Tag: holly jackson

ARC, Five Star Book, mystery, thriller, ya

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder ARC Review!

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

Thank you to Netgalley and Electric Monkey for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings are my own.

The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.

But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn’t so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth?

A debut YA crime thriller as addictive as Serial and as page-turning as One of Us Is Lying.

– Goodreads

Okay, I first featured this book on First Impression Friday. I started this late Thursday night – like 8pm. I read it until my husband begged me to go to bed because the kindle light was bothering him. I finished Friday at around 6pm. And I worked 8-5 on Friday. I read it ALL DAY AT WORK. Luckily we were all caught up. But I could not put this down.

This has so many true crime podcasts vibes I felt like I was listening to one. Going about the case backwards. Finding suspects, finding clues, interviewing people associated with the crimes, the players, the suspect, and the victim. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is told in present tense, with bits of Pip’s senior project about the crime thrown in. I loved that formatting and really thought it brought a lot to the story.

The relationships in this book really stuck out to me, too. Pip and her dad were really close, which is something I don’t see a lot in YA novels. My dad and I have always been close, so it was nice to see that! She also has a cute relationship with her brother and her dog. Her mom didn’t make many appearances, but it seemed she had a good relationship with her as well.
Pip had many friends that you saw throughout the story and how their friendship changes as she is investigating.
My favorite was with Pip and Ravi. At first he wants nothing to do with her, then they become friends and it makes my heart soar.

The investigation was very well thought out. The clues were interesting, but it didn’t give everything away. There’s even a murder board! Who hasn’t wanted to make one of those?! The ending KILLED ME. I didn’t expect it and it just blew my mind.

I just felt like I grew so close to Pip. I can’t wait to see the next leg of her and Ravi’s journey in Good Girl, Bad Blood releasing April 30! Preorder here.

Add A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder to your Goodreads TBR here. I promise, you want to.
Buy A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder at Penguin Random House or Amazon.

Have you read A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder? What did you think? If not, is it going on your tbr? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…

ARC, contemporary, mystery, thriller, ya

First Impression Friday!

Courtney/Enchanted.to.Read.You

Another week done! I am super excited for this weekend. We are going to a zoo about an hour and a half away and there will also be a renaissance faire that day! My child, husband, and I all have costumes. My son will love seeing all the animals and I’ll love seeing all the faire!

So today we are going to talk about A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson.

“The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.

But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn’t so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth?

A debut YA crime thriller as addictive as Serial and as page-turning as One of Us Is Lying.“
– Goodreads

Okay, see that last, bolded part? As addictive as Serial. I LOVE THAT PODCAST! I am a true crime freak. I’ve been reading Ann Rule forever and have recently gotten very into true crime audios. I also love true crime podcasts. I started with Culpable (a must listen. It happened about an hour away from where I live!), next was Serial, and I’ve just gone down the rabbit hole since. I saw that and knew I had to get this book. I am so lucky to have received an arc! Thanks Netgalley and Electric Monkey!

I read the first chapter pretty quickly. It is Pippa, or Pip, saying why she chose to delve into this murder that was “solved” five years ago. She is researching it as her capstone project for school – kind of like a senior research paper. I definitely got Serial vibes so far. Basically, Andrea, or Andi, left her home about 1030 pm. She didn’t pick her parents up at 1254am like she was supposed to. She was never seen again. They all think Sal, her boyfriend, did it. This sounds like the first season of Serial – which I devoured.

After a little intro, we then see the first part of Pip’s capstone project. We see her interview with a missing person specialist. She writes why she chose this topic and what she hopes to accomplish.

There are rave reviews about this one. I think I will be added to the bunch. The first chapter was so enthralling. I 100% feel this will be a five star read!

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder came out on February 4. Add it to your Goodreads TBR here. Order a copy from Amazon here!

What do you think of my first impression? Have you read this novel? Was it on point? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time…