A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder #1) by Holly Jackson

 Hey Everyone!

I've got some catching up to do!  Hopefully, more reviews will be up very soon, as I've got a list of ones I need to read, for some of the books I've read this year.  

I know I am late to the game, but a friend and I have decided to start our little book club together, and for our first book we chose A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson.

This one has been on my radar for a few months now, mainly because of finding my love for YA Murder-Mystery/Thrillers last year.  I understand, it's been hyped about for quite some time now, but I finally got to find out why.

From Goodreads:

For readers of Kara Thomas and Karen McManus, an addictive, twisty crime thriller with shades of Serial and Making a Murderer about a closed local murder case that doesn't add up, and a girl who's determined to find the real killer -- but not everyone wants her meddling in the past.

Everyone in Fairview knows the story.

Pretty and popular high school senior Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who then killed himself.  It was all anyone could talk about. And five years later, Pip sees how the tragedy still haunts her town.

But she can't shake the feeling that there was more to what happened that day. She knew Sal when she was a child, and he was always so kind to her. How could he possibly have been a killer?

Now a senior herself, Pip decides to reexamine the closed case for her final project, at first just to cast doubt on the original investigation. But soon she discovers a trail of dark secrets that might actually prove Sal innocent...and the line between past and present begins to blur.  Someone in Fairview doesn't want Pip digging around for answers, and now her own life might be in danger.

This is the story of an investigation turned obsession, full of twists and turns and with an ending you'll never expect.

My Thoughts:

WOW.  From beginning to end, I was hooked.  It really kept me on my toes the entire time.  I know it's only January, but there is a good chance this may make it to one of my favorites of the year.  I can tell you I read "One of Us is Lying"by Karen M. McManus very early last year, and it ended up being my favorite book of 2022.  

My preference for novels has been audiobooks for quite some time now, just due to not being able to shut down my brain enough to sit down and read a novel, but A Good Girl's Guide to Murder" was the first physical novel that I have completed in a long time.  I can ebooks every so often, but an actual physical book? Haven't done it in months.  Graphic novels have been my go to.  But this thriller just kept me wanting more.

I devoured it in a few short days and I did not want it to end.  I ended up picking up the hardcover box set of the three books in the series from Amazon, before I had finished the paperback.  I was expecting it to end on a hook since there are two other books, so I wanted to be prepared and just be able to start book 2 immediately.

I'm glad this one felt like it had an ending.  It is allowing me to take a short break and read a few others books first from my TBR; but I am super curious what will be in books 2 and 3, because I have not read the synopsis's for either, and this felt truly like it could be a standalone.  But I'll be reading them soon, and anything else that Holly Jackson has written.  

Overall Rating:

I've read nine books so far in January, and I already know this will be my favorite of the month, I don't see how another book could top this one as of right now.  I read "Five Survive" a few weeks ago, and my review will go up for that one hopefully soon.  That one was Holly Jackson's 2022 release, that came out in November.  A Good Girls Guide to Murder was better, it was more suspenseful, had absolutely zero downtime, where I wanted to skip ahead, it was just intense from beginning until end and the exact thing I needed to have me keep turning pages, even though I should have been doing other stuff.

If you haven't read it, and you're interested in thrillers, without blood and gore, definitely check this one out!

The Romance Bookie :)