Reviews with content warning for Child death - Good Girl, Bad Blood

I think this book was another interesting read. In my opinion, it wasn't as good as its predecessor, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, but it's definitely worth the read.
My only recommendation is to read the novella, Kill Joy, because you get to know Jaime in there and you don't get to see his character much or it all in the first book.

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sheebsbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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adreaminaqua's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This was a good sequel to the first book! It was a bit slower to start but really picked up about halfway through. I wasn’t expecting the ending twist and it worked for the overall story. I love the audiobook format with the full cast read and sound effects, it really brings the story to life.

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paradoxchild's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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kelly_e's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Title: Good Girl, Bad Blood
Author: Holly Jackson
Series: A Good Girl's Guide to Murder #2
Genre: YA Mystery
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: April 30, 2020

T H R E E • W O R D S

Brisk • Idealistic • Entertaining

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Pip is not a detective anymore.

With the help of Ravi Singh, she released a true-crime podcast about the murder case they solved together last year. The podcast has gone viral, yet Pip insists her investigating days are behind her.
But she will have to break that promise when someone she knows goes missing. Jamie Reynolds has disappeared, on the very same night the town hosted a memorial for the sixth-year anniversary of the deaths of Andie Bell and Sal Singh.

The police won't do anything about it. And if they won't look for Jamie then Pip will, uncovering more of her town's dark secrets along the way... and this time everyone is listening. But will she find him before it's too late?

💭 T H O U G H T S

After reading book one in this series, I knew I wanted to continue with Good Girl, Bad Blood, even though I didn't know where the storyline would go. I was looking for a fast read that would be relaxing and wouldn't require too much additional thought and reflection, and this one fits the bill perfectly.

The way Holly Jackson combines multimedia elements - interviews, podcasts, texts, emails, etc. - creates an engaging and immersive experience. It helps moves the plot along at a quick pace and the full cast audio makes tandem reading the ideal solution for consuming this entire series. The unique style mirrors true-crime, but in a fictional story.

Much like the first book, it is easy digestible. Pip's character arc continues to evolve from book one and Jackson didn't hold back from killing off characters. It does require the suspension of belief at times, yet it's well written enough that you get invested in the mystery. I didn't figure out what was going to happen until close to it happening.

Good Girl, Bad Blood is an entertaining and fast-paced sequel that is highly engaging. While targeting the YA crowd, it is the type of book that adults will also enjoy because of the artistic style it is written in. Looking forward to reading the third book in this series in the next couple of months and would definitely recommend this series to the younger readers in my life.

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• amateur sleuths
• missing person cases
• true crime

⚠️ CW: murder, violence, gun violence, death, child death, rape, sexual assault, grief, kidnapping, fire/fire injury, injury/injury detail, blood, drug use, child abuse, cursing, stalking, cancer, suicide, car accident, animal death, alcohol, confinement, misogyny, toxic relationship

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"But sometimes my mouth starts saying words without checking with my brain first."

"Time is in charge here, not me, and that's terrifying."

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hazychapters's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

✩ 3,5 stars
✩ young-adult, murder mystery, thriller
✩ 417 pages

Sequel to AGGGTM, "Good Girl, Bad Blood" follows Pip in a new investigation after the disappearance of her friend’s brother, Jamie; while learning how to manage the growing hype around her true-crime podcast.

I found the pace of this second book a bit unbalanced. It started really well, but the investigation slowed down, hence the end feeling rushed. The mystery in itself felt a bit far-fetched sometimes. I had my own theories as I was approaching the last chapters (I was wrong, of course), but I felt a bit underwhelmed.

The first book was so busy I could feel the suffocation of crippling anxiety as I was diving into the pages. I didn’t feel the same with this sequel, at least for the first half. But I have to admit, I was taken by surprise by the "Child Brunswick" subplot, even though I’d have appreciated to hear about it earlier in the book so it didn’t appear out of the blue. The same goes for some characters.

The characters and their writing is the strongest aspect of this book. You can really feel connected to them as they are all going through difficulties in their lives: Pip, Ravi, Cara and Connor. They are a very interesting quartet. I’d have liked to see a bit more of Cara and Ravi and how they coped with the events of AGGGTM, so I can’t wait to read more about them in the next book.

However, I have mixed opinions about Pip in this book and honestly, I’m quite scared of what she’s going to do/become in the third book. I was here for her character’s development after the events of AGGGTM, and if I understood her at the very beginning regarding conducting a new investigation or not, I didn’t really feel connected to her by the end. Yes, she’s traumatised by past events and battles her insecurities, but she also has this flaw to never ask for help. I think this is an interesting situation to discuss, but at some point your character should evolve out their flaws. And I don’t know why, I’m pretty sure it won’t be the case in the last book.

In conclusion, mixed feelings for this sequel. It was good, but didn’t meet the expectations I had after the end of the first book. It felt to me like a filler sequel, while waiting for the third and last book of the trilogy (as it is for a lot of second books). I’ll take care to lower my expectations for the finale, even if I heard it was the best of the trilogy.

📌 Content/Trigger warnings:
arson, blood, catfishing, child abuse, death of a child, death of a sibling (past, recounted), drug dealing, drugging (non-consensual), grief, gun violence, kidnapping, murder, rape (past, recounted), violence.

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