Contains NO spoilers
Holly Jackson’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is a young adult fiction murder mystery. I thought it would be perfect to read during the cold months, so I decided to pick it up.
At first I was very skeptical, since the story begins with the main character Pippa having decided to solve a murder that happened half a decade ago in her town. Of course, the first thought that came into my head was, “Yeah, right. That’s so realistic.” And, no, I haven’t changed my mind—the scenario was unrealistic from beginning to end. However, as I read along, I became more and more enchanted by the twisted plot and intricate details. Holly Jackson did a skillful job of keeping me on my toes by adding new suspects, removing others, and keeping the town’s secrets difficult to guess throughout the story.
Although I do wish that Pippa’s contact with the suspects was less easily achieved, as well as the danger she was in more pronounced, I have to remember that the book is young adult fiction–not adult fiction; the standards of these two genres are not interchangeable, and, thus, one should not be judged by those of the other.
So…yay or nay? It’s a definite yay for me. Happy reading!
