A review by rinku
Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Good Girl, Bad Blood focusses on another mystery taking place in Kilton, with Pip uncovering dark secrets once again. I still love the small-town setting and the characters a lot, even though the pacing wasn’t the best in this novel which is why I gave it 3.5 stars. 

Pip has started an official true crime podcast when she learns that the brother of one of her friends disappeared. She starts to investigate again and gets in grave danger again. The podcast thing is the aspect of the book that I liked the least. I just don’t like the concept of True Crime in general, even though Jackson is criticising it as well. The podcast also made many things just too unbelievable, especially the
catfish thing seemed too farfetched for me. I can’t believe that no one reported the catfish before
. The big twist towards the end was a bit too farfetched for me as well but it was still interesting. 

While I found the first half of Good Girl, Bad Blood a bit boring since we have no secret investigation, it gets more interesting after the first half. I liked that social media was more incorporated here, and that people start
to think that the podcast is fake – I can’t blame them
. The worst moment was probably when
Max wasn’t plead guilty but that’s sadly realistic as well
. Towards the end, we learn
that Stanley Forbes is the son of a serial killer. It was so obvious that Charlie would be evil, his vibes were off. Stanley’s death was so emotional and well written
. 

Especially towards the end, it becomes clear what a well written character Pip is. I loved to see her freaking out; it was so cathartic how she
demolished Max’ house
. Her trauma response is also written so well. Ravi is a great love interest but there’s barely any romance between them – maybe a bit more would be nice. 

All in all, I’m curious to see how the A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series will end after this traumatic experience for Pip. Good Girl, Bad Blood is definitely just as strong as the first book. 
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