A review by librarymouse
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
This was a fantastic read! Holly Jackson masterfully wove in foreshadowing and red herrings into the story. Even with big twists, the characters were so well fleshed out that the twists didn't feel like they came out of nowhere. Jackson does a great job making the characters and place feel very real. She creates a diverse cast of characters that I feel like I could meet on any street or at any high school event.
Ravi and Pip's friendship and then relationship was adorable. They're both very funny. I adore that once his brother was exonerated, he brought his parents to meet her, and that their families are close. Josh loving Ravi before he started dating Pip was a good set up to show the two getting together eventually.
Setting up Naomi's mental illness and then showing her father to be similarly unstable but to a greater degree, and him using her diaries as a way to learn information was a really interesting twist. I really wanted Mr. Ward to be innocent.
I was destroyed by Barney's death. His relationship with Pip and Josh is part of what made her so real. Her dancing with Barney and making up little songs about him was adorable and relatable.
I really thought H.H. was going to be the killer, and that it was the B&B owner's son. Maybe it'll come back up in later books, because I still don't think H.H. is Howie's House.
This book managed to embody elements from both the small town cozy genre and quintessential murder mysteries. I highly recommend it!
Spoiler
Ravi and Pip's friendship and then relationship was adorable. They're both very funny. I adore that once his brother was exonerated, he brought his parents to meet her, and that their families are close. Josh loving Ravi before he started dating Pip was a good set up to show the two getting together eventually.
Setting up Naomi's mental illness and then showing her father to be similarly unstable but to a greater degree, and him using her diaries as a way to learn information was a really interesting twist. I really wanted Mr. Ward to be innocent.
I was destroyed by Barney's death. His relationship with Pip and Josh is part of what made her so real. Her dancing with Barney and making up little songs about him was adorable and relatable.
I really thought H.H. was going to be the killer, and that it was the B&B owner's son. Maybe it'll come back up in later books, because I still don't think H.H. is Howie's House.
This book managed to embody elements from both the small town cozy genre and quintessential murder mysteries. I highly recommend it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Confinement, Death, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Drug abuse, Grief, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Vomit
Moderate: Dementia and Animal death
Minor: Fatphobia