A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, uncovers the reopening of a missing persons case from five years prior by high school senior Pippa Amobi, and she did it better than the authorities ever could.

It was the disappearance of Fairview, Connecticut’s beloved Andie Bell, and whether it was truly her boyfriend Salil (Sal) Singh who committed the murder. The catch to the matter is that the day immediately after, he allegedly committed suicide in guilt of the crime he committed, so he hadn’t been able to defend himself and tell the whole story. Yet, when questioned by the police, Singh had been uncooperative by refusing to answer some of the questions asked.

Amobi is a student in high school who has other stresses such as academics, extracurriculars, and having enough time to hang out with friends and family, just as all regular high schoolers do, but the notorious case is one she was determined to solve. Knowing Singh only briefly when she was younger, but only having the best memories of him, it encouraged her to look into the case and prove Singh’s innocence.

With the help of these inquiries, Amobi, along with Singh’s brother Ravi, uncover what truly happened the night of Bell’s disappearance and come to find that nothing is what it seems. Every step closer to the truth, meant every step closer to danger.

Throughout the entirety of this thriller, one can only say “Wow!” both by how amazing of a detective Amobi is as well as her determination to put herself in danger to find out the truth. The book takes the most unexpected turns, taking readers’ emotions on a ride. The anticipation to not put a book down, is definitely prevalent with A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, as the feeling of “what will happen next?” is difficult to ignore. 

The relatability factor of the book is 10 out of 10. The scene where time came for Amobi to write a personal essay for her common application to Columbia University, yet she didn’t know how to answer it because she didn’t know who she truly was either, is a personal favorite. The main character always speaks her mind, Amobi’s sass and humor even in the harshest of situations lessens the reader’s impulsion to cry in the most intense situations. Every element of this story compliments each other so well. 

With the novel being 389 pages long A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder relays the message to question everything because nothing is what it seems. The tone shifts between playful and serious and always when need be.

A good girl’s guide to murder by Holly Jackson, a New York Times #1 bestseller, rates five out of five chapter books.