Overall I liked the book. The story didn't grab me as quick as aggtm. I felt like the first chapters were purely written to link book 1 and book 2. Which is fine. Nothing wrong with. I actually enjoyed that because it answered the questions that I had after book 1. That said, it didn't feel like something new. New as in a new book. A new plot. That came after

pages or so. Again, I did enjoy reading those pages but it was not what I expected when I picked this book up.

The book wasn't bad at all. The characters are well written, the plot has unexpected twists and turns and the ending shocked me. It is an easy to read fast-paced book, just like aggtm.

[I will say that - if you haven't read a good girl's guide to murder or if it's been a while since you have - you don't have to worry about remembering all the details from the 1st book. Yes. If you read the first book you'd recognize the names and you'd have a bit more context. But - and this is something that I really like - you don't have to read book 1 before this book. There are some references but they are briefly explained. I'm currently in the process of reading the books back-to-back but you definitely don't have to do this. You could pick this book up a year after reading book 1 and you'll be fine. ]

The ending did feel a bit rushed. Nonetheless, it did surprise me. It was thought out well. It's quite difficult to write a series. Especially if the first book was written as a stand-alone. This book, the 2nd book in the series, surprised me a lot. To me it's a good sequel to the first. The development of the different characters is well-written and basically no loose threads were left. Though, I do have some nosy question. I guess that those will be answered in the next book🤔

I also missed ravi a bit. He was absent for a reason but it felt a bit off as pip solved the andir bell case with him. It seems like he was often used to dismiss, engage or calm pip (feelings) down. I wish that he was more his own character like in book 1. He was written really well though. It just seemed like he existed for her in this book and that was a bit of a bummer.

Content Warnings

mome489's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Content Warnings

maddysoup's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

my poor guy jack ugh that was brutal to listen to

maybe perhaps listening to the audiobook is better than reading it as a physical copy? the first book took me a fat minute to get through and this baddie was devoured over four days

i look forward to see with what happens to that CRIMINAL that did that thing ugh what a fucking a hole boo the crowd boos get off the stage get in a jail cell

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bellaq's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Amazing couldn't put the book down couldn't stop reading

Content Warnings

k_elliott's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

isaile's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

a_l_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

personal review notes:

C 6/10
A 7/10
W 7/10
P 7/10
I 7/10
L 5/10
E 6/10

-> 5.4/10
-> 3 stars

C: by now you know the main characters quite well, i still get confused with te side characters though. i coulnd't describe them in more than two sentences if i had to & when charlie green turned out to be the catfish i was trying to figure out who his is during the whole chapter...
P: it definitely didn't go where i thought it would, but over all i found it a bit wired. the whole child brunswick thing was super interesting and gave a cool twist, but the way it played out... idk. i was definitely expecting something different
L: i don't know with these murder mysteries... there are always thing that don't make that much sense to me. the whole layla meads thing, how did she get in contact with all possible child bronswicks over tinder or instagram..? hwo did nobody notice that she used pictures of some student, i thought kilton was a small town. why did stanley keep jamey in his bathroom for seven days??? like whaat? like i get he was scared but whaaat?
E: it was entertaining, would i listen to it again? no.

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