Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

368 reviews

brittanylee0302's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Holyyyyyy. This book was so good. It was a gripping page turner the whole way through. You're going to think everyone is a murderer in this book! I loved how the book was set up like a real research project with short chapters in between & even some pictures of maps & journal pages. I loved some of the characters, loathed others, felt bad for a lot of them. This book just checked every box in terms of the kinds of characters in it. I also loved that this book wrapped up really nice even though there are two more in the series! I'd give this book alllllllllll the stars if I could! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Vomit, Drug use, Death of parent, and Drug abuse

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, and Rape

irene_am's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Violence, Vomit, Physical abuse, Murder, Grief, and Drug abuse

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Self harm

annamay1021's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Grief, Kidnapping, Death, Animal death, Murder, Blood, Bullying, Confinement, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual assault

aleilvandrea's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Racism, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Suicide, Murder, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Drug use, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Death of parent, Dementia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Alcohol, Terminal illness, and Sexual violence

Minor: Gaslighting and Vomit

sophs_mood_reading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Continuing my foray into murder mysteries I thought I would grab this as I’ve seen it all over bookstagram.  
Pippa is a senior student preparing her major project for school and of course chooses the obvious topic, the murder of a fellow student 5 years prior. 
We thus head into a Nancy Drew-esque drama as Pip does her “research” / meddling / investigation / recklessly endangers herself all to clear the name of the supposed killer (who is also deceased). 

Obviously I can’t say much more as it will give away the “who done it” but there are some great twists and false leads that keep you guessing until the end. And I did not guess correctly. 

As in many a murder mystery (on book or screen), I got extremely frustrated when Pippa would go into situations such as the woods at night or to confront someone by herself, seeing that’s a great way to get yourself killed. Plus it’s highly unrealistic that someone who this they have figured out the cold blooded killer, would then just stroll up to them and be all “so I know what you did”. But is suppose we wouldn’t have the drama if she didn’t. 

As it is set around teenagers it is a very teen thriller vibe book. But all the same I enjoyed the twisted path it took me on. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Suicide, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Murder, Violence, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Bullying

annikenr's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Murder, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Blood, Car accident, Drug abuse, Self harm, Addiction, and Vomit

charlotte113's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

I LOVED IT!!! i think finishing the book in 2 days says enough, it was incredible! The plot twists Jackson manages to wiggle in were incredible, each stage of the book had an unexpected turn with unexpected outcomes, and somehow it all wound up to a lovely ending, cant recommend enough!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Drug use

Moderate: Death, Rape, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Death of parent, and Sexual assault

Minor: Car accident, Body shaming, Adult/minor relationship, and Eating disorder

murren_wattxx's review against another edition

adventurous funny informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

jxlastone's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Death, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, and Animal death

Moderate: Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Car accident, Bullying, and Infidelity

lucyduller's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

If you’ve ever listened to the podcast Serial, you’ve kind of already read this book. If you’ve read the book but not listened to the podcast PLEASE DO LISTEN TO IT! It’s fantastically made and a true story! 

The premise is exactly the same; a teenager of colour has been accused of/jailed for murdering his girlfriend, and someone who believes this may not be true investigates the case. 

 

The difference is this book is fiction and tells the story of the investigator. 

I thought this book was a Young Adult, which I think it might actually be marketed as, but if that is so, I would encourage everyone to disregard that. This book is so accessible, gripping, and interesting. It doesn’t treat its reader like an idiot, there are some really challenging mental jumps it expects the reader to make. 

 

I also couldn’t have predicted the ending whatsoever, and I thought it was really great. Compared to Verity (review will be posted), the ending felt far more adult and complex, despite Verity being actually marketed towards adults! 

 

I was really scared at times, I’m not a big thriller reader, and this book tip-toed on that line for me, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. 

I think if more YA fiction was like this, more young people would want to read books, so Holly Jackson? Keep it UP!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Child death, Drug abuse, Murder, and Suicide

Minor: Vomit and Drug use