Published May 2, 2019 by Holly Jackson, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder took the world by storm, bringing a newfound layer of popularity to murder mystery novels. Being the first of an iconic three-book series, understanding the depths of the book and the appeal it created is critical to understanding why it became such a hit, and why many people think it’s an amazing book overall. But that begs the first question: what makes a good book?
“For a good book, a writer needs to craft a story that immerses the reader. The characters and story combine to grab readers’ interest so they can’t put the book down,” Literature website Mighty Author states.
Of course, there are several more things that go into books other than that, with a lot of writing technicalities, trends and ideas, but at the core, Mighty Author’s summary is what a good book should aim to achieve.
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder follows this advice, creating a well-rounded and more importantly, an intriguing story. A story that kept readers on their feet with several mysteries, plot twists, and open questions that could only be answered by reading until the end. Not only does the story of the book use several creative techniques to keep its audience reading, it also builds complex and loveable characters, as well as infuriating and frustrating characters, causing all sorts of emotions in the reader and forming strong emotional connections and feelings towards all the characters in the book.
“Pippa “Pip” Fitz-Amobi is a teenager in Fairview, Connecticut. In the summer before her senior year of high school, she is starting to work on her senior capstone proposal project, an investigatory attempt to prove Salil “Sal” Singh’s innocence in the accusation that he murdered Andrea “Andie” Bell and disposed of her body five years prior.” Super Summary summarized.
While a broad summary, it encapsulates the main idea of the book, and also leaves a lot of questions that drag a reader in, such as: Why is Pip so interested in proving Sal’s innocence? How was Andie murdered? What happened between Sal and Andie? And more importantly, did Pip solve the case?
The story goes about beautifully when it comes to adding more and more suspense and anxiety behind those questions until the very end, where the truth is revealed and every hole is closed. Specifically, Holly Jackson is able to create many plot twists throughout the story that keep the reader on the edge of their seat and turning the pages due to the suspense and anxiety it sends into the atmosphere.
“The suspense. The author makes the reader question almost every character. It turns out that several people have certain secrets that they don’t want to get out and not everything is as it seems.” Anna from Roses and Thorns Books comments.
The tense atmosphere and the suspense that the book creates adds to audience engagement, and also adds to the spectacular craft of the book. This atmosphere is only created through the tactful building of the characters, all of them having multiple layers and parts to them that come together, forming secrets and mysteries and things they are desperate to hide, which only makes the reader look at them closer, and analyze the information closer.
Holly Jackson is able to magnificently build up characters in a complex world and create a story that holds a plethora of emotions, not only making the book entertaining, but ultimately creating a good story that readers enjoy and that managed to take the young adult audience by storm.
“I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves mystery or thrillers with a little bit of romance too.” Rachel Reads said.
With a 4.33 on Goodreads, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is a phenomenal book with an entrancing story and a constant stream of emotion and mystery to keep readers hooked and enjoying the book. It has high reviews from a majority of the murder mystery audience, and is highly recommended to anyone looking for a good, new book to read.
