Synopsis (from goodreads)
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?

My Review - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Oh this was such an enjoyable read, really fast paced and Pip is so loveable - a main character that you definitely root for and want to crack the case and get the bad guy! It was a book that once I picked up i struggled to drag myself away from as I needed to know what was happening.

Even though it is a young YA and I am not the target market, I still absolutely loved it and would definitely read the next 2 books as I want to see what happens to the characters next and watch their relationships develop.

I would definitely recommend to people who enjoy a fast paced whodunnit, I think it would be the perfect book to get someone out of a reading slump as its quick, witty and throughly enjoyable.

Thank you to @tandemcollectiveuk @electricmonkeybooks and @hojay92 for this copy of the book and for the readalong - we all loved playing detective and trying to work out "Who killed Andie Bell?"

I did like this book and was interested right from the start, I felt that I lost interest slightly during the book but it finished strong. Would be open to reading the next one!

Ok so I’ve had a full 24hours to get over how spectacular ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’ by Holly Jackson is and I now feel semi ready to write a review.

So where do I start, WOW, WOW, WOW! I needed this book. Reading had become so boring lately and this book slapped me right across the face and made me sit up straight and pay attention!

I loved everything about this book. The humour, the characters, the secrets, the emotions. I genuinely laughed out loud and burst out crying at this book (more than once!). My partner was beside me and asked why I was crying and when I told him he said he wished he hadn’t asked.

IT’S THAT SAD and emotional and heart breaking BUT it’s also the most uplifting, heartwarming, totally fangirling novel, AND if that’s not enough it’s also a terrifying, edge of your seat, I’m scared to go to the toilet in the dark kind of story. Now do you understand why I couldn’t write the review yesterday?

So what’s it about? Well, my totally awesome, geeky spirit animal Pippa aka Pip chooses a closed case to write and research for her end of year project. It’s an open and shut case as far as the town and police are concerned. 1 girl dead, murdered by her boyfriend, boyfriend panicked and killed himself before police could arrest him. The end! Pippa isn’t convinced though and when she acquires an unlikely “partner in crime” the two of them will stop at nothing to get to the truth. Even if it means putting themselves and their families in danger!

This is a must read for everyone who enjoys a crime novel, psychological thriller, murder mystery, YA fiction, love story. It covers every genre and don’t let the YA category put you off. I am nearly 30 & it is by far my favourite read this year.

Can I finish by saying how amazing is the cover? It instantly caught my eye. I love it!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC in return for an honest review. This is going to be a best seller without a doubt!

I WANT A NETFLIX SERIES!

Meaty murder mystery that keeps the reader guessing right to the very twisty end. Protagonist is funny, tenacious & entirely believable. A terrific debut with stacks of teen appeal. I loved it!

Five years ago, Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh, in a tragedy that the little town of Little Kilton still hasn’t got over. Pip, only twelve at the time, is now doing her EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) at school, and has decided to hash up all the bad memories, the witness testimonies, and the news reports from the murder. Because, in her mind, Sal Singh is innocent.

Pip manages to dig deeper than the police ever did, not stopping to believe that the ‘I did it’ text Sal sent his father could be an actual confession. With the help of Sal’s brother Ravi, Pip crosses boundaries, breaks laws, and pushes the walls of her ‘good girl’ image in an attempt to find the real murderer, and uncover the truth about what happened five years ago.

The first thing I have to say is THANK YOU to NetGalley and the publishers, Electric Monkey, for releasing this on NetGalley. Last year, if you follow any sort of book bloggers/book tubers/bookstagrammers, you must have seen all of the hype surrounding this book as the first lot of proofs were given out at YALC in the summer. Since then, this book has never left my radar, and the marketing team have done an insane job at hyping it up and making me desperate to read it.

Then a sample was released on NetGalley, which you can read my review of here, and ever since I have kept my eyes as peeled as possible for the chance to get my hands on a full ARC.

And I did. And it took me two days to read. I inhaled this book, and it was so totally worth the wait.

I loved how British it is, for one thing. I couldn’t name you many YA British thrillers (and if you can, please hit me up with recommendations!) and so this made a nice change from all the US-centric stuff that’s out there. The fact pip is doing her extended project took me hurtling back to sixth form and the hell that EPQ was before I dropped it. But it’s a nice touch to the book.

I loved Pip. I see myself a lot in her – quiet and hard working, and seen as the teachers pet or the goody goody two shoes. I was never as motivated with my studying as Pip, but it was nice to have a character who took her school seriously. But Pip was fun too! There was no either/or in her studying and her fun. She went camping, she always hung out with her friends; if you had the chance to solve a cold case, I think you’d be putting as much effort into it as Pip was. She had a great vibe to her, and immediately I was drawn to her awkwardness, her fumbling and her facts when she was nervous, but also her banter and quick quips with Ravi. The friendships were all very believable and fun, but with real feeling, loyalty, and history.

The thriller aspect of the book was wild. Every time something was solved, Pip found about another twelve problems to add to the list of ‘what the hell is going on?’ I’m never very good at guessing the murderer in thrillers anyway, but I never would have seen this coming. It was twisty and captivating and I felt right in Pip’s shoes, like I HAD to find this out for myself, as if I had things at stake on it. It was such a ride that I was happy enough to just sit back and read and let the thriller take me where it was going to take me, without trying to second guess where the investigation was going. I’m not going to say more, for fear of spoilers, just now it was so clever, and very well written, and I would love to read every single thing Holly Jackson next comes out with.

Speaking of Jackson, I want to shout out how much effort all the diagrams, maps, and page extracts from Pip’s project must have taken! Not to mention all the links that went in her references. It really added to the sense that this was a real project and made me dive deeper into the world of Pip and Little Kilton.

This is such a great book. It’s addictive, captivating, and so well planned. An absolute accomplishment for Jackson, and I can see this book doing absolutely amazingly on it’s release. I can also see it making for a great adaptation too – maybe a two/three parter on BBC?

A well deserved 5 out of 5 stars! Go and get your copy on release day – A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder is out May 2nd by Electric Monkey

I loved Pip from the start. She has a strong voice, she is stubborn and very organised. She takes a methodical approach to the case study, which we see through her production logs and transcripts which are meticulously recorded. Sometimes she does really stupid things, resorting to some dangerous tactics to get the information she needs. On the one hand, I admired her dedication to the cause, but on the other, I spent a lot of time telling her off for making rash decisions and not telling her parents what is happening.

I really like mixed media in books, and the inclusion of Pip's investigation notes and work throughout this book really added something. It made me want to pull out a notepad and pen and try to solve the case with her. Alas, I am not that clever, and I quickly descended into wild speculations. The facts are revealed gradually, and just when you think you know what's happening, Pip pops up to tell you you're wrong. It's rare that a twist catches me completely off-guard, but the twists in this book did, and I loved it.