I mentioned this before, but I have been regularly using my local library’s app. I love how I can request holds from my phone and pick them up at the library when they’re ready. I had A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson on hold for a while which makes sense since this book series is pretty popular. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is definitely a page-turner, but I have no interest in reading the rest of the series.

CW: Animal Death – I can’t believe none of the other reviews mention this. There’s a family pet that’s taken and is later found dead. There are no specifics about it. I wish I would have known it was coming beforehand. This happens on page 287 (or somewhere in the 280’s) and by page 300, it’s over.

Pippa Fitz-Amobi is a high school senior who needs to pick a Capstone project. She decides to investigate the murder of Andie Bell, a senior who mysteriously disappeared in her small town five years ago. Sal Singh, Andie’s boyfriend, was listed as being the murderer after he committed suicide after Andie’s disappearance. Pippa works with Ravi, Sal’s brother, to review the evidence and determine if Sal is truly guilty.

My reading interests have changed throughout the years and I tend not to read a lot of YA (Young Adult) anymore. With that being said, I did enjoy this book. I found myself captivated from start to finish. I found that whenever I had a break in my day, I would read a chapter or two. I finished this book last Saturday because I simply couldn’t move on to anything else until I finished this book. I have been pretty vocal about my reading slump this year, so it feels nice to find books that I truly can dive into.

As far as the characters, Pippa wasn’t someone I wanted to read about. She is typecast as being the stereotypical “Good Girl” who always finishes her homework, and doesn’t drink with her friends. I find that Pippa is judgemental of her friends at times whether she means to be or not. I have seen this trope in other YA books and I’m over it. I don’t need to read about teenage drinking, but I felt that Pippa had the idea that she was better than everyone else. Ravi was my favorite character throughout the book as I think he supported Pippa throughout her investigations and was there for her. I would have liked to hear more about Ravi as a character because I don’t know much about him other than him being Pippa’s partner.

I think the biggest thing I noticed about this book is the implausibility of it all. In order for Pippa to collect the evidence she needs, she does some questionable things. This book is fictional, so I guess maybe I’m being too critical, but I thought the way things played out was a little too convenient. Additionally, I find that A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder plays into a lot of tropes that I see in other books of this genre. One example includes a teacher sleeping with a student. I have seen this appear in other YA mysteries and again, I’m over it. I’m not expecting new things from every book I read, but for how hyped this series is, I held this book to a higher standard.

I mentioned earlier how I have no interest in continuing on in the series. I was reading spoiler tags for the other books in this series and this series gets really dark. Additionally, it seems like Pippa completely changes into an entirely new character (as long as the spoiler reviews are correct). Since I know this now, I’m going to pretend that this book is the only book in the series. It’s interesting because I don’t see the need for this book to be a series. I feel like A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is a great standalone book, so I’m surprised that this is a series.

I went back and forth on how I wanted to rate A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. I did like the book and I have no regrets about reading it. However, I do think the book is slightly overhyped and I don’t like the way the series continues past the first book. I finally ended up rating A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder three stars on Goodreads.