town is still shaken. As she digs deeper, determined to find the truth, she uncovers a trail of secrets that might actually prove Sal innocent. But someone in her town isn’t thrilled about her asking questions, and she soon realizes her search for answers may come with consequences...grave ones.

My favorite part of this book is definitely the writing style. The way Jackson included Pip’s project logs, interviews, maps, and text messages really strengthened the mystery atmosphere. It was fascinating getting to see inside Pip’s thoughts and daily life through the material she collected.

Jackson also did a phenomenal job with both plot and character development. At first, Pip’s project starts as a simple curiosity, but as the story progresses, her interest grows into something deeper and she can't turn away. The tone shifts from mild curiosity to intense determination as she dives further into the case.

Another key part of the story is Ravi Singh's, Sal Singh's younger brother, character development. He is at first very isolated and doesn't leave his house a lot because of backlash from the residents in his town for being an alleged murderer's brother, not to mention a brown kid. From when Pip requests his help on the project, until the end of the book, his character grows in many ways, gaining confidence with Pip's help and adding a deep emotional layer to the story that I loved.

This story made my head spin (in the best way) as I constantly tried to guess what would happen next. AGGGTM definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat. It’ll make you laugh, cry, gasp, and maybe even want to throw your book across the room. And if you tell yourself “just one more chapter”… good luck with that, you'll end up reading five.

I would recommend this book for readers whose normal reading genre isn't mystery. You might be a fantasy girlie like me and end up loving this book, which could lead you to reading more mystery books in the future. So if this isn't your normal genre, take a chance like I did and try something new!

This book was expertly written and changed my opinion on mystery novels. Don't forget to take the title literally... Good luck, and don't get swept away in the chaos! 

Happy reading!