ToddDragon Collaboration: A Good Girl's Guide to Murder Duology

TW: Both books, as well as this review, will discuss topics of sexual assault, racism, suicide, bullying and self harm. Please read with caution or look away if you don’t want to read about these topics in any capacity.

Another book related post? Gosh, I spoil you guys. Today I bring to you a ToddDragon collaboration about ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’ and it’s sequel ‘Good Girl, Bad Blood’ written by Holly Jackson. Myself and Sam, over at The Book Dragon, absolutely loved the first book in this duology and have been planning to buddy read it since January. Now that the time is finally here, we decided to throw in it’s sequel, which came out earlier this month.

A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER

First, a few non-spoilery related thoughts.

‘The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it. But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn't so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth?’

‘Good Girl’s Guide’ is easily one of the best young adult murder mysteries I have ever read (second only to the Truly Devious series). If you’re looking to branch out into the murder mystery genre, young adult or otherwise, this is the place to start. Jackson had me gripped from the very first page with a curious, not to mention suspicious, cast of characters. Her ability to create so many well-rounded and multifaceted individuals, well beyond the usual stock characters I have seen in murder mysteries, aboslutely astounded me. Another element of ‘Good Girl’s Guide’ that I enjoyed was the multimedia style narrative. The mystery was constructed (and unravelled) in a series of ‘log updates’, interviews, texts, photographs, and more; the use of which made me feel like I was reading over Pippa’s shoulder, involved in the case with her.

Jackson did an excellent job at addressing many serious issues (such as discussions of sexual assault, racism and bullying) whilst not sensationalising them for the sake of making a more ‘eventful’ mystery. The story was, at all times, respectful of the very real emotional trauma and upset that surrounds the friends and family of the victims of murder, as well naunces that act to confuse the course of justice. There’s not much else I can say to sell this book to you without going into spoilers now, but know that this book will leave you questioning everything, right up to the last page and beyond.

And of course, the ultimate question… Did I guess the killer? No, no I did not; something I have managed to do with every murder mystery I had read before (bar the aforementioned Truly Devious trilogy).

Without further ado, on to the spoiler-y thoughts!

My first point of discussion: Ravi Singh. Oh my goodness, does that boy own my heart. Ravi’s character particularly stood out to me as he has to be my favourite young adult love interest of all time. His relationship with his brother Sal, the way he is torn between mourning his brother, supporting his parents and wanting to be a ‘normal’ teenage boy culminates in an all-round believable, loveable and entertaining secondary protagonist. The organic development of his relationship with Pippa made perfect sense and didn’t feel forced in any capacity. Particularly, I felt their communication from start to finish was almost flawless - an issue I usually have in young adult books generally, but especially in murder mystery ones.

Indeed, all of the character relationships in this book were well considered. The dynamics between Pippa and her family, her parents especially, felt realistic and thought out. Her parents felt like parents - so often in young adult literature, the parents act either as the protagonist’s best friends, or are extremely abusive or controlling. Pippa’s parents seemed… Normal. They know when to support her and when to reprimand her. The introduction of a step-parent who wasn’t demonised or hated was a welcome change - I, too, love my step-dad! It was great to see a positive portrayal of a non-biological parent.

What I appreciated most of all was the sensitive handling of the discussions of sexual assault and rape throughout the book, and how it contributed to Becca’s involvement in Andie’s death and also the covering up of Max Hasting’s own crimes. I really hope to see justice for the girls that Max had assaulted in ‘Good Girl, Bad Blood’ because… What a d*ckhead, honestly, and that’s an understatement.

However, there were a few elements of the book that I thought could have been improved on. Firstly, I felt that the character of Naomi Ward (Pippa’s best friends’ sister, and daughter of Elliot Ward, Pippa’s teacher and Sal Singh’s murderer) wasn’t all there for me. At multiple points, Jackson attempts to make us for Naomi and I just didn’t. I didn’t feel sympathetic to her or her crimes at all, which meant that when Elliot was revealed as (one of) the murderers, I just couldn’t find it in myself to care for the effect it would have on her. Cara Ward, Pippa’s sister, was also some-what lackluster. She wasn’t unlikeable, but I think if Jackson had given her a little more page time, I would’ve felt more deeply about the overall reveal.

The use of drugs and drug dealers was, in my opinion, just out of the realms of believability for me. There were moments where I had to cringe slightly at the idea of under-18s having that easy an access to drugs, especially in such a small and close-knit town as Jackson kept stressing that Little Kilton was. Maybe if they were living in a larger city I would have been able to suspend my disbelief a little more. However, as previously mentioned, this led to some excellent representation of the reality of sexual assault so I didn’t feel it in any way ruined my enjoyment of the plot or book itself.

Overall, I loved ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’; so how will I feel about ‘Good Girl, Bad Blood’?

GOOD GIRL, BAD BLOOD

Right off the bat, ‘Good Girl, Bad Blood’ had me hooked. This book took me all of four hours to sit and devour (which I can prove from my texts to Sam, sent just before starting and just before finishing the book) and I do not regret it one bit! Since this is a sequel, I’m going to delve straight into the spoiler-y thoughts but it’s safe to say that my expectations were met and exceeded!

‘Pip Fitz-Amobi is not a detective any more. With the help of Ravi Singh, she released a true-crime podcast about the murder case they solved together last year. The podcast has gone viral, yet Pip insists her investigating days are behind her. But she will have to break that promise when someone she knows goes missing. Jamie Reynolds has disappeared but the police won’t do anything about it. And if they won’t look for Jamie then Pip will, uncovering more of her town’s dark secrets along the way… and this time everyone is listening. But will she find him before it’s too late?’

Everything I loved about the first book I loved in the second. Pippa’s relationship with Ravi keeps it’s believable and natural steady development, and her parents continue to be the realistic representation I so love. Even Cara, who, as previously mentioned, I felt indifferent to, won me over with her joking banter and understable struggle to grapple with the situation her family was thrown in to at the end of last book. The strength of her and Pippa’s friendship, which I don’t remember noticing in the first book, was tested and reigned supreme. Still very little love for Naomi, despite Jackson’s attempts, though.

The underlying plot of ‘Good Girl, Bad Blood’, follows the trial of one Max Hastings, the most disgusting character I’ve ever had the displeasure of reading. Hastings is guilty of multiple counts of rape and sexual assault, where he drugged girls with rhypnol, but gets off without conviction for his crime anyway. Though it was infuriating and heartbreaking to read such a vile person walking free, I think it was a realistic way for the case to play out. Hundreds of thousands of rapists don’t see conviction every year, and their victims are often forgotten about by the rest of the world afterwards. I think Jackson did justice to this reality excellently - and it was so satisfying to watch the already morally-grey Pippa break the rules and post his audio-taped confession online… Oh, and wreak havoc on his house! I hope that in the third book - yes, a third is confirmed! - that Max Hastings is finally put away for what he has done.

As for the main plot and mystery of the book… I am still in two minds. I think the overall construction of the mystery, once again in the multi-media format, was flawless. But unfortunately, this time the plot verged a little bit too far into the unbelievable category and I had to work even harder to suspend my disbelief. I felt that, given it is a series of books, there could have been more foreshadowing in the first book to allude to Child Brunswick as I feel like it came out of nowhere in those last 150 pages. Or maybe there was, and I just hadn’t picked up on it. The gun, the final weapon, was also quite unrealistic for a book written in the UK… As well as the randomly introduced neighbours that I had been suspicious of from the second they were introduced. However, I didn’t expect the events to play out the way they did, so kudos to Jackson for that!

Overall, ‘Good Girl, Bad Blood’ was a hugely enjoyable read and definitely satisfying as a sequel, but I would have to dock half a star for the far-fetched elements that the new mystery introduced. I am already so excited for book three!