A Good Girl's Guide to Murder: Thoughts. A Book Review

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, written by Holly Jackson

Part of the reason I bought this book over all the thousands of others on my wishlist was superficially because I thought it was pretty. This is a pretty common motivation for me, admittedly. I'd like to say I'm really deep, but if I'm stuck between two books that have an interesting blurb, you'd best believe I'm going straight for the pretty one. Though, exclusive editions and signed editions are the only additional factors that could turn me away from a book that is aesthetically down my road.

What can I say? I like my bookshelves decorated.

But that is to say, I'd forgotten I'd read this book when I bought it. It was long ago, and I saw sprayed edges and immediately clicked 'add to basket'. There could've been more thought behind it, but I was having an impulsive day. Sue me. (Please don't.)

I didn't necessarily have majorly high hopes, I'd directed my focus more towards the other exciting reads I'd acquired at the same time. I'm a dark fiction type of woman, and I'm more drawn to adult fantasy, especially high fantasy. I like to read complexity, and this being a Young Adult, I wasn't sure it would be a hooking read. But I was so terribly wrong, so incomprehensibly incorrect that I had to whisper my apologies to the last page as I turned it closed. This book is a work of art that mingles the simplicity required of reads directed to young adults and teens whilst working in a level of complexity that makes you feel smart reading it. The mystery around the murder is put together slowly, with every clue meaning something, and every clue developing its own context as the narrative progresses. It balances the art of understanding that the reader is new to everyone within the story and the expanse of their lives and confidence in the ability of its reader to extract their own information, and could probably come to a good conclusion early on if they so please. An equally excellent read for people who wish to watch the story unfold and surprise themselves with the revelation at the right time, and for those who want to beat the story to it without boring them once they've found their answer. There's enough additional context, revealed at the end, that was previously inaccessible, to enrich the story and drive a dramatic conclusion. It's a prime example of a murder mystery, and it's realistic. Realism often escapes murder mysteries because they try so hard to be unique, but it's the real stories that are the most difficult to tell. Jackson achieves this with ease.

The characters were lovely too; I loved the budding relationship between Pip and Ravi, which was done so lightly and really captured young love. I thoroughly enjoyed the depth of Ravi's character and his rollercoaster of emotions - to express so many emotions and still have a personality remain consistent is an art. His desperation to clear his brother's name and the resignation he has towards the view others have of him were completely opposing experiences with a consistent person, because everything he did really just made sense. And I loved Pip's determination and obsessive tendencies which so heavily drove the story. I do believe that in this book, there is something missing from Pip's characterisation. When she experiences bereavement, I didn't feel it. There was logic and description, but nothing that made me understand how she felt about it, and there was more focus on her obsession with her case than this massive loss. And it really felt like this was moved on from rather quickly, the situation barely mentioned at the end. I'd understand if this was someone more distant from her, but she also uses this death as a reason to put down her determination and move on. But I didn't feel that, and I didn't understand her decision to put down her case for it. For that reason, I wouldn't give it a full five stars because it did feel like a big moment being overlooked. The ending was happy, and I'd forgotten about the loss of this character before I began writing down my thoughts here.

But that aside, it was a truly enjoyable experience, and I've already reordered the two sequels (which are also exclusive editions and themed to match this book!), so I'll have to read them and discuss whether or not this bereavement is mentioned in further books and whether they're better than this one (I'm really hoping for another good mystery).

As this is a book review, I should leave a rating at the end for good measure. A nice conclusion, if you will. I would give this book a good 4/5 - it was amazing and suitable for the age, but there were a couple of key feelings missing.

Thanks for reading,

Rey <3

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