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A review by jolietjane
Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson
5.0
Holly Jackson is a genius. I am not embellishing. People try to flag a lot of thriller writers as "the Agatha Christie of our time", but Holly Jackson did it guys, she really did it.
The facts are these. Jamie, a local man, is missing. He is considered a low risk missing case and nothing is done about it. Pip must reluctantly come out of retirement to find him.
Both Good Girl Bad Blood and it's predecessor novel have interweaving themes and characters. Our investigator, Pip, also stays the same. She's a brilliant no nonsense straight shooter with a heart of gold. This book series is built on Pip's straight forward detective style and investigative ability that goes the extra mile against what we look at as a modern day thriller- which is based on often passive narrators experiencing the mystery of something happening to them. Pip is a teenage investigator. Must like old school detective novels, she talks to witnesses. She interrogates suspects. She examines evidence clinically as the readers slowly put together the details to solve the case.
The twists, GOSH. Let me just say that I was reading this book in the middle of the night and audibly GASPED. Holly Jackson lays down clues to different parts of this mystery as early as book 1, brilliantly scattering potential suspects and red herrings all over the story and taking you on a mind bending journey where the truth will shock you, the evidence will lead you, and each reveal is more exciting than the last.
One thing that has affected me so much about the Good Girl, series is how real it all feels. The way this series is written, there are no winners. When crime strikes, it causes a ripple affect that scars all of it's victims, and the end result of an investigation doesn't mean a win. Good Girl Bad Blood does an incredible job handling the fallout of issues like sex crimes, murder, and kidnapping without being straight up misery porn. It's a book that leaves you feeling complicated and overwhelmed. Im beyond impressed and never would have expected that this second installment of the series could be as a good as the first, but here we are.
As someone who loves adult and teen thrillers/mystery, "Good Girl" series is really one of the best of the genre and has so much to offer. It's a shame the series has flown a bit under the radar, and I hope more people give it a chance.
The facts are these. Jamie, a local man, is missing. He is considered a low risk missing case and nothing is done about it. Pip must reluctantly come out of retirement to find him.
Both Good Girl Bad Blood and it's predecessor novel have interweaving themes and characters. Our investigator, Pip, also stays the same. She's a brilliant no nonsense straight shooter with a heart of gold. This book series is built on Pip's straight forward detective style and investigative ability that goes the extra mile against what we look at as a modern day thriller- which is based on often passive narrators experiencing the mystery of something happening to them. Pip is a teenage investigator. Must like old school detective novels, she talks to witnesses. She interrogates suspects. She examines evidence clinically as the readers slowly put together the details to solve the case.
The twists, GOSH. Let me just say that I was reading this book in the middle of the night and audibly GASPED. Holly Jackson lays down clues to different parts of this mystery as early as book 1, brilliantly scattering potential suspects and red herrings all over the story and taking you on a mind bending journey where the truth will shock you, the evidence will lead you, and each reveal is more exciting than the last.
One thing that has affected me so much about the Good Girl, series is how real it all feels. The way this series is written, there are no winners. When crime strikes, it causes a ripple affect that scars all of it's victims, and the end result of an investigation doesn't mean a win. Good Girl Bad Blood does an incredible job handling the fallout of issues like sex crimes, murder, and kidnapping without being straight up misery porn. It's a book that leaves you feeling complicated and overwhelmed. Im beyond impressed and never would have expected that this second installment of the series could be as a good as the first, but here we are.
As someone who loves adult and teen thrillers/mystery, "Good Girl" series is really one of the best of the genre and has so much to offer. It's a shame the series has flown a bit under the radar, and I hope more people give it a chance.