A Good Girl's Guide to "Entertainment" - A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, the Trilogy Review

Holly Jackson's debut novel follows Pippa 'Pip' Fitz-Amobi solving the murder of Andie Bell that took place five years ago for her final year school project. Only problem - the murderer is already known, and he is Sal Singh, the boyfriend of the murdered who killed himself after Andie. But Pip thinks that there is more to tell. If the murderer is not Sal, then it means the murderer is still in town and might even go to desperate measures to keep it hidden.

Above is the synopsis of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, interesting isn't it? The trilogy consists of "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder", "Good Girl, Bad Blood" and "As Good as Dead". And trust me each is better than the last. I am an avid murder mystery reader, and while searching for new books, every booktube video and internet recommendation has suggested this book. After seeing this for the tenth time, I finally gave in and ordered the whole set. Did I love it or did I love it? Honestly one of the best books I have ever read. Also, one of my all-time favorites.

I am going to break down my review into 4 parts - The first book, the second one, the third one, and then the complete series review.

Book 1 - A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

By reading the synopsis you can tell, it is a murder mystery thriller. This is one of the pretty hyped up books on TikTok. When I started reading I had a lot of expectations, I had Great Expectations {Get it! - It's a book on a book review on a book blog??}. Along with a story it also has pages of Pip's production logs, interviews, evidence, and clues.

So, straight from the first chapter, we dive direct into the story with Pip investigating or researching for her school project. First, she tries to talk to Ravi who is Sal's brother and a major character in the trilogy as Pip's Watson (we all want a Watson to our Sherlock, don't we?). In the starting chapters, we are introduced to the characters - Pip's mom and stepfather (Just because he is a stepfather doesn't mean he's evil, He is one of my favorite characters and one of the best Book Fathers), her adorable brother (He calls her Pippo Hippo, for some reason I find it very cute), her dog - Barney and her friends Cara and Lauren.

It deals with important topics. It's fast-paced and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Honestly, the plot twists are killer and I didn't see them coming. Truth Time: I was spoiled for one plot twist, so I knew it was coming but the surprising turn of events that came afterward made me scream from shock, actually scream, my mother was asking me what the hell happened and all I did was, show her the book and kept on reading. One of the books you can't keep down!

Pages - 433

Age Group - 13+

Score - 4.6/5

Book 2 - Good Girl, Bad Blood

This time as you read, Pip has a podcast. It's called Pip's Podcast, just kidding, it's called A Good Girl's Guide to Murder credits to *spoiler alert* her boyfriend, Ravi Singh. Honestly, one of my favorite otps, I could actually talk about these two all day. I mean petition for every boyfriend to be like Ravi Singh.

Ok, I will stop before I spoil anything major. In the second book, Pip is over crime and just wants a simple life after finishing up her podcast's first and only season which is based on the previous case.

After posting her last podcast episode, Pip has to a public event (Can't actually tell you what it is, kinda spoils the book). After the events, when Pip comes home , one of her friends, Connor tells her his brother Jamie has gone missing. Though reluctant at first Pip takes the case.Except this time people really doubt her as they think she is faking the case for a second season. The more Pip looks into the case the more she figures out about a conspiracy in the town.

This one is big on the theme of cyber security. It was better than the first book not falling into the second book syndrome. The turn of events that happens in the second half of the book will through you off your seat. What was surprising about this book is that the climax was actually action packed. It was like pieces of a puzzle quickly fitting in place one by one. Advice for reading this book - Keep a tissue with you. I think the ending actually broke me.

It also ties a few loose ends we forgot in book 1.The last person I would think of was guilty and the last person I would think of was the victim.

Pages - 417

Age - 13+

Score - 4.8/5

Book 3 - As Good as Dead

I can't actually review this book without spoiling the two, but you know what, I will try. This time Pip has a stalker but that isn't the only thing on her mind. She has become really disturbed from the last case she solved which had a really dark ending. She is trying to get her life back on track.

She is actually looking for murder cases near her college to calm her and distract herself from her last case. But when she starts getting stalked she decides to look into it. When she starts finding connections of her stalker with the town serial killer, her world goes from dark to even darker.

This last book is all the missing pieces from the previous installments finally coming rounding all the way back to Andie Bell who might have more secrets than Pip thought she had. This is definitely one of the most darkest books I have ever read and loved. I still think about this in my free time or when I am in bed and that my friends is a sign of a good book.

In the beginning of the series Pip was a morally strong character that believed that police and court could give justice. But by the time the series ends she no longer believes that. She believes that the court cannot always take the right decisions, sometimes the innocents are jailed and the guilty are free. She has also learned that sometimes you have to take justice in your own hands. The ending of this book is really heartbreaking would really recommend to read with a tissue nearby. So sad that I actually had to read Fanfic to calm myself *yes, it was that bad* but despite that the ending gives real hope.

Pages - 459

Age - 14+

Score - 6.5/5

Series Review

10/5 series. Really loved it. One of the Best trilogies I have ever read. Handles social causes and themes nicely. Each one has a unique plot. The trilogy as a whole is like a puzzle which fits together when you finish the last book.

Pip has one of the character arcs I have ever seen. I feel like have watched her grow. She can be brave at times and she can be afraid at times like an actual person. She experiences grief of other people and her own. When investigating she learns that things are not as they always seen, that a person you have known could have such a dark past. She has learned that enemies can grow to be friends and that friends can grow to be enemies.

If I had to choose one favourite character from this whole series, it has to be Ravi Singh *sorry Pip, still love you *. He is one of the best characters I have ever read. He is sweet and kind. And despite everything that has happened in his life he still tries his best. Even with being named a murderer's brother. His relationship with Pip is one of the highlights if the series - their banter, their trust and even their last promise (Read the last book and you'll understand). And for some reason I feel like mentioning this *not relevant to the plot but I still love it* fact that Ravi calls Pip - Sarge.

Really I could not recommend this series enough. Go read it !