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A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #1)

Holly Jackson

Start date: April 14, 2022

Finish date: May 14, 2022

Discussion: Buddy Reads 2022

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What Members Thought

Sep 24, 2022 fleurette rated it liked it

Shelves: mystery, young-adult

This book has so many rave reviews that I was expecting something spectacular. Unfortunately, I found this story rather average. It was generally okay, but there's nothing really special about it. The writing style didn't seem to work for me, and I had trouble keeping an interest in this story.

Quite often I avoid young adult books because the characters are too childish for me. And with this book I also had such a problem. Pip, who sometimes makes very mature decisions and shows considerable wis This book has so many rave reviews that I was expecting something spectacular. Unfortunately, I found this story rather average. It was generally okay, but there's nothing really special about it. The writing style didn't seem to work for me, and I had trouble keeping an interest in this story.

Quite often I avoid young adult books because the characters are too childish for me. And with this book I also had such a problem. Pip, who sometimes makes very mature decisions and shows considerable wisdom, acts like a kid at other times. Some of her ill-considered decisions really irritated me, especially those in the last 30 percent of the book. Sometimes I felt the writer didn't know how to finish a book, and forces Pip to make some really stupid decisions just to give the reader a thrill.

Pip, who previously shows considerable cunning and efficiently conducts the investigation, behaves very foolishly about blackmailing her dog's life. Quite idiotic in fact. This was the moment when she finally lost me. Especially since the author did not support this scene with Pip's thoughts on what is more important to her. And that, in my opinion, would add some psychological depth to the story. These scenes and what Pip does next to the end of the book are weak and hackneyed. I've read it in hundreds of books, it irritated me there, and it still annoys me here.

Reading this book, I was not sure exactly how old Pip is. She must be at least sixteen to drive a car, but very often she acts much younger. In many cases, her voice sounded very childish. Then, I wouldn't be surprised if she turned out to be twelve or so. Her infantile voice often annoyed me.

The ending was really down-to-earth and uninspiring. After all this building up tension, wrong leads and casting suspicions on more and more people, solving the mystery of the girl's disappearance was really boring and uninteresting. My first thought was: that’s all?! Like this?! Oh yes, exactly, that’s all. The answer is quite trivial and it is not something I will remember from this book.

I guess I should still avoid young adult crime novels, because for such a bestseller, reading this book took me an exceptionally long time. ...more

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Apr 16, 2021 Brittany rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, mystery, thriller

3.5 stars rounded up
I enjoyed this one and the story to prove that sometimes the obvious answer isn't the true one while other times it is. I had parts of the mystery figured out before they happened but a few things were surprises. I did love the format of this book. It was so different and it really worked for getting this story across.
While I liked Pip she is also the reason this doesn't get a higher rating. For the most part she was smart and used her intelligence to gain more knowledge, eve ...more

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Mar 24, 2021 Kerri rated it it was amazing

“But sometimes remembering isn’t for yourself, sometimes you do it just to make someone else smile."

You know that feeling when you love a book so much that, when you try and put your love into words, you keep coming up blank?

Yeah, that’s me right now.

I picked this book up because I was in a thriller mood and this was E V E R Y W H E R E. I wasn’t sure what to expect going in: the hype train has been both kind and cruel to me. Thankfully, I needn’t have worried because this was incredible!

This st “But sometimes remembering isn’t for yourself, sometimes you do it just to make someone else smile."

You know that feeling when you love a book so much that, when you try and put your love into words, you keep coming up blank?

Yeah, that’s me right now.

I picked this book up because I was in a thriller mood and this was E V E R Y W H E R E. I wasn’t sure what to expect going in: the hype train has been both kind and cruel to me. Thankfully, I needn’t have worried because this was incredible!

This story follows a high school senior named Pip who has picked quite the topic for her final project. She has decided to write about a high profile case in her town and prove why the person everyone knows committed the crime… didn’t do it. In the process of trying to prove the suspect’s innocence, Pip finds herself wrapped up in town secrets that threaten more than just her grade.

If you want an example of the perfect YA thriller that captures your attention and keeps you guessing from jump, might I suggest this gem of a book. I mean, I’m probably one of the last people to read it, but if you haven’t PLEASE DO! This was such a perfectly paced, perfectly structured thriller. I loved the mystery and watching Pip working her way through it all. And I do love a thriller where I can’t quite figure out the twist and this one definitely delivers!

Another aspect of this story that I adored was our main character, Pip. Pip is an overachiever, Type A student that reminded me a lot of myself in high school. She is a perfectionist who can be judgmental, but she also refuses to give up when she knows that justice needs to be done. She’s tenacious and strong and is such a great character! Does she always make the best decisions? Nope! But the decisions she makes are believable and relatable. She’s an incredible, vivid character and I loved following her as she works on her senior project. Holly Jackson writes some beautifully nuanced characters and I’m excited to get to know them more in the subsequent books.

Final thoughts: This is a top-notch YA thriller that I absolutely flew through! It has incredible pacing, fantastic characters, and the twists and turns will keep you on your toes. The fact that this is just the first in a series makes me so happy. If you’re looking for a gripping, dark thriller that will make you want to read it in one sitting, I think you should give A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder a try! ...more

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Jan 06, 2023 Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library-citrus

It started more interesting than it continued and concluded. Was ready for the case to wrap. Some sad reveals that were at least heart-felt. Definitely reads as a YA writing tone style. Realism is low and some of clues are coincidental

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