book review good girl bad blood

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Book Review

Good girl, bad blood.

Holly Jackson

Readability Age Range

14 to 17 years old
Delacorte Press
New York Times Bestseller

Year Published

Pippa Fitz-Amobi has decided to stop being a teen detective. Her first successful “case” was emotionally exhausting. She’s done with the stress and strange looks she gets from being that girl. But then Jamie Reynolds, brother of Pip’s good friend, Connor, goes missing. And the police refuse to do anything. Uggh! Looks like it’s up to Pip to dredge up more dark secrets in the small town of Fairview.

Plot Summary

Pip is done with being a detective.

She sorta stumbled into being one, via a school project, but it wasn’t an easy experience. Sure, piecing together clues and solving an old murder that took place years before in her little town of Fairview was exciting, scary and ultimately rewarding. It even earned Pip a bit of national attention when the news broke and her podcast about the case went viral. But the whole process was emotionally draining. It consumed her.

At this point, Pip feels exhausted in ways that you can’t just sleep away. And she simply wants to go back to living a normal teen life: you know, go to school, plan for the future, and maybe have a little time to cuddle with her “sorta” new boyfriend Ravi (brother of Sal, one of the murder victims in the first case).

But sometimes success has a way of haunting you.

As soon as Pip publicly announces that she’s wrapping up her podcast and tossing aside her detecting ways, her best friend Connor begs her to help with another problem. Connor’s brother Jamie has gone missing. The police refuse to get involved because Jamie’s an adult, at 24. But there are suspicious circumstances in the mix: Jamie’s suddenly odd behaviors and bouts of depression; his strange internet searches; a mysterious online beauty; missing money.

With even the slightest scratch of the surface, Pip can see that too many things in this situation don’t add up. And as the hours tick by, it does appear that Jamie’s life may be in danger. Can Pip just stand by, or should she scratch a little deeper?

Pip may not feel like the “teen queen of true crime,” as she’s been dubbed by an online site. But when somebody’s life is on the line, she can’t just be an average teen either. There are still dark secrets in the little town of Fairview. And Pip, the detective , has her special ways of digging them up.

Christian Beliefs

Pip isn’t a person of faith and she generally shrugs off any religious ideas. In fact, the only nod in that direction here is when a funeral takes place at a local church and some people protest the proceedings from across the street because of the deceased person’s loose relationship to past crimes. (It’s not stated that the protestors are religious, but one of the protestor’s placards reads “Burn in Hell!”)

Other Belief Systems

Authority roles.

Pip’s parents are concerned when she gets involved in another “case.” They correct her when they think she’s straying out of line or overextending herself, but they’re always encouraging her to learn, grow and reach for more. Jamie’s mom is also trying to do everything she can to get people to find and help her missing son. Jamie’s father is more detached, but we learn that there had been strains in that relationship that both he and Jamie contributed to.

As the story unfolds, the harmful impact social media can have in people’s lives is repeatedly illustrated. Several young men are impacted negatively by the “charms” of a catfishing individual. People are influenced by fake online images and statements. And social media stirs up major conflicts and emotional reactions that eventually lead to people being injured, kidnapped and killed. (The book doesn’t state that social media is all bad—in fact, it’s used to help solve a crime—but it does suggest that the internet and social media can be used in negative and sometimes evil ways, depending on the people using it.)

Pip makes some angry destructive choices of her own at one point when she finds out about a miscue of justice in the courts. (She’s never held accountable.)

Profanity & Violence

Profanity feels a bit more pumped up here as compared to the first book in the series ( A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder ). There are multiple f- and s-words in the dialogue and a smattering of words such as “b–ch” and “d–n.” God’s name is misused. Underage teens and young adults drink beer and play drinking games at parties and the like. We hear of teens getting “super drunk.” We don’t see drug use, but one character Pip interviews is clearly understood to be a drug dealer. And we hear—in connection with a rapist’s trial—about people being drugged against their will and physically abused.

A threat of violence (from several different characters) hangs over Pip’s case, and a ticking-clock-suggestion that Jamie could statistically end up dead if Pip can’t put clues together quickly. We hear of a past criminal case involving a murderer who kidnapped and killed young children. This killer also forced his own young son to help in the kidnappings.

Someone is shot repeatedly and left to die in a burning building. And a traumatized Pip gives her all in a struggle to save/resuscitate the victim, with “blood overflowing the wounds,” during a long wait for medical assistance It’s an intense scene that definitely scars the teen protagonist. The author uses that scene and other situations to illustrate the wide-reaching impact that evil actions and choices can have.

Sexual Content

Pip and her boyfriend Ravi hold hands and kiss. They verbally express their love. Another twentysomething woman that Pip knows is involved with her drug-dealer boyfriend, and it’s implied that they are sexually active. A catfisher uses the doctored pictures of a beautiful local teen girl to draw young men in for an implied intimate relationship.

Discussion Topics

Get free discussion questions for other books at FocusOnTheFamily.com/discuss-books .

What do you think this story is saying about social media and the internet? Are the choices teens make in this story similar to some you’ve seen in your school or among your friends? What good or bad impact do you think they have? Does this story inspire you to become more or less active online?

Pip was obviously wounded by things that happened in this story. If you were similarly impacted, what could you do to start a healing process? What is this book saying about friendship and family?

What did you like most about this book?

Additional Comments

As with the first book in author Holly Jackson’s series, this is a well-written tale about a bright teen girl who uses her wits and intelligence to solve a mystery. It’s a highly anticipated sequel. However, the story is also marred by sometimes bloody and troubling content, as well as some harsh profanity. Parents of teen readers, and teens themselves, should take that into consideration before entering in.

You can request a review of a title you can’t find at [email protected] .

Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not necessarily their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.

Review by Bob Hoose

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GOOD GIRL, BAD BLOOD

From the good girl's guide to murder series , vol. 2.

by Holly Jackson ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 2, 2021

Psychologically stirring and truly modern.

In this suspenseful follow-up to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (2020), Pippa Fitz-Amobi breaks her promise to give up sleuthing when a friend goes missing.

Pip’s viral true-crime podcast detailing her successful investigation into the murder of Andie Bell has earned her both fans and detractors and cemented her reputation as a notable young detective. She remains close to Ravi Singh, whose older brother was under suspicion in that case. When her friend Connor Reynolds begs for her help because his older brother, Jamie, has disappeared, she declines to investigate but offers to speak to the police about it. College dropout Jamie, 24, has a history of leaving home without notice, so the police write off his case, compelling Pippa to take matters into her own hands despite her promise to her parents that she would be more careful. From his strange internet search history to his private conversations with a catfish, the truth behind Jamie’s disappearance is darker than anyone expected. Pip is haunted by the repercussions of her first case—including the ongoing trial of a serial rapist—and undergoes an identity crisis that challenges her beliefs about what makes a person good. Podcast transcripts, Instagram messages, and news articles with time stamps marking the growing length of Jamie’s absence piece together a thrilling puzzle that will keep readers asking questions even after the story’s end. Most main characters are White.

Pub Date: March 2, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-984896-40-7

Page Count: 416

Publisher: Delacorte

Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT MYSTERY & THRILLER

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A GOOD GIRL'S GUIDE TO MURDER

From the good girl's guide to murder series , vol. 1.

by Holly Jackson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 4, 2020

A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.

Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.

Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.

Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0

Page Count: 400

Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT MYSTERY & THRILLER | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES

THE CHANGING MAN

by Tomi Oyemakinde ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 2023

A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.

After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.

Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.

Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023

ISBN: 9781250868138

Page Count: 384

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT MYSTERY & THRILLER | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT PARANORMAL & SUPERNATURAL

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Book Review: Good Girl, Bad Blood

Pip Fitz-Amobi claims she is done. She is not a detective anymore. Pip is a high school student with a boyfriend and a podcast. The podcast just happens to be about the murder (technically, two murders) she solved last year. She’s finished. Done. Her sleuthing days are behind her.

That is until the older brother of one of her best friends goes missing. The police aren’t treating the disappearance of Jamie Reynolds as an urgent missing person’s case. He’s twenty-four years old and has a history of disappearing without contact for a few days. Despite Jamie’s recent moody behavior, his mother Joanna and younger brother Connor fear something awful has happened to him. Pip reluctantly begins investigating Jamie’s disappearance because she feels it is her duty to do so, despite the objections of her parents.

“It isn’t my job, but it feels like my responsibility,” she said cutting her mom off. “I know you’ll both have a thousand arguments why that’s not true, but I’m telling you the way it feels. It is my responsibility because I started something and I can’t now take it back. Whatever it did to me, to all of us, I still solved a double murder case last year. Now I have six hundred thousand subscribers who will listen to me and I’m in a position to use that, to help people. To help Jamie. That’s why I had no choice. I might not be the only one who can help, but I’m the only one here right now.”

In the first book of the series, “ A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder ,” Pip’s project served as a mechanism for her to not only document clues, but it was an effective tool that helped readers better decipher evidence in the story. In the sequel, “ Good Girl, Bad Blood ,” Pip utilizes her podcast to rehash clues. In addition to the podcast element, the story uses newspaper clippings, real photographs, sketches, transcripts of recorded interviews and text messages to help bring elements of realism to this fictional mystery.

Fans of the first novel will appreciate the storylines that carryover into the sequel, mainly the trial of Max Hastings. Pip believes that she and her boyfriend Ravi handed the police a significant amount of indisputable evidence proving that Max drugged and raped young women at the infamous calamity parties. Although Pip is gifted both intellectually and instinctively, she is naive about the justice system. Sometimes bad guys, especially those who have wealthy parents, go free.

“No,” she said through her hand. She would never be OK again. This was it; the worst thing that could have happened… the truth no longer mattered. Max Hastings, not guilty. Even though Pip had his voice on a recording, admitting to it all. Even though she knew he was guilty, beyond any doubt. But no, she and Nat da Silva and Becca Bell and those two women from college: they were the liars now. And a serial rapist had just walked free.

Truth and justice are prevalent themes in this book. Pip becomes enraged when Max Hastings is acquitted and she vandalizes his parents’ home while the family and their lawyer are out celebrating their legal victory. She also uploads the audio of Max Hastings admitting to drugging and raping Becca to her website and also shares it on social media. Pip knows he’s guilty and she needs everyone to know the truth: he is guilty.

Good and bad didn’t matter here. There were only winners. And Max only won if she let him. That was justice.

Although Pip gets some satisfaction when she delivers her own version of vigilante justice towards Max Hastings, the final outcome of another character seeking justice against someone who wronged his family devastates Pip. There is eerie foreshadowing when Pip is lamenting her frustration about Max to her neighbor Charlie.

“Oh, justice exists,” Charlie said, looking up at the rain. “Maybe not the kind that happens in police stations and courtrooms, but it does exist. And when you really think about it, those words—good and bad, right and wrong—they don’t really matter in the real world. Who gets to decide what they mean: those people who just got it wrong and let Max walk free? No…I think we all get to decide what good and bad and right and wrong mean to us…”

The author, Holly Jackson, excels in keeping the story moving and the reader guessing. The mysterious disappearance of Jamie Reynolds has our heroine Pip piecing together what could have possibly happened to him and interviewing some familiar characters, as well as, introducing the reader to new ones. Fans of “A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder” will love the sequel. “Good Girl, Bad Blood” is just as smart and captivating as the original.

I created a Bad Blood Raspberry Smash cocktail to pair with Good Girl, Bad Blood. The recipe can be found here . It’s a delicious and refreshing drink. Cheers!

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Teen Book Review: Good Girl, Bad Blood

Title: Good Girl, Bad Blood Author: Holly Jackson Publication date: April 30, 2020 Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller Recommended for: 13+ Rating: 4.5/5

Pip refuses to play detective anymore. With the encouragement of Ravi Singh, together they started a true-crime podcast about the homicide investigation they solved a year ago. As the podcast’s popularity grows, Pip claims that her detective days are over. However, she will have to break her promise when she realizes someone she knows has disappeared, coincidentally on the very same day Andie Bell and Sal Singh died. The police won’t investigate, but Pip will. Will Pip find them before it’s too late? Or will the enemy silence Pip, before she immerses herself into the case, unraveling more of the town’s enigmatic secrets?

Good Girl Bad Blood by Holly Jackson continues Pip’s saga as a young private detective who cannot seem to repel trouble. The plot gave me a thrilling roller coaster experience, goosebumps at the back of my neck, and left me on the edge of my chair the entire time. Pip’s character development was engrossing, especially the way she gets absorbed into the murder case and how it affected everyone involved. Holly Jackson is the champion of incorporating unexpected plots, suspense, enigmas, and the unforeseen wave of emotions in her novels! I would rate this a 4.5/5 stars and recommend it to ages 13 plus. This book won the YA Book Prize in 2021.

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Good Girl, Bad Blood (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder #2) by Holly Jackson | Review

Posted April 26, 2021 by Cristina (Girl in the Pages) in Books , Reviews / 0 Comments

Pip is not a detective anymore. With the help of Ravi Singh, she released a true-crime podcast about the murder case they solved together last year. The podcast has gone viral, yet Pip insists her investigating days are behind her. But she will have to break that promise when someone she knows goes missing. Jamie Reynolds has disappeared, on the very same night the town hosted a memorial for the sixth-year anniversary of the deaths of Andie Bell and Sal Singh. The police won't do anything about it. And if they won't look for Jamie then Pip will, uncovering more of her town's dark secrets along the way... and this time everyone is listening. But will she find him before it's too late?

I absolutely adored A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder . It was a YA thriller that fully leaned into the popularity of the true crime genre but didn’t sacrifice character building or writing quality for the sake of a shocking plot. The pacing was phenomenal, the mystery was brilliant, and I was honestly a little wary when I found out it was going to be a whole series because why mess with perfection? However, I can safely say that Good Girl, Bad Blood surprised me in a wonderful way and that Holly Jackson’s writing seems to be just improving with time.

Good Girl, Bad Blood picks up not too long after the first book, with the town coming to terms with the truth about Sal and Andie’s murder, thanks to Pip’s investigation work. She’s definitely seen as a local hero by most (and a meddling teen by some) and has translated the events of the previous book into a podcast with the same name. However, underneath the praise and admiration Pip receives from many for cracking the cold case, Pip is spiraling. Hard. She is having trouble coping with the trauma she endured during the investigation. Though she’s not confided in anyone, her own relentless behavior in solving the case deeply scared her, and she’s promised herself that she is D-O-N-E with crime solving.

Of course, Pip is asked to break her ban on solving crime when the older brother of one of her classmates goes missing, and is pressured into reporting on the disappearance on her podcast. Of course, this leads Pip down an inevitable (and dangerous) path of investigation and obsession. Though the mystery itself is compelling, what I found even more fascinating was the author’s exploration of the deterioration of Pip’s mental health the closer she got to the truth. It takes an excruciating toll on her, a toll almost no one notices or sees (that last paragraph of the book is truly, truly one of the most haunting I’ve read). I really applaud the author for taking this approach because it’s not one I’ve seen before- usually in these YA novels where teens solve mysteries/save the world/etc it seems that all’s well that ends well, and the ramifications that the protagonist would likely and realistically confront from their experiences is non-existent.

In terms of the mystery itself, the novel does a good job at introducing a new mystery but still tying in elements from the first book (such as returning suspects, familiar locations that were tied to Andie’s disappearance, etc). Parallelling the new mystery is also Pip and Ravi reporting on the trial of Max, a character who was largely complicit in the previous book’s happenings and who’s presence in town is still deeply unsettling to Pip. I appreciate that the fallout from the mystery being solved in the last book is still ongoing in the community, and the emotional toll of that is still weighing on Pip, adding to the anxiety of the new case- she doesn’t just cleanly wash her hands of it and move onto the next, like a modern day Nancy Drew.

Overall: Good Girl, Bad Blood takes the fantastic mystery/thriller elements of the first book but sets a darker, more realistic tone in exploring the ramifications on both the protagonist and the community of the events of book one. It has a grit to it that you don’t often find in YA thrillers and I was stunned by the ending (and not from a plot point, but from a character development standpoint). If you’re someone who even remotely enjoys thrillers I cannot recommend this series enough.

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By Holly Jackson
4 Star Books

Good Girl, Bad Blood Book Review: Detective Pip is Back on Uncovering the Town's Murder Mystery

Good Girl, Bad Blood is a mystery thriller fiction novel written by Holly Jackson and published in 2020. It is a sequel to her famous young adult crime fiction novel, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder.

It follows Pip's journey as she decides to stop playing detective and put an end to her successful crime podcast. However, when her friend's brother, Jamie Reynolds, goes missing, she finds herself in a predicament to take action since the police refuse to find Jamie because he's an adult. As teen detective Pip gets back to her game, she begins to uncover the truth behind Jamie's disappearance and more of the town's secrets. And this time she's not alone; she's with the people following her podcast.

Read the full novel on GoodNovel app for free!

Holly Jackson is a British author who wrote A Good Girl's Guide to Murder Series from a native-born American's perspective. She is a famous young adult mystery writer who debuted with the said series' first book, which received great recognition. It is followed by the second book, Good Girl, Bad Blood, which is the subject of this review. Then came the As Good As Dead novel and the prequel novella, Kill Joy.

Apart from her AGGTM series, you can also read her first standalone novel, Five Survive, published last year. To know more about Holly and her work, you can look her up on her Instagram page, @hojay92.

This novel tells about crime, mystery, the power of the media, and the possible outcomes of delving into dark secrets. It specifically explores themes of personal trauma, the consequences of past actions, the dangers of online manipulation, and the blurred lines between justice and revenge.

Pip's utilization of social media and her true crime podcast allows her to tap into a vast network of potential sources and witnesses. She recognizes the power of social media to gather information and engage a large audience in her investigations. By leveraging her podcast's listenership, she aims to uncover crucial clues that could aid in finding Jamie.

The narrative underscores the potential of social media as a valuable tool for investigation and information gathering while also highlighting the risks, ethical dilemmas, and consequences that come with such widespread exposure and accessibility.

Pippa Fitz-Amobi

Pip, an 18-year-old high school senior in Fairview, Connecticut, gains internet fame through her successful podcast solving murders and aiding in the capture of a serial rapist. However, the aftermath of her investigations left her grappling with conflicting emotions and trauma.

One driving factor behind Pip's podcast is her desire to prove herself to others and be perceived as a "good girl," as evident in the name of her podcast. This yearning for social approval creates an internal conflict within Pip. While she has a strong inclination to uncover the truth and solve mysteries, she struggles with the ethical implications of exposing people's secrets in the process.

Throughout the story, Pip's character development involves shedding the need for social approval and persisting in her search for answers, even in the face of criticism and judgment.

Ravi is Pip's boyfriend and the younger brother of Sal Singh, who was involved in a murder case in the first book, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. Pip approached him intending to help prove his brother's innocence. Soon after that, they became good friends, and eventually more than that. Together, they found out who the real culprits were for the murder.

In the second book, Good Girl, Bad Blood, Ravi supports Pip during the trial against Max Hastings and later joins her in the search for Jamie Reynolds.

Jamie Reynolds

Jamie is the older brother of Connor, who's friends with Pip. He suddenly disappears on the night of the memorial service for Sal Singh and Andie Bell, forcing Pip to get back into investigating and face dangerous matters. It turns out that he's being lured by a catfish into killing someone.

Stanley Forbes

Stanley is a newspaper volunteer who wants to live a simple and quiet life despite being the son of a notorious serial killer in town. However, he becomes the object of revenge by the brother of one of his father's victims-a case that ties to Jamie's disappearance.

Charlie Green

Charlie is the brother of one of the victims of the tragic death at the hands of Stanley's father. Hiding behind the name Layla, he catfishes young men in the town and lures them into killing Stanley, just like what happened to Jamie.

Pip has decided to leave behind her true crime podcasting after the toll it took on her during her previous investigations. She attends a memorial service for two deceased students, Andie Bell and Sal Singh, and encounters Jamie Reynolds, the older brother of her friend Connor. When Jamie goes missing and the police refuse to take action, Pip feels compelled to step in and help find him.

With the assistance of her boyfriend Ravi, Pip begins investigating leads and enlists the community's help by asking for photos and videos from the night of the memorial. Through her investigation, she discovers that Jamie is being manipulated by a girl named Layla, who is actually an internet catfish targeting young men in the town.

As Pip digs deeper, she uncovers Layla's plan to use Jamie to kill Stanley Forbes, a newspaper volunteer who is the son of a notorious serial killer. Despite Stanley's attempts to reform and live a quiet life, he becomes the target of revenge from the brother of one of his father's victims. Masquerading as Layla, a neighbor named Charlie Green manipulates Pip to lead him to Stanley, resulting in Charlie killing him.

Pip is left questioning her own role in the events and the extent to which she would go to achieve justice.

Writing Style

The novel adopts a limited third-person perspective, focusing on the experiences and thoughts of Pip. This narrative choice allows readers to gain deep insight into Pip's thoughts, feelings, and observations as she delves into the investigation.

It also incorporates a range of visual and written materials to enhance the true-crime aspect of the story. These include transcriptions of witness interviews, missing posters, relevant maps, and Pip's own case notes. By including these additional elements, the novel creates a multi-dimensional experience for readers, immersing them in the investigation alongside Pip.

This line from this book has a huge impact on the readers, not just because of its emotional juice that highlights that specific scene and the characters that center it. But it also serves as a lesson and an eye-opener for the readers, who resonate with the same experience.

"I think we all get to decide what good and bad and right and wrong mean to us, not what we're told to accept. You did nothing wrong. Don't beat yourself up for other people's mistakes."

Another example is how the story teaches the readers to be careful about the people around us, especially those we meet online. This lesson can be depicted in this single line:

"Some people are pretty good at hiding who they are."

Final Thoughts

Good Girl, Bad Blood is a total page-turner and one of the best murder mystery novels you'll ever read! Holly amazingly keeps the readers guessing with the story's incredible chain of twists and turns that work perfectly with plot development. This novel also offers a great deal of well-crafted suspense that you'll get to witness as the storyline moves simultaneously at a careful yet very fast pace, making you excited and engaged at the edge of your seat.

Fans of mystery-thriller stories will absolutely love how the puzzle pieces fit together perfectly before their eyes as they read through the novel. Also, what's stunning about this piece is the brave and grounded take on the real issues and connections that balance out the novel's fictional elements. So, what's stopping you from checking out yet another Holly Jackson masterpiece? Add Good Girl, Bad Blood to your reading list, and don't hesitate to get on with it!

Q: What is the Good Girl, Bad Blood novel all about?

A: Good Girl, Bad Blood is about Pip Fitz-Amobi's journey to uncover the truth behind Jamie Reynolds's disappearance after vowing to stop playing detective.

Q: Is the novel Good Girl, Bad Blood a sequel?

A: Yes, Good Girl, Bad Blood is a sequel to the novel A Good Girl's Guide to Murder.

Q: Who is the author of the book Good Girl, Bad Blood?

A: Holly Jackson is a British author who wrote Good Girl, Bad Blood.

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Good Girl, Bad Blood

50 pages • 1 hour read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue and Chapters 1-9

Chapters 10-19

Chapters 20-30

Chapters 31-43

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Summary and Study Guide

Good Girl, Bad Blood (2021) is the second novel in the three-part A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series of young adult crime fiction. The first book in the series, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (2020), became a multimillion-copy New York Times bestseller. It was also author Holly Jackson’s first book. Jackson is British, but she writes the series from the perspective of a native-born American teenager living in Connecticut. As a result, British colloquial speech occasionally crops up in the dialogue.

The series finale is entitled As Good as Dead (2021), and Jackson has completed a standalone thriller, Five Survive (2022). A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder was being adapted as a six-part series for BBC television to air in 2023. This study guide and all its page citations are based on the Kindle edition of the book.

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The story is set in the small town of Fairview, Connecticut. All the action takes place during a two-month period in an unspecified contemporary year. It begins with the airing of a podcast episode on March 27, proceeds through a missing persons case that begins on April 24, and ends in the third week of May. Events are described from the third-person limited perspective of 18-year-old high school student Pippa Fitz-Amobi . In addition to the narrative built around Pip’s point of view , the novel also contains graphics and written material, such as transcriptions of witness interviews , Missing posters, maps related to the case, and Pip’s own case notes. All these materials help emphasize the true-crime nature of the investigation that Pip undertakes.

As the novel begins, Pip is preparing to upload the final episode of her true crime podcast entitled A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder . She reflects bitterly on the trauma she and her family endured as she investigated and solved a cold-case double murder several months earlier. Less than a month after uploading her podcast, Pip finds herself embroiled in a missing persons case when the older brother of a classmate disappears. While retracing the final steps of Jamie Reynolds on the night he vanished, Pip and her friends discover a catfish scheme that ties his disappearance to a decades-old serial killer story and the quest for vengeance by one of its survivors. As Pip unwittingly helps the catfish find his intended target, the novel explores the themes of The Use and Abuse of Social Media , Questions of Identity , and The Pursuit of Truth and Justice .

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Plot Summary

Pip Fitz-Amobi is still recovering from the effects of her cold-case murder investigation when the story begins. After nearly dying herself in the process, Pip vows never to publish another true crime podcast again. The personal toll was too high. Now that she’s helped put two murderers in jail and forced a serial rapist to stand trial, Pip is ready to join her community to mourn the deaths of the two original crime victims—a girl named Andie Bell and her boyfriend, Sal Singh. Pip herself is now dating Sal’s younger brother, Ravi.

While Pip attends the community’s outdoor memorial service for the two dead students, she bumps into 24-year-old Jamie Reynolds. He is her friend Connor’s older brother and seems anxious and distracted while everyone else is participating in the ceremony. A day later, Connor comes to Pip’s house to say that Jamie has gone missing and the police won’t do anything about it because he isn’t a minor. Pip is reluctant to get involved but finally realizes that she is the only person in a position to help. With Ravi’s assistance, she starts investigating leads to Jamie’s whereabouts. In addition to circulating a Missing poster, Pip uses social media to ask schoolmates and townsfolk to send her photos and videos taken on the evening of the memorial. She hopes to spot Jamie in some of these pictures.

Pip is eventually able to piece together Jamie’s movements that night. When he shows up at a high school house party, it becomes apparent that he is trailing a girl he calls Layla. Pip soon learns that Layla is an internet catfish who has been preying on young men in the community. She has used the photo of a real local girl to establish contact and seems to be targeting white males with brown hair who are 29-30 years old.

As Pip and her friends delve deeper into the case, it becomes apparent that Layla has set Jamie up to kill someone. The victim turns out to be newspaper volunteer Stanley Forbes . Stanley is the son of a notorious serial killer from 20 years earlier, and he helped his father lure children to their deaths. Because he was a minor when his father was convicted, Stanley’s records have been sealed, and his identity is hidden when he is finally released from juvenile detention at age 18.

Even though Stanley has been living a quiet life in Fairview and trying to atone for his past, the brother of his father’s last murder victim is seeking revenge. Masquerading as Layla, kindly neighbor Charlie Green uses Pip’s formidable detective skills to lead him directly to Stanley. Charlie kills Stanley, leaving Pip to ponder her role in the affair and how far she would go to achieve justice.

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By Holly Jackson

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

Holly Jackson

As Good As Dead

Five Survive

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MSL Book Review

Good girl, bad blood.

Pippa Fitz-Amobi is back with more mystery in the sequel to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. We join Pippa about 6 months after the end of GGGM. After the last case took over and threatened her life, she has sworn off investigating. But her friend Connor has begged her to help find his missing brother, Jamie. After the police do nothing, Pip has no choice but to dive in. This new mystery includes a lot of familiar characters and introduces us to a few new community members. During the investigation, Pip finds herself ruminating on what makes a person good or bad and how to figure out who you truly are. During this case, her audience starts to turn on her, claiming she’s faking the missing person to get sponsorships for her true crime podcast. Alas, it’s all too real and Jackson takes us to a surprising and dark ending. Recommended for all teen collections. Best for ages 14+.

Reviewed by Kara Reiman, Maine State Library

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Good Girl, Bad Blood By Holly Jackson Book Review

“I bet everyone dreads the day they get a knock at the door from Pip Fitz-Amboi,” Ravi whispered. (pg 336)

Author: Holly Jackson

Genre: Young Adult Mystery

Series: Good Girl’s Guide to Murder book 2

Click to buy Good Girl, Bad Blood

Click to buy A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

Click to read my A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder book review

Click to read other book reviews

Pip Fitz-Amobi is not a detective anymore.

With the help of Ravi Singh, she released a true-crime podcast about the murder case they solved together last year. The podcast has gone viral, yet Pip insists her investigating days are behind her.

But she will have to break that promise when someone she knows goes missing. Jamie Reynolds has disappeared but the police won’t do anything about it. And if they won’t look for Jamie then Pip will, uncovering more of her town’s dark secrets along the way& and this time EVERYONE is listening.

But will she find him before it’s too late?

🛑 SPOILERS CONTAINED BELOW FOR SURE 🛑

To all the Good Girls and Bad,

As an American, I would just like to say, I truly wanted to read this book SO BADLY that I ordered it from the Book Depository because Good Girl, Bad Blood (GGBB) was not out in America yet. And I waited practically a month and a half for GGBB to come to me, but it was well worth the wait because I LOVE Holly Jackson. I don’t read a lot of mystery thrillers, but I have read one, one , before reading A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder earlier this year, but after reading AGGGTM, I was sold. Holly Jackson had me as a fan for life—-has me as a fan for life. Truly my favorite mystery writer! ❣️

I will say I loved AGGGTM because it introduced me more to the genre, but it also introduced me to Holly Jackson as an author. I adore her writing style and the way she sets up the mystery so clearly that even the most-out-of-synch-with-mystery-person (like me) can understand the mystery. She truly makes it easy to follow along. The surprise factor was also there in the first book. A lot of people say that the second book in the sequel isn’t always the best, but let me tell you, Good Girl, Bad Blood was even better. I didn’t think it was even possible for it to be better. But it was. ❤️ I liked how the style and format was the same with a little bit more pizzazz with the photos, the podcast interviews, the file notes, and diagrams. I will say, one thing I missed from the last book that wasn’t in this one was the web diagrams or the suspect list that Pip would make. I loved reading those because it was clear-cut for me. But it was okay that it wasn’t in this book because, hey, it’s great to change it up a bit, so I respect that. I also loved how it had just the right amount of love, friendship, family drama, personal hardships, school/teenage things, and of course, mystery in it. Not one moment was dull. I also loved the way Holly Jackson expanded/continued what happened in the first book because I had a lot of questions after reading AGGGTM, and in that book review I wrote (linked above in the about section), so it was nice to have most of those questions answered. The one thing that I enjoyed most about reading the GGBB—the reason it truly attested to Holly Jackson’s artistry—-was that no matter how MUCH or HARD I tried to guess who took Jamie or what happened to him or who Layla was, I COULD NOT 😂. None of my guesses were right! It’s like with AGGGTM and how for the majority of the book, I thought it was Ravi 😂. I have no detective skill in my body.

Anyway, I could hype up Holly Jackson this whole blog post, but let’s get into the book.

When I read the synopsis, I really liked how Pip was starting a podcast. I mean, true crime podcasts are all the rage these days, so I liked how Holly Jackson was like, “Oh, let’s have Pippa do a podcast.” It was very on brand 👌🏼. And it was on brand too to have people reach out to to Pippa to do brand deals 😆. Let’s not forget the internet trolls because my gosh, they’re rude as heck. I couldn’t believe some people would send her death threats or threats at all. I’m sorry, what satisfaction do you get from threatening someone? I don’t know. But it was a cute moment when Ravi and Pip were thinking of podcasts titles and then Ravi was like:

“A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.” “Nooooo.” Pop shook her head. “That’s bad, way too try hard.” “What are you talking about? It’s perfect.” “Good girl?” She said dubiously. “I turn eighteen in two weeks; I won’t contribute to my own infantilization.” . . .”Yes,” he retorted. . . “Absolutely not.” (pg. 7)

And then the next page, the title says A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder 😂. We love a name drop!

Then there’s the one month time jump. One of the first questions I had from last time was: What was going to happen to Naomi and Cara now that their dad was in prison? Their grandparents now lived with them, which I thought was good for them. I think it was Cara who visited the dad still because he was their dad, but Naomi didn’t, which I understand. That’s such a difficult position to be in because Elliot was still their father and was he a killer? Not really. But did he do something “bad”? Yea. But I don’t think that made him a bad person. He still loved his daughters I bet. But that’s something they’re going to have to work through and work on and it’s hard. Truly. Pip was such a good friend though. I loved how she knew how hard this was for Cara and how everything kept her up at night. So to be there for Cara and help her sleep, Pip and her would call each other at night, turn on a show and watch it together on each other’s laptops at the same time. Pip would stay with her until Cara fell asleep because Pip knew that watching movies helped Cara fall asleep easier. I mean, that’s the prime example of what it means to be a friend. And I loved that ❣️.

The beginning also highlights everything that happened after the Andie Bell and Sal Singh case, which I really liked. People were kind of blaming Pip for stirring things up in town and tarnishing this “safe, clean” image Kilton had. It caused some people to move out, some people to move farther . It also made people respect Pip a bit more because she solved a double crime case that was closed. The police had a bit more tolerance for her. I still don’t really like Daniel Da Silva. He just seems off to me and it’s not just because he was on Pip’s suspect list—-he just gives me a bad vibe. And there’s also the fact Stanley Forbes apologized to her. One of the other questions I had with the last book: What’s with Stanley Forbes? And my gosh, if I went back to my book review and read that question, I think all my guesses would have been different throughout the book, but man! 😆 I knew it even then, there was something off with him. I’ll get into that later. But it felt weird how from the get-go Pip mentioned he issued a public apology to Pip and the Singhs. It was an act of good faith, but after the last book and how adamant he was that it was Sal who killed Andie and how hard a time he gave Pip, I wasn’t buying his whole “I’m a good guy who just harshly judged Pip and Ravi” person. You know? Something was up, but I brushed it off because gosh only knows there were so many other things going on in this book.

I wondered if there was a proper burial for Andie Bell, but I guess there wasn’t because it wasn’t mentioned. It was mentioned, however, that Andie’s parents moved and that Becca confessed to murdering her sister, so she was going to spend three years in prison. So that wrapped the Bell family in a big bow with where they were now. And Sal was having a proper burial, as he should have. I loved how a lot of people turned up for Sal because it’s such a contrast to how people thought him a murderer before then, but now they knew the truth and wanted to celebrate who he was as a son and a student. I loved the dad’s whole speech with how Sal liked to sing. The lantern moment gave me Tangled and P.S I Still Love You vibes. Before the lanterns though, Jamie Reynolds, Connor Reynolds older brother who was 24, bumped into Pip during the ceremony. His eyes were hurried and he looked distracted, and that right there, I was like, something’s up with him 😂. Something was wrong.

And it was because the next day, Connor went to Pip saying Jamie was missing. Jamie is known for running away, but he always comes back. However, Connor and his mom, Joanna, had a high hunch that this time was different and something was wrong based on how Connor had been acting recently. And if someone has a gut feeling, it’s usually right. So now there was a mystery. I LOVE a mystery.

Pippa loves a mystery. The thing was, she told herself she wasn’t going to solve another mystery—-she was going to hang up her mystery shoes or whatever shoes a person wears to solve murder cases. Given Pippa’s age, I understood where her parents were coming from, heck, if I knew my daughter was out there solving murder mysteries, I would be highly off-put. Especially what happened to her last time. But I felt her parents made her feel guilty about “damaging the family” or causing all this worry since the last case. They kept reminding her how they last Barney, their dog, because of it. They told her to keep Josh, her younger brother, out of it and to dispel any part of him that was interested in crime now. I thought it was cute he found what his sister did cool enough that he would take an interest. Not a lot of younger brothers think what their older sister does is cool. Pippa is cool if you ask me. The parents I think also engraved it into her brain that last time she had this crazy obsession with murder cases and it got people hurt. I mean, it’s a murder case, of course she would have a crazy obsession to solve it! 🤪 I have a crazy obsession to read it! Because if you don’t know the culprit, then it makes you want to keep going and that’s the obsession. Is it a bad obsession? No. Is it a safe obsession? No. So I got it.

Deep down, I knew Pippa wanted to take this case even if she initially said no to Connor. Because it was everyone else telling Pippa to let it go when she had a passion for it. Heck, she started a whole podcast for it and the podcast might have been a way for her to get closure on the case, but it was also for her to still have a connection to what she loved—solving mysteries.

But she promised herself for the sake of her parents, to not. In those initial moments, she went to the police station to ask them to make Jamie’s case a priority, but they didn’t. I liked how Holly Jackson included all the information about which cases get a priority because I truly never knew any of that. Apparently, police don’t put a priority on people older than 18 because at that point, a person is an “adult” and they can run away if they want to. But that made me think about how if a person older than 18 were missing, it doesn’t mean that person ran away because they are “responsible adults.” It seems unfair and wrong to just assume that if you are over 18 that you can take care of yourself if you go missing for more than 24 hours of your parents noticing. And I understand the police can’t handle all cases, but it’s truly sad what they deem a priority or not. In my eyes, all missing people should take priority, they’re missing. Maybe there should be a line of police work specifically for missing cases like this, maybe there is and I’m very unaware/unknowledgeable, but I don’t know the police world 😅, so please don’t judge me 😂. No matter how much Pippa tried to get the police to do anything, they wouldn’t budge because a high-risk case of an eight-year-old taken from her backyard was more important, and it is. But if someone is coming to you saying that they have a GUT feeling that something is wrong with someone they know is missing, you best bet trust that gut feeling because gut feelings are there for a reason 👏🏼. Honestly, people should have listened to Pippa more.

So Pippa took on the case herself. She wanted to help her friend, but we all know from the get-go that she wanted to do it in the first place.

I loved how Holly Jackson had the whole initial interview with Connor and the mom to get an understanding of who Jamie was and what happened the day of the funeral. It really set the stage in an interesting way. I got a sense that Jamie was a good kid who had insecurities with his weight and with feeling like he was a disappointment in his family because he was the eldest and lived at home and didn’t really know what he wanted to do with his life. I can’t blame him. It’s natural to feel that way. What made my heart hurt was the insecurity he felt in his weight and the fact his dad bought him a Fitbit for Christmas. That’s basically like telling a person you need to workout or be more active without actually saying the words out loud. It’s like an undercut jab or a hidden insult—something offensive like that. Jamie also had his heart broken by Nat Da Silva because Nat got a new boyfriend and crushed his dreams of ever being with her, which had to suck. He liked her for sure. A guy’s not just beat up about not getting the girl if it wasn’t truly real to him. In Connor’s interview, Connor talked about how the dad and Jamie had a row right before the funeral. When the dad told Jamie he was a “waste of space,” and Jamie was like, “I know,” I just wanted to reach through the pages and hug Jamie! 😫 You are NOT a waste of space and my gosh, HOW DARE the dad say that to his own son!? I don’t care how angry you are or how much tough love you have for your son, you don’t just straight up tell your son that he is a waste of FREAKING SPACE!!!! YOU DON’T. I could not. The fact that the dad wasn’t invested in the case or that he was distant and closed off to it, put up serious red flags for me.

So, in AGGGTM style, let’s do a suspect list (in no particular order):

1) Arthur Reynolds

He was on the list for me because, again, there was something that didn’t seem right with how he just brushed off Jamie’s disappearance. Did I think he would kill his own son? Gosh, NO . . . but you know sometimes people are just beyond malicious. So I couldn’t rule the idea out of my head. And I get it. Jamie ran away tons before, so he thought nothing of it. I think he thought he could just ignore it and Jamie would be back and he would be right and all would be right in the world with his male righteousness. But it wasn’t.

Then there was that argument when he called Jamie a waste of space and all those hidden insults about his weight or him not having his life together. But it still didn’t seem like a good enough reason to kill his son for that. But then there was that inconsistency with the times in what people said to Pippa. According to Pippa, Jamie would have made a trip back home the time Arthur would have been home that night and it wouldn’t have made sense if the dad didn’t notice or see Jamie walk through the front door when Arthur was watching TV in the living room that night. So someone was lying. And it could have been the dad.

But when there was that scare where they found a body, my heart dropped. PLUMMETED. I kept screaming no no no no no no no. It couldn’t be Jamie. And then Pippa went to Connor’s house and the mom and him were bawling their eyes out like they already knew. Arthur was on the phone with the police station trying to see if it really was Jamie. But it wasn’t. And I kid you not, this would have been the prime real life example of letting out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. IT WASN’T JAMIE!!!! 🙌🏼 I’m still curious, who was it then? 🤪 Third book, anyone? 😉

The dad’s reaction to it not being Jamie—-the way the dad broke down in sobs of relief—made me know in my heart it truly wasn’t the dad. Then Pippa does the interview with the dad and it made so much more sense to his actions. Because Arthur, like any typical male, probably grew up with a lot of tough love and so he translated that tough love to Jamie. Arthur didn’t know how to love Jamie except be hard on him and have all these high expectations and when he said that “Maybe I go about it the wrong way. I just don’t know how to help him.” And that really hit something in me. Because it’s a father’s natural instinct to protect his kid’s. But when it seems like the dad can’t protect his kids from something that can’t be controlled by external forces like a parent—–feelings, future, etc.—-sometimes the parents just get angry because they don’t know how to react or how to help. They feel helpless. So the dad reacted in anger to Jamie and his lack of success these last few years because he didn’t know how to help him and he didn’t express it in the right way.

There’s also the fact Jamie went to the dad to borrow 900 pounds, which was asking way too much of the dad. Especially since Jamie was a grown man living at home for free and couldn’t give the dad a reason for why he needed that much money, probably seemed like a lot to the dad. I get it. It made my heart hurt that the dad felt like he could have prevented Jamie going missing if he just lent him the money in the first place—he felt like it was his fault that he didn’t help his son when he truly needed it. It also saddened me how the dad regretted having an argument with his son as the last time he saw him and that he didn’t tell Jamie that he loved him. It goes back to that sentiment, never let the last words be in anger, but in love . . . because you never know when.

The thing I liked about the dad was how even if he thought Jamie was coming back and that this was another “running away episode for Jamie,” after a while the dad went on his own search for his son to talk to him. That made my heart swell because at least the dad wanted to make things right in his own way because he thought he pushed Jamie too hard/too far.

I genuinely think that people love their loved ones but sometimes they show it in different ways. They mean well. This was that. And Arthur wasn’t the killer.

I’ll talk more about my list of suspects as the review continues, but let’s go back to when they were first piecing things together. The biggest insight to help solve the case was Jamie’s house.

They naturally had to check his room first. It was a mess, more than just any mess for a guy. There was that note with the words Hillary F. Weiseman left 11, which made absolutely no sense because Hillary Weiseman passed away. Later in the book, Pippa posts on the podcast the clue about the note and a person in the comments had the idea that maybe the note is a location like a meet up place. So Pippa and Ravi went to Hillary’s grave where they saw how secluded it was and away from prying eyes. And while there, they see Stanley who was going to meet with someone from the office for a newspaper article. I thought nothing off it because Stanley seemed to have a pretty dull job doing menial interviews. I mean, when Pippa went to him to put the article up about Jamie missing, he was like:

“So, will you help? Can you print that notice tomorrow?” Stanley looked up for a moment, eyes spooling he considered it. “Suppose I can move the article about the potholes until next week.” (pg. 99)

You know for a place that had a double murder cased resolved, you would think they would have more intercity news to talk about than potholes 😂.

Then there was the laptop. To me, the laptop seemed like the most promising. I mean, a person’s laptop is basically a bigger version of a person’s phone and we all know we have private things on our devices. I mean, my search history is probably telling. And right now . . . it’s saying I shop online too much 😂. But of course, like all smart people, Jamie had a password. Freaking password on his laptop. They couldn’t crack it until Joanna called Pip back one day, telling her about the missing hoodie from Jamie’s closet. This went along with the interview with the bookstore workers—Harry, Sophie, and Mike—-who two of them said they saw Jamie coming up the street wearing what he wore to the funeral, which was a burgundy shirt, faded jeans, and white trainers. But when coming out of the bar later that night, the other two people from the bookstore said they saw Jamie in a hood. So either someone wasn’t remembering correctly or someone was lying. But to me, it meant Jamie went home that night to do an outfit change and grab the missing kitchen knife. Another clue they found? The missing yellow kitchen knife. That screams BAD NEWS. A knife missing? For defense? For intention? I was scared for Jamie and what he did or what he was going through. He really sounded like a good person, so I don’t know why he would need a knife or want to use it. Because gosh knows he didn’t bring the biggest kitchen knife to a darn funeral. That SCREAMS MORBID! They found the knife later on near the farm house where Andie Bell was kept, which begged all the questions of why the knife was there and why Jamie would need it. Thank goodness it wasn’t a bloody knife because gosh knows that’s never good. I’m not sure Joanna would like her knife back to cook. Heck, she should get a new knife set 😂.

But back to the laptop, Joanna was crying about how much it seemed like she didn’t know her son anymore and she didn’t know if she would ever hear him call her Jomumma again. Get it? Because her name was Joanna and she was his mum. I mean, Jomumma sounds like Yo Mama and I couldn’t stop laughing 😂. They tried all the passwords, except this word, and even then it didn’t work. But a variation of it did: J0Mumma66. 1966 for the year Joanna was born. But my gosh, I give Pip a lot of credit for even getting the variation right. There’s what? A gazillion ways she could have typed that, but she got it—capital, numbers, order and all. That’s impressive.I could not 😂. What they found on the laptop was interesting. The saddest thing Pip found was a search for controlling fathers 😢. That’s soooo sad. I think we all Googled that one niggling suspicion we have about the people in our life, if they’re controlling, toxic, how to let go of toxic friendships or relationships, or things like that and this was Jamie’s sad Google search or whatever search engine he used. It made my heart clench knowing he felt his father was so controlling that he felt like he needed to turn to the internet to understand that. Because isn’t that why we search those kinds of things? To understand. Anyway, he also searched how to fight. Which sounds like something I would need to search if I ever wanted to fight because gosh knows I don’t 😂, so I wouldn’t know how. It really highlighted how innocent Jamie seemed. He didn’t want to fight, but for some reason he had to fight, so he searched for how. Why? And then there was the search about brain cancer, which seemed odd. Like did Jamie go to the doctors and hid this from his family? Did he need money for secret treatment? But that didn’t explain the old lady note or why he would do an outfit change to a hoodie and grab a knife. But then again, you know the dad was verbally abusive about Jamie’s weight and his failures, so it did cross my mind that Jamie might have self-harmed himself because he felt like a “waste of space.” That was the most disheartening thought—-if Jamie went missing because he took his own life because he felt like he was worthless. That would hurt more. It would also hurt if he was diagnosed with something and he needed help but didn’t know how to tell his family. I didn’t think he ran away for a health reason at all, but there are so many things I thought about because that’s what mysteries do—keeps you guessing.

Then there was the search about how to make fast money, which goes with every story of Jamie going to people to borrow money, or in other cases steal to make money. Which made me wonder why he needed that much money in the first place? And here’s the thing, my overactive mind knows that drugs cost a lot of money. Kilton is known for selling drugs behind the scenes. Was Jamie doing drugs and that’s why he was so anxious/changed? Was he buying drugs and he got into debt and couldn’t pay someone back and that person threatened him so that’s why Jamie was desperate enough to steal to ask for money, heck, desperate enough to kill to save his own face, but somehow it backfired? I don’t know. But I thought his actions could be linked with drugs.

It was highly out of character for Jamie to steal. He worked at the company Pippa’s mom worked at—-even helped him get the job—-but then one day, the mom caught him trying to steal the company credit card. If it was anyone else who found him, GOSH KNOWS, his butt would be in jail because he tried to steal company property, a credit card no less. Jamie said it was life or death, which was very mysterious. What was life or death? Obviously he owed money and didn’t have it? But WHY? That was the big question.

Another thing Pip figured out was the Fitbit 😂. This was probably more funny than it actually was, but I have a Fitbit, so this was just soooo funny to me! Truly! Because I knew once Pippa said the word Fitbit, I was like, “OOOOH, she’s smart, she’s smart!” 👌🏼 Fitbit’s can track steps, so they can see where Jamie went. And they tracked heartbeat as the book says and they could see whether or not Jamie was alive. You gotta love modern technology! The mom came back with the Fitbit box and they got into his account where they tracked his steps and time. But after 12:30 am, his heart rate flatlined. That had to just make the Connor and Joanna’s heart drop to see that—all the possibilities in their head. But it could have flatlined for any reason. But before that, Jamie’s heart rate fluctuated a lot—mostly in a high rage, like he was scared. I like the flight or fight detail Holly Jackson added, it truly built the mysteriousness around the Fitbit. From this, they were able to create a map of the area Jamie would have been, hence where they found the knife.

Jamie was also spotted at a teenage calamity party after the funeral when he said he was going to be at Nat Da Silva’s house. But he never went. He was at a party because he was supposedly following someone. I would just like to say, everyone who sent Pip pictures and videos of the party were very helpful. My goodness knows that teens couldn’t care less to be involved with things, but I loved how they tried to help Pippa in any way they could. And I liked how they actually came forward to talk to her about these things—-that they had that much respect and trust in her. At the party, George saw Jamie just standing by a wall, staring out at people. I mean, that screams Joe Goldberg 😂. Jamie, you are an older man at a teenage party, STARING. THAT’S CREEPY! Go home! When he was at the party, it was also said how he walked around the front of the house all mad and talking about some kid, which I was confused about? Was he talking about the eight-year-old abducted from her backyard? Was he saving a kid? I don’t know.

By looking at various videos, house diagrams, and witness stories, Pip was able to put it together. I truly admire the way Pip could create a timeline of things—-the detail 👌🏼. Apparently, Jamie was probably shocked at seeing Stella, a student who looked like this girl Layla, who Jamie mistaken her for. Stella has a big following, so anyone could have taken her pictures, edited them, and used them.

Pip guessed Jamie was catfished though a dating app and the photos used were of Stella, but edited. It made sense, but I thought Pip was very clever for putting all that together. It made sense. Jamie was sad after Nat broke his heart and then he was happy again because he was on Tinder and found this cute girl that was his age. So he held onto her because it made him happy. He was shocked when he saw Stella at the funeral because she looked different, but the same and so he followed her to the party to look for her. When he saw Stella and Jamie asked her if she was Layla, that’s why she was confused and Jamie was smitten. I didn’t fully believe the catfish until later on because it seemed kind of an out there theory.

I only believed it when Connor, Ravi, and Pippa were scrolling on Tinder and found her and decided to message her to get information. And my goodness, Pippa truly has never been on a dating app in her life and it showed 😂. “Hey, how are you?” You don’t say “Hey, how are you?” on a dating app like that! You write something flirty. When Layla wrote back, MY HEART POUNDED, RACED. IT WAS SOOOOOOOO CREEEEPEPPPPPPY! I GOT CHILLS!

Layla knew who Pip was and then Layla had the audacity to send a : ) and a “You’re getting closer.” Like WHAT?! I would have been spooked out. Triggered. ABORT ABORT ABORT MISSION. 😆 This is why I don’t go on dating apps: there’s creep-os. And this is why you should set your account to private: creep-os can take your photo and make it theirs. Be safe online everyone.

That was creepy as heck to get that. But now I believed the whole Layla theory so Layla was number one on the suspect list. But who was Layla? Was it a girl? What did she want?

The thing about Layla that didn’t sit right with me, besides her being a catfish, was that she had a type. She liked them older men who were 30 and were Caucasian with brown hair. I was like, “Oh, is Layla looking for a Sugar Daddy? 😂 Because she hit on Adam Clark, the new history teacher, but once she found out he was a teacher, I thought Layla was like, “Oh, not with that salary.” 😂 And then with Luke Eaton, she probably was like, “Ooooh, he deals drugs, that’s a deal breaker.”

Luke Eaton, Nat’s boyfriend. Pip interviewed Nat at her boyfriend’s house in the beginning. Nat didn’t like Pippa and didn’t really care to share anything, but there was that moment when Nat and her boyfriend looked at each other and Pippa saw something funny in their communication, and I was like something’s up. Then there was the whole Luke went to sell drugs at the barn in his white BMW and then he sped away, scared to be caught by Pip and her stakeout crew. Then it was discovered Luke was kind of sexting/flirting with this Layla girl, honestly these men are so privy to this Layla chick, and they met up. So Luke knew who Layla was. When confronting Luke, he told her how Jamie was Layla, which didn’t make sense because if Jamie was flirting with Layla, why would he flirt with himself? Then I thought, was Layla two different people? But they weren’t. Luke just wanted the 900 pounds Jamie owed him because Jamie went to Luke as a last resort of money. So it now begged the question why was Jamie at the barn that day when Luke was supposed to meet Layla?

The one thing that never got answers about Layla, I noticed, was how Daniel Da Silva knew how Layla was. Did he flirt with her too? What a loser 😂. I’m joking, but he seemed so worked up about it when Pip mentioned her name to him.

So here’s who I thought was Layla:

1. Becca Bell

I mean, it could have been her. She could have been running things through prison to mess with everyone. And she kind of would have “bad blood” with Pippa. She also wasn’t around that much in the book, so it would have been a surprise if it was her.

2. Max Hastings

This PRICK. THIS GARBAGE BAG OF A PERSON. I truly wouldn’t have put it past him to be Layla as some sick joke 😡. Did you picture Bryce from 13 Reasons Why as Max? I did, but with blonde hair. I don’t know, it just gave me that feeling with how Bryce got away with the SICK actions he did. And I knew he was going to get away with everything no matter if he plain outright, clear-as-day admitted he raped lots of women and drugged them. He wasn’t going to get away with it because we live in a sick society that enables men to act in the notion of “boys will be boys.” FREAK NO! I throw garbage at that saying. Boys will only be boys if we let them. We can’t let them get away with something they obviously, and admittedly did. My gosh, I WAS ANGRY. I AM ANGRY. It’s not fair that sick, twisted rapists, because that is what they are, go free. No, they aren’t innocent by any means, they didn’t “take advantage of a person,” or all those innocent euphemisms, it’s simple and clear—-he drugged and raped her. And he said it.

I don’t get it. What more do people need to hear to know that’s wrong and to lock him up for his actions?

So when Pippa kept saying, oh Max will get his justice and be locked up and all that nonsense, I was like, Pippa, don’t get ahead of yourself. Because I knew he wasn’t.

My gosh, when Pippa raged, PIPPA RAGED! Remind me to not make her mad! 😂 But man, her rage was a living entity and I could feel it. She had a beyond bad day. First the Jamie scare, then trying to talk to Nat again and getting nowhere, and then Max was “innocent.” TO HECK HE WAS! I wasn’t surprised she dumped a can of coke over Tom’s head because he lied to her for clout.

What I liked most about this part was how Pip went back to be with Nat because she didn’t want her to handle this alone. But Nat didn’t know until Pip told her and when she did, the way Nat broke down in sobs, made me break down in sobs. And the way Pip held her and let her cry, was so beautiful. The way Pip still felt Nat’s sobs and heard her crying highlighted how empathic Pip was.

I loved the moment when Pip took the paint and the hammer and she busted Max’s car and said she was going to get him. Kind of morbid if you ask me, but man, I understood her rage. She knew Max did all these immoral actions and hurt so many women. She had the evidence and he wasn’t guilty. It seemed unfair. So she released the evidence on her podcast so the world knew the truth. But her taking her anger out on Max’s car was kind of spur-of-the-moment and maybe done in hot-headed-anger, but it was also for all those Max raped and drugged. He deserved so much more than a broken car. And can we all talk about the moment that she saw Max on the street after a while and he was hanging with his friends, smiling. Someone better wipe that smile off his face. But he kept smiling because he knew he won. People like him always did.

And it sickens me. ☹️

In the great words of Pippa Fitz-Amboi: It makes me sick.

That night, I liked the conversation she had with her new neighbor Charlie. Charlie, Charlie, Charlie. MY GOSH, Charlie. I legit wrote in my notes during this scene, “I like Charlie—what a nice neighbor.”

BOY WAS I DUMB! 😂

But I’ll get into that later.

But she had a nice conversation with him about justice.

“You know for what it’s worth, the Justice system is supposed to be the purveyor of right and wrong, good and bad. But sometimes, I think it gets it wrong almost as much as it gets it right. I’ve had to learn that too, and it’s hard to accept. What do you do when the things that are supposed to protect you, fail you like that?” (pg. 319)

Charlie had a good point. The justice system is messed up in a lot of ways because it’s supposed to create justice for the wrongdoings, but it doesn’t always do that. Like it knows that a murder is wrong and it brings justice for that, but somehow if a person rapes someone else, all of a sudden it’s this big debate over if the accusation of rape was real or if a person was “asking for it.” The justice system fails. It’s kind of like the police system too. It’s supposed to protect you, but sometimes it only harms.

That’s why it’s so important to be aware of what’s going on in the system to be the change—voice the change—-in the justice system, prison industrial complex system, the police system, all systems.

But what really made me say Charlie was a nice neighbor was how he said he believed in Pippa. As someone who doesn’t have people who believe in my dreams, hearing someone say they do believe in you means the absolute world. It makes you feel invincible. It makes you feel seen. Charlie saw her. And he knew that she loved mysteries and that she shouldn’t feel guilty for it because this was her—-the madness, the obsession, doing what was right.

So I really enjoyed this moment between them.

I also enjoyed the moment between Pip and Nat. Nat finally crossed a bridge with Pip and I felt it was because Pip was there for her when she was most vulnerable and sad. I also thought Nat finally let herself like Pip because of the anger Pip had and what she did to Max’s car. To Nat it showed that Pip understood her and that she wasn’t just some annoying teen to blame. I liked how Nat opened up about how she tried so hard to displace all her anger for Andie on Pip. But Pip wasn’t her enemy. I’m glad she saw it as that. She helped Pip with more information that led her to Luke. And I’m happy that Nat was going to dump his butt because he’s a two-timing cheater and she deserved better.

Luke told them about how Jamie was there at the barn instead of Layla and how Jamie said something like child broomstick at him and ran off 😂. Sounds pretty weird if you ask me. When searching child broomstick or whatever sounded like that, it came up with Child Brunswick, which fit the child they were talking about early on. Child Brunswick is, duh, the child of a serial killer named Scott Brunswick, where he would use his child as bait to lure people out to hurt them. Scott went to jail and got beat up and the child went into a protection program where they changed his looks and his names over the course of the year. Apparently, he was in Kilton now according to a source and that’s who Layla was looking for.

Child could be Daniel Da Silva, Luke Eaton, Adam Clark, Jamie (not anymore because Jamie lied about his age to Layla), or Stanley Forbes.

It was Stanley. And it made kind of a lot of sense given the last book when I asked what’s up with Stanley 😂. He just didn’t seem right. Or he seemed mysterious. I say that because of the moment when Stanley handed Howie Bowers money because Howie and Stanley were friends and Howie knew his real identity and to keep Howie quiet, Stanley paid him off. But now Howie was in jail and he couldn’t care less who knew. But now that whole scene made sense now excuse it was the one thing that I kept thinking about after reading AGGGTM.

Pip baited Stanley with a text from “Layla” to meet her at the barn while Connor and Ravi went to his house to scope things out. Given last time, I didn’t think it was smart for Pip to go by herself. And I remember the promise she made to her parents in the beginning when she told them about another mystery. She said she would tell them if things got dangerous. Oh, honey, they were dangerous now. She should have told her parents.

Stanley showed up and he thought she was Layla but she wasn’t. She told him he knew who he really was and why he went into hiding and why he kept Jamie locked in his bathroom now. Jamie, thank GOSH, was alive! I loved that for him! 🤪

But my gosh, when Charlie came out of the blue with a bag of trash and asked for Pip’s phone I was like, it’s OVER. NOOOOO.

I could not. I said, I SAID, this guy was nice. I told you I was DUMB 😂.

Because no way in HECK, would he just have randomly driven to a farmhouse in the middle of the night with a bag of trash (which reminds me how when they had the justice conversation earlier, he also had a bag, no, a sack of trash, and how that was already creepy) and ask for her phone. I mean, what were you doing there Charlie and how did you know they were there?

This creep-o. It made so much sense because he egged her on to solve this mystery and HELPED her so he could figure out who Child was. My gosh, what a user! And he was new to town, so of course he could play the innocent neighbor act. And gosh knows no one knew a lot about him either way. And how he tested Jamie to steal a watch from their house just so he could test Jamie’s allegiance to Layla, what a savage! I mean, earlier in the case, Charlie called Pip over because he had footage of Jamie stealing his wife, Flora’s watch, from their house, the same watch that was in Jamie’s nightstand. I wondered how Layla even knew or wanted Flora’s specific watch. That seemed wrong to me. Like why that watch? How did Layla know about that watch and where it would be in the first place? I really should have asked myself those questions sooner 😅.

Because it was Charlie and Flora this whole time. Charlie who sent these texts and Flora’s voice they used.

“Some people are pretty good at hiding who they really are.” (pg. 195)

Looking back on what Charlie said to Pip at that moment with the footage, made me shake my head at myself! If only I read that in the cryptic way it was 😂. This sucker was hiding who he really was the whole time!

And here’s the thing, I understand Charlie. His sister was one of the young girls that Child lured as a kid to his dad. Charlie was angry. He wanted justice. He felt it was wrong that they let Child go free when he was an accomplice to his dad. I get it. But it’s such a complicated situation to judge. Child was a kid, you can’t blame him for not knowing any better than to help his dad. Maybe he was scared that if he didn’t, the dad would kill him or that he wouldn’t have a dad. Maybe he didn’t even know the reason why he was doing what he was doing, but just that his dad wanted him to do it. I don’t know. But he was a child. Give him a break. I understand it too, he was a child, but he was old enough to be aware of his actions and what he was doing. He was abetting his dad in murder. It’s not right. But I do believe it when people say they have the power to change. Child wasn’t his dad and he didn’t want to be his dad. He was better.

When Jamie tried to kill him, he didn’t kill him back. Instead, he locked Jamie in his house because he was scared Jamie would try to kill him again and it’s not like he could go to the police about it because then they would know who he truly was. Stanley/Child fed Jamie, made sure he had blankets, heck, Jamie said he even tried to fit a mattress through the bathroom door to Jamie. A bad person, I don’t think, would try to do so. Because if he really was his dad, he would have killed Jamie already and be done with it. But he didn’t. That spoke volumes. Stanley/Child also talked to Jamie to understand why he did what he did and how he got there. I don’t think he would have given the time of day to let Jamie explain himself if he wanted to truly hurt him. Instead, Stanley/Child wanted to work with Jamie to help him figure out how Layla was before everything blew up and people knew his real identity.

But Charlie knew. He enlisted Jamie to help him, thus testing him with stealing the watch, borrowing all this money, and killing. Honestly, if I was Jamie, I wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to prove to a person I liked that I liked them. I would not kill for it. HECK, no. I don’t care if your name is Zac Efron or Harry Styles, it ain’t worth it. But it goes back to how sad Jamie was to put all his love and effort into this girl he didn’t even know just to have someone love him. You know?

And Charlie kept saying how he and Pip were similar. They are not similar, at all. Pippa’s anger at Max being a free rapist didn’t mean that she wanted to kill Max, she was angry at the systems that enabled and let Max free, but do I ever think Pippa would kill him for it? No. Because Pip is better than that and if she stooped to that level, she would be no better than Max. But I do think Charlie was trying to justify what he was doing and make Pip understand his actions, but I just don’t think it was right for Charlie to do what he was going to do. Because it made him no better than Scott or Child. He should have moved on and tried to live well, and live a better life for his sister, not harboring all this hurt and anger for years because that turned into malicious vengeance. Sure, Charlie had every right to be hurt and angry and I get it, he gets to be angry and hurt, but he shouldn’t hurt others for it.

When Pip pleaded for Charlie to put down the gun, my heart was crying with her. I could feel Charlie hesitate for a second—-he didn’t want to do it—-because he’s just a good person who something bad happened to and he was hurt by it and wanted to hurt the person who had a hand in it. He acted from a hurt place. I get it. I understood why he said he wasn’t sorry for shooting Stanley, but my gosh, when Stanley went down, my heart plummeted further.

The scene was highly well-written with the echoing of the sounds and the graphicness of the blood and Pippa trying to bring Stanley back to life. It felt soooo real. So real. Pip tried to keep him awake and talk to him and I loved how he revealed how his real name was Jack Brunswick and that his favorite version of himself was Stanley because Stanley was trying to be better.

He really was 😢.

The scene that had my breath taken away was how adamant Pippa was about giving Stanley CPR even though deep down she probably knew Stanley was gone. But she kept trying and each time, she would press harder and a rib would crack, and gosh, I kid you not CHILLS. But it also made me wonder, if Pippa ever thought that if she cracked a rib of his that it wasn’t helping him? 🤔 I give her so much respect for trying and.

Then freaking Charlie had to dramatically burn the farmhouse down, and only then did the cops show up. I swear, these cops need to be on their game because they are slacking. After that, Pippa was in a daze and everything seemed numb and distant from her. And I just wanted to hug Pip close and never let her go. She watched someone get shot, bleed out, and pass before her eyes. And she couldn’t save him. My gosh, that’s going to leave an imprint on her life for sure. I must say, the title of the book is fitting for the ending with all the blood. The book cover itself really gave me Taylor Swift, Bad Blood vibes.

When in the police office to change and sign forms to prove she didn’t do it, Pippa asked the police one question:

“And after, Pip asked a question of her own: “Did you find her?” “Find who?” “The eight-year-old abducted from her garden?” Hawkins nods. “Yesterday. She was found, her father was with her there. Domestic dispute.” And “Oh,” Is all Pip can say to that.” (pg. 399)

When she said that, I was like, she’s got them there 👏🏼. Because they should have listened to her and her concerns. All of the bloodshed could have been avoided (maybe), if they helped out and maybe Pip wouldn’t have been the one to go in too deep and be there when Stanley got shot. She was a teenager, she shouldn’t be seeing those kinds of things in real life. She should be studying for college or doing homework on a Friday night. Something besides watching a person who was trying to be better, be shot. No. But the cops focused on the little girl—-rightfully so—-and in the end it was only a domestic dispute, something they said was high-risk. And yes, it could have been worse than that and the cops were right to put their effort on the child first, but I really do believe there needs to be a change in the system, because all lives missing matters. And I understand there’s not enough resources and people to go around to solve all these cases, but I do believe that people can be trained for it and there can be job positions for a missing person’s field that people can fill. If Pippa, a teenager with her whole life ahead of her can do it, others can learn and help out so cases like the eight-year-old and Jamie could have been solved in tandem. It didn’t need to be like what happened.

I found it beyond heartbreaking how only eight people showed up for Stanley’s funeral, and most of them showed up as a courtesy for Pip. It made my heart hurt that Pip planned the whole thing because Stanley didn’t have any family or person really close to him who would do so. And I loved how she considered what Stanley would want from not being cremated, the name on his tombstone, and the saying on the tombstone.

You were better.

My heart really hurt.

Because I do think people can change. People are not their past and they are not their parents. And just because someone made a mistake back then, doesn’t mean that they will always make the same mistakes going forward if that person really has the drive and passion to change and get the help to change. Stanley wanted to be better and it showed in his actions and his compassion to Jamie and others. He could have raged against the world in anger after his father, but did he? No. He wanted to do better. He wanted to be better. And that’s the difference between someone like Stanley and Max, two people who messed up. One learned and changed, and one got away with a smirk on his face, probably going to do the same thing he always did. Max will probably ride high on his privilege, taking advantage of drugs and women because he won’t learn because he doesn’t believe what he did was wrong. He doesn’t want to change. He doesn’t want to be better. He’s oblivious to his privilege and abuses it. He’s worse than Stanley will ever be. And that’s the problem. The world’s so messed up sometimes and people are beyond complex that it’s not fair to judge anyone. It’s so complicated to dictate what is “good” or what is “bad” because it’s truly a socialized construction of what we think. Anyone can think Stanley or Max good or bad, but from my perceptive, it’s how the person lives that proves whether or not they are. Stanley was good. Max is not.

It’s not right.

Sometimes justice is not right.

What sucked even more was how people had the audacity to rage at Stanley’s funeral and call Pip and everyone out that they were mourning a killer. That was highly disrespectful! 😡In the words of Pip, “LEAVE HIM ALONE!” Stanley’s gone, just leave him alone and let him rest in peace and stop bringing up a past that he shouldn’t be fully held responsible for because he was a used kid!!! How DISRESPECTFUL were people to just show up and be rude like that!? I was sickened. Honestly, I would have raged alongside Pip because she had every right to be mad. She’s been mad and I think this book we really see Pippa RAGE because she’s been through so much more than any person should experience and she’s tired of all the injustice and blurred lines of good and bad and she’s tired of seeing innocent people die and bad people go on acting innocent. It’s messed up.

It’s anger-inducing.

I’m angry.

We’re all angry.

It’s angry.

Pippa is a changed person. You can feel it. I can feel it. She’s numb, she’s hurt, and she’s angry. She’s very distant because she’s processing everything she saw and heard. My goodness, her heart, I just want to hug her! She hears the crack of ribs, the gun shots in her head, she feels and sees the blood. She’s going through a lot of trauma right now and I’m interested to see how this will develop in the next book and how Pippa will heal? Will she go to a therapist? I hope so. Pip needs help 😢 and I want her to be okay.

Jamie’s okay. This whole book was about finding Jamie and we don’t see him that much in the fall out except at the party where they celebrate his return. I like how Nat seemed happy and how Jamie was happy to see her. I hope they become something. But I also liked how Jamie and Pip had that conversation where Pip asked him to promise something:

“All Stanley wanted was a quiet life, to learn to be better, to try do some good with it. And doesn’t get to do that anymore. But we’re still here, we’re alive.” She paused, meeting Jamie’s eyes. “Can you promise me something? Can you promise me you’ll live a good life? A full life, a happy one. Live will, and do it for him, because he can’t anymore.” (pg. 409)

It goes back to what Charlie Knowell (his real name) and Flora should have done instead of harboring all this vengeance. Because whoever said that living well is the best vengeance, was right. It shows others that you aren’t beneath them. Jamie had another chance at life, he was going to not give it up. He was going to be better and to try—-with Nat, his family, his career. And Pip was going to try too, and I really wonder what that will be like for her.

Ravi and Pip’s romance wasn’t the forefront plot of the story, but it had it’s good moments. I just love the way Ravi was always patient with Pip and gave her space when she was angry. And let’s applaud for a true man! 👏🏼 He left the argument in anger, but he left it with an “I love you.” ❣️ His mom raised him well 😂. I thought it was so sweet that he said that though. Then Pip went back to him and they said I love you to each other for the first time, and it was so sweet. Out of everyone in Pip’s life, Ravi knew her best and understood her. He supported her and he was there and I loved that. And I loved how he always checked in on her, where she was at mentally with things. Because sometimes you need people like that in your life.

At the end, Pip was snappish with Ravi again too, but Ravi knew she was going through a lot and when I say Ravi Singh is a gentleman he really is a gentle man because he was like “And I’m here, whenever you need me.” What a man! 👌🏼 So I’m curious to see where their relationship goes with Pip’s change in personality.

The ending scene, to me, wasn’t as satisfying as I hoped. Pip was up late at night searching where Charlie and Flora were and having the sound of the gun live in her heart. What does that even mean? Is Pip out for vengeance? Or is this part of the ongoing trauma she will battle in the future? Is she going to find Charlie and Flora? To be honest, I wouldn’t put it past Pip to successfully find them.

I don’t know.

There’s a lot up in the air with the ending.

So here are my questions:

1. Are we going to find Charlie and Flora in the next book?

Obviously this is the question of the hour. I think we will because Pip is an intelligent young woman and she can do anything she sets her mind too . . . the thing is, what state is Pip’s mind in?

2. Is Pippa going to let the anger consume her? Is Pippa going to heal? What about Pippa?

Pip is angered and we see it build and release itself all throughout the book. But what happened to Stanley could have been the last straw, the last push to drive Pip truly over the edge into a vengeful state. So is she going to fall down a path similar to Charlie to bring Justice for Stanley and all the people who were done wrong? Is this the gun waiting to go off? Is she a live wire?

Or is she going to heal by going to a therapist. What is going to happen with her and Ravi and how will her newfound anger affect their relationships? Her relationships with her friends? Her family? How will her schooling be affected by her path?

3. Are we going to take down Max Hastings in the next book?

This sucker needs to be brought down. There needs to be justice for his actions and I don’t think he’s going to get off that easy. Maybe there will be a reevaluation of his case now that the evidence of him admitting to his wrongdoing is out there for the public, so maybe the public will fight back with him being set free. But I do not believe for a second that he will stay out.

And this sicko needs to wipe the smile off his face before I wipe it from him 😂.

4. Nat and Jamie?

This isn’t so much a question, but a it’s-going-to-happen. I’m so happy for Nat though because she deserves love and to be with someone who cares for her.

5. Is there more to Harry, Marry, and Joe (the bookshop people) being related to Hillary F. Weiseman?

This seemed significant in the book, but it was brushed over. Apparently Hillary’s daughter was Mary Scythe (and what an interesting last name 🤔) and her sons were Harry and Joe. Somehow Mary’s significant and so are Harry and Joe. I’m curious how and why? Why were they in Kilton? What’s up with the bookshop? Is there more to this storyline?

6. What about Luke Eaton?

Where does he go? Is he still going to sell drugs? Does Pip ever repay him the money she owes him? Is he going to have it out for Jamie?

But that’s the good part of a mystery, the not knowing until you do. Hopefully there’s going to be another book because I’M READY! Heck, that’s the first thing I Googled after reading this 😂.

What are some burning questions you have after the book? What was your favorite part of the book? Least favorite part? Anything I mentioned that you want to discuss more about? Let me know below in the comments as I love hearing from you all 💕

I hope you have a beautiful day whenever and wherever you might be reading this.

And as always, with love,

5 Full Bloom Flowers

Characters: I loved how we got to know more of the other characters in this world like Connor, Jamie, and Nat. I also am very curious to see how Pip evolves with the trauma and anger she has.

Plot: So well-thought out and every piece fits together like the perfect puzzle you just can’t solve, but keep trying to anyway.

Writing: Holly Jackson is the queen of YA mystery and you can’t tell me otherwise.

Mystery: Too legit to quit 🤪

Romance: Love how the book had a perfect amount of mystery balanced with romantic aspects.

Serena singh flips the switch by sonya…, made in korea by sarah suk book…, the lucky list by rachael lippincott book….

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A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson

As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson

March 15, 2022 by Claudia 2 Comments

So I have fallen almost laughably behind on posting reviews here (like an entire cannonball behind of books I have read/reviewed and not posted). So whoops. Going to try to be better about keeping up! I’m going to post a couple series that I have finished and then I guess just start anew cause walking backwards sounds like a nightmare. When life stops kicking my butt, I plan on wondering through and commenting and being part of the community more! Sorry, it took me a whole vacation day to get to this post!

Anyways I just read this series! I really enjoyed the first two and then hated the third one. Here are my full reviews for each book.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

An American’s Guide to Making it Clear You Are Not Writing About America: so much tea, ‘Sarge’ as a replacement for ‘detective’, people WALKING EVERYWHERE, taking a train casually to another small town, saying ‘fancy me’ and many other things that had me giggling through the story but anyways that’s really not the point.

The book follows Pip a high schooler who decides to investigate an murder that happened in her small little town (‘in Connecticut’ *cough*) five years previously. Everyone thinks they know who did it and that person is dead. But Pip isn’t quite so sure that everything lines up, especially from what she knew about the supposed killer.

This book was super fun! It felt like a true crime podcast and while, at times, reveals felt like a bit of a stretch and some of the hints and clues seemed a little unrealistic, those were minor sins at best and did a good job to drive the story along at a great clip. The ‘mixed media’ formatting keeps the book fresh and interesting as you go, with regular narrative chapters interspersed with interview formats.

I was guessing until the end and where I thought things were going was not where we ended. What a pleasant surprise to be surprised! This book is a dream to anyone who has wanted to have a murder board.

The characters are young and its definitely YA but I don’t think that should deter people. It makes it a little bit more light and slightly unrealistic but sometimes that’s nice when you are talking about murder. I liked our leads and the flirty banter is on point and a great little diversion from the dead bodies.

Overall, I recommend this. If you are ever bored while reading just get a drink and make a game out of the non-America references.

****************SPOILERS*********

There is a dog in this book that dies and it is sad. 🙁

Good Girl, Bad Blood

And were back! I really need to review books before I start on the sequels cause I am getting my thoughts ALL muddled with the third book.

Anyways, in this one: Pip was outta the game but they just keep pulling her back in! When her friend Connor’s brother goes missing the night of a memorial, Pip tries to encourage the police to look for him. When he gets classified as a low risk missing person and they don’t investigate though Pip feels obligated to take up the mantle. Pip this time uses social media and her very popular podcast to spread the word and get attention while she investigates mostly live. And that’s all the plot I feel like I can share.

This one followed a very similar format as the first book with the narrative chapters interspersed with interviews and even pictures of clues. There was a little suspension of disbelief with some of the things Pip discovers but its a YA mystery novel so suspend that disbelief! I think one of the interesting concepts was the presence of social media in this one and how the internet could work for or against a missing person. The first half to three quarters of the book is pretty similar.

However, the last half/third of this book takes some wild dark turns. Of course, these stories are about crime and murder and have rape and a dead dog and lots of darkness in them but they seemed to be removed from them sort of like listening to a podcast. However, while Pip gets more involved with and affected by these darker things so are the readers. The fun light heartedness is gone and replaced by a real life drama that had me emotionally affected. It was interesting (and I’m trying not to influence my opinions by the next follow up that follows this pattern but its difficult).

Spoilers Ahead for some specific thoughts on the ending and plot points:

%$$#$#$#$#$#$#$#

I did not really find it all that realistic that people would fault someone who as a child did what Stanley did. I mean maybe a couple of crazies but it seems like his entire life he was surrounded by people who did not understand he was a child? Like WTF? It seems like the world of GGGTM suddenly has like the few good people that Pip knows and then everyone else just sucks. It made the entire world a piece of shit.

While Max Hastings trial was totally believable, I don’t really read fiction like this for believability. I was hoping that Pip could use her powers and Max would be the real life equivalent to Brock Turner, the rapist. Who is known the whole wide world over as a rapist. Who never served jail time but will live the rest of his entire life with that known. We get a hint of that at the end but its not…followed up really on her end. Just his end of suing her.

Again adding to the everyone sucks: Pip has two close friends accuse her of lying and making up the disappearance of Jaime. I just can’t believe two people could look at how upset their closest friends are and just ignore that. Seriously everyone sucks.

….I have some problems with the morality that Jackson seems to be presenting but I think I will get into that more in the third book review when I have all the facts but I already was a little like ????? at some of the things that are ok vs not ok according to Pip and co. IE Naomi being involved in a hit and run accident, lying about someone’s alibi to frame them and cover it up, Jaime here, who tried to MURDER someone cause someone on the internet said so and apparently that’s fine because he was bad at it. There is even MORE in the third book and while I understand that morality is a scale, I think Pip’s scale is broken.

As Good As Dead

So upfront, I read this as both a physical book and audio. When my anxiety about the FIRST half of the book got too bad, I downloaded the audio format so I could relax while listening. Then I spent the second half of the audiobook wondering when it was over and continuously looking at the time.

Spoilers for the second book ahead:

So As Good As Dead has us with Pip again, of course. After the traumatic events at the end of book two, Pip is not dealing well. She’s secretly sliding into drugs (Xanax, and in another ‘this is not America’ game she is buying drugs illegally instead of being over-prescribed by her doctor). She begins to notice strange happenings going on around her that lead her to suspect she might have a stalker. These stakes get even higher when she realizes that the stalker may be involved with an even bigger case from the past and her life may be in danger.

I don’t even know where to start but I guess I will start with saying I will try to be vague but its hard because to point out the problems is to point out the entire plot.

First, Pip’s emotional state. This book reminded me very much of Mockingjay from The Hunger Games series. Our leading lady clearly has PTSD. And just like in that novel, while true to life, its not very fun to read about. Pip is constantly having intrusive thoughts and even daydreams. There are so many freaking nightmares described. Every other page feels like THE. MOST. DRAMATIC. THING. And I get it. She went through a trauma. But this was a fun true crime podcast book!

There also is a weird anti-therapy sentiment and anti-help in general. While I mentioned Pip using drugs (that I see a doctor in America definitely prescribing after a super duper tragic event). Pip does the thing where she a) refuses therapy and b) refuses to talk to anyone, even the people she loves and trusts SO much. Again, it might be realistic, but its not fun in any way. Its depressing. And gave me anxiety (which I will tell people that I love about and also could probably get medicated for in America).

So this is the first half of the novel. Pip dealing with these issues (alone) and while slowly starting to suspect she had a stalker. The second half of the book takes a left turn where after Pip realizes her pleas for help from the police are going unheard, she decides to take matters into her own hands.

The reveal at the end of part one of this book was ridiculous. It was cartoonish with a mustache twirling villain. Then the bigger twist after the big twist and we are propelled into the second act where we know almost immediately what’s going to happen and then just have to boringly see it play out for 3 hours (or like 200 pages). Not only was it CRAZY and weird but it was boring about it. There was zero risk factor present so we just had to follow along as it worked out fine.

Now, to get into some of the morality of this book as well as I can without spoilers: I don’t understand what Jackson is going for here. Pip appears heartbroken and sympathetic to almost every single murderer in the past two novels. She asks whether they DESERVE to be there. She talks to her attempted murderer WEEKLY. She latched onto the murderer of the last book as some moral paragon that she wanted to follow. The man who killed a man who committed crimes as A CHILD. Is the moral here that murder is fine? Because that’s what is coming across. So…..

SPOILERS FOR THE REST OF THE BOOK:

Of course, she murders someone! Now this could be an interesting moral dilemma but no. Its not. Not with Pip bending over backwards to forgive literally everyone around her of murder, its clearly supposed to be a morally white move. And Pip herself, who still feels traumatized from the murder of Stanley (who according to Charlie, deserved it) has literally no self-reflection or regret about the move to bash someone’s head in.

I knew we were in trouble when Jaime of the last book was just given a pat on the head for attempted murder.

The entire second half is just a step by step in covering up and framing someone for murder. And its somehow so freaking boring. There is ZERO risk. We know she won’t get caught. We KNOW. So what are the stakes?! Nothing. And all the posturing and ‘omg, almost got caught’s are repetitive and dull.

This is also making me feel like I need to take a pro-police stance and that is NOT something I feel the need to do often. But like, yeah rapists tend to get off. Stalking can be vague and hard to prove. That does not mean that no one will believe you when you show up literally having been kidnapped. AND THEN, her “no one will believe he’s the killer” argument is totally washed away at the end! They DO believe it because there IS EVIDENCE. THAT YOU COULD HAVE PRESENTED AND DID AT THE END. So your reasoning for murdering a man was made up. He’s a serial killer, CALL THE FBI if you don’t like your little podunk sheriff!

Now, something else that has bothered me throughout the story but REALLY bothered me here was Pip not telling her parents ANYTHING. Pip believes she is being stalked by a SERIAL KILLER. And does she tell anyone that lives in her house? Nope. Why would we do that? Why would we install security cams or a security system or make sure someone is home with you regularly when there might be a serial killer about? Why would we not tell someone that my whole family is at risk because really that man could have killed her WHOLE fucking family and she told them NOTHING.

The serial killer reveal was the cartoonish part. There is literally a witch cackling “And your little dog, too” moment that made me laugh when I should not be.

Back to the moral ambiguity thing. I still just don’t understand. Incompetency and general rudeness seem worse to Pip than actual murder and its fucking nuts. Becca tried to kill you to cover up a death shes now your bud. Elliot Ward was a rapist, murderer and kidnapper but apparently doesn’t deserve jail time. Jaime attempted murder but he’s nice so its fine. Charlie Green murdered Stanley but Stanley deserved it because he participated in a murder (as a child but lets ignore that) and Charlie doesn’t deserve jail! But Stanley also really didn’t deserve being murdered! Like what the fuck is the message? Ugh.

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Good girl, bad blood: a good girl's guide to murder, book 2.

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Based on 21 kid reviews

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Really good, more mature than the first one, really good book, quite rude content., great follow up from 1st book, love the book a few inappropriate parts though.

Teen & Young Adult
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Good Girl, Bad Blood: The Sequel to A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

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Good Girl, Bad Blood: The Sequel to A Good Girl's Guide to Murder Paperback – Large Print, March 16, 2021

Purchase options and add-ons.

Book 2 of 3 A Good Girl's Guide To Murder
Print length 528 pages
Language English
Publication date March 16, 2021
Reading age 14 - 17 years
Dimensions 6.13 x 1.19 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10 0593340485
ISBN-13 978-0593340486
Lexile measure HL740L
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As Good as Dead: The Finale to A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

From the Publisher

Some secrets are too deadly to tell. #1 New York Times bestseller Good Girl's Guide to Murder series

Editorial Reviews

It was still there, every time she opened the front door. It wasn’t real, she knew that, just her mind filling in the absence, bridging the gap. She heard it: dog claws skittering, rushing to welcome her home. But it wasn’t, it couldn’t be. It was just a memory, the ghost of a sound that had always been there.

“Pip, is that you?” her mom called from the kitchen.

“Hey,” Pip replied, dropping her bronze-colored backpack in the hall, textbooks thumping together inside.

Josh was in the living room, sitting on the floor two feet from the TV, fast-forwarding through the ads on the Disney Channel. “You’ll get square eyes,” Pip remarked as she walked by.

“You’ll get a square butt,” Josh snapped back with a snort. A terrible retort, objectively speaking, but he was quick for a ten-year-old.

“Hi, darling, how was school?” her mom asked, sipping from a flowery mug as Pip walked into the kitchen and settled on one of the stools at the counter.

“Fine. It was fine.” School was always fine now. Not good, not bad. Just fine. She pulled off her shoes, the leather unsticking from her feet and smacking against the tiles.

“Ugh,” her mom said. “Do you always have to leave your shoes in the kitchen?”

“Do you always have to catch me doing it?”

“Yes. I’m your mother,” she said, whacking Pip’s arm lightly with her new cookbook. “Oh, and, Pippa, I need to talk to you about something.”

The full name. So much meaning in that extra syllable.

“Am I in trouble?”

Her mom didn’t answer the question. “Flora Green called me today. You know she’s the new teaching assistant at Josh’s school?”

“Yes. . . .” Pip nodded for her mother to continue.

“Joshua got in trouble today, sent to the principal.” Her mom’s brow knitted. “Apparently Camilla Brown’s pencil sharpener went missing, and Josh decided to interrogate his classmates about it, finding evidence and drawing up a persons of interest list. He made four kids cry.”

“Oh,” Pip said, that pit opening up in her stomach again. Yes, she was in trouble. “OK, OK. Should I talk to him?”

“Yes, I think you should. Now,” her mom said, raising her mug and taking a noisy sip.

Pip slid off the stool with a gritted smile and padded back toward the living room.

“Josh,” she said lightly, sitting on the floor beside him. She muted the television.

Pip ignored him. “So, I heard what happened at school today.”

“Oh yeah. There’s two main suspects.” He turned to her, his brown eyes lighting up. “Maybe you can help--”

“Josh, listen to me,” Pip said, tucking her dark hair behind her ears. “Being a detective is not all it’s cracked up to be. In fact . . . it’s a pretty bad thing to be.”

“Just listen, OK? Being a detective makes the people around you unhappy. Makes you unhappy . . . ,” she said, her voice withering away until she cleared her throat and pulled it back. “Remember Dad told you what happened to Barney, why he got hurt?”

Josh nodded, his eyes growing wide and sad.

“That’s what happens when you’re a detective. The people around you get hurt. And you hurt people, without meaning to. You have to keep secrets you’re not sure you should. That’s why I don’t do it anymore, and you shouldn’t either.” The words dropped right into that waiting pit in her gut, where they belonged. “Do you understand?”

“Yes . . .” He nodded, holding on to the s as it grew into the next word. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be silly.” She smiled, folding him into a quick hug. “You have nothing to be sorry for. So no more playing detective?”

“Nope, promise.”

Well, that had been easy.

“Done,” Pip said, back in the kitchen. “I guess the missing pencil sharpener will forever remain a mystery.”

“Ah, maybe not,” her mom said with a barely concealed smile. “I bet it was that Alex Davis, the little shit.”

Pip snorted.

Her mom kicked Pip’s shoes out of her way. “So, have you heard from Ravi yet?”

“Yeah.” Pip pulled out her phone. “He said they finished about fifteen minutes ago. He’ll be over to record soon.”

“OK. How was today?”

“He said it was rough. I wish I could be there.” Pip leaned against the counter, dropping her chin onto her knuckles.

“You know you can’t, you have school,” her mom said. It wasn’t a discussion she was prepared to have again; Pip knew that. “And didn’t you have enough after Tuesday? I know I did.”

Tuesday, the first day of the trial at New Haven Superior Court, Pip had been called as a witness for the prosecution. Dressed in a new suit and a white shirt, trying to keep her hands from fidgeting so the jury wouldn’t see. Sweat prickling down her back. And every second, she’d felt his eyes on her from the defendant’s table, his gaze a physical thing, crawling over her exposed skin. Max Hastings.

The one time she glanced at him, she’d seen the smirk behind his eyes that no one else would see. Not behind those fake, clear-lens glasses, anyway. How dare he? How dare he stand up and plead not guilty when they both knew the truth? She had a recording, a phone conversation with Max admitting to drugging and raping Becca Bell. It was all right there. Max had confessed when Pip threatened to tell everyone his secrets: the hit-and-run and Sal’s alibi. But it hadn’t mattered anyway; the private recording was inadmissible in court. The prosecution had to settle for Pip’s recounting of the conversation instead. Which she’d done, word for word . . . well, apart from the beginning, of course, and those same secrets she had to keep to protect Naomi Ward.

“Yeah, it was horrible,” Pip said, “but I should still be there.” She should; she’d promised to follow this story to all of its ends. But instead, Ravi would be there every day in the public gallery, taking notes for her. Because school wasn’t optional: so said her mom and the new principal.

“Pip, please,” her mom said in that warning voice. “This week is difficult enough as it is. And with the memorial tomorrow too. What a week.”

“Yep,” Pip agreed with a sigh.

“You OK?” Her mom paused, resting a hand on Pip’s shoulder.

“Yeah. I’m always OK.”

Her mom didn’t quite believe her, she could tell. But it didn’t matter because a moment later, there was a knock on the front door: Ravi’s distinctive pattern. Long-short-long. And Pip’s heart picked up to match it, as it always did.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder: The Trial of Max Hastings (update 3).wav

[Jingle plays]

Pip: Hello, Pip Fitz-Amobi here and welcome back to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder: The Trial of Max Hastings. This is the third update, so if you haven’t yet heard the first two mini-episodes, please go back and listen to those first. We are going to cover what happened today, the third day of Max Hastings’s trial, and joining me is Ravi Singh . . .

Ravi: Hello.

Pip: . . . who has been watching the trial unfold from the public gallery. Today started with the testimony from another of the victims, Natalie da Silva. You may well recognize the name; Nat was involved in my investigation into the Andie Bell case. I learned that Andie had bullied Nat at school, and had even sought and distributed indecent images of her on social media. I believed it could be a possible motive and, for a while, I considered Nat a person of interest. I was entirely wrong, of course. Today, Nat appeared in New Haven Superior Court to give evidence about how, on February 21, 2014, she was allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted by Max Hastings at a calamity party. But as I’ve explained before, due to Connecticut’s ridiculous statute of limitations, Max cannot be charged for either rape or sexual assault because the alleged offenses happened more than five years ago in the cases of both Nat da Silva and Becca Bell. For these two victims, Max is instead being charged with kidnapping in the first degree, as the state has no statute of limitations for that crime. In Connecticut, the definition of kidnapping includes restraining someone with intent to inflict physical injury or sexual abuse and therefore the state attorney general recommended these charges instead. Of course, the whole thing is disgraceful, but I won’t start on my feelings about the statute of limitations again. I think I’ve previously made those very clear. So, Ravi, can you take us through how Nat’s testimony went?

Ravi: Yeah. So the prosecutor asked Nat to establish a timeline of that evening: when she arrived at the party, the last instance she looked at the time before she began to feel incapacitated, what time she woke up in the morning and left the house. Nat said she has only a few hazy snatches of memory: someone leading her into the back room, away from the party, and laying her down on a sofa; her feeling paralyzed, unable to move, and then of someone lying down beside her. Other than that, she described herself as being blacked out. And then, when she woke up the next morning, she felt awful and dizzy, like it was the worst hangover she’d ever had. Her clothes were in disarray and her underwear had been removed.

Pip: And, to revisit what the prosecution’s expert witness said on Tuesday about the effects of benzodiazepines like Rohypnol, Nat’s testimony is very much in line with what you’d expect. The drug acts like a sedative and can have a depressant effect on the body’s central nervous system, which explains Nat’s feeling of being paralyzed. It feels almost like you’re separated from your own body, like it just won’t listen to you, your limbs aren’t connected anymore.

Ravi: Right, and the prosecutor also made sure the expert witness repeated, several times, that a side effect of Rohypnol was “blacking out,” as Nat said, or having anterograde amnesia, which means an inability to create new memories. I think the prosecutor wants to keep reminding the jury of this point because it will play a significant part in the testimonies of all the victims, the fact that they don’t remember exactly what happened because the drug affected their ability to make memories.

Pip: The prosecutor also repeated that fact regarding Becca Bell. As a reminder, Becca recently changed her plea to guilty, despite a defense team who were confident that they could get her no jail time due to her being a minor at the time of Andie’s death, and the circumstances surrounding it. She accepted a four-year sentence, suspended after eighteen months, followed by two years’ probation. Yesterday, Becca testified by video link from prison, where she will be for the next year and a half.

Ravi: Exactly. And like with Becca, today the prosecution was eager to establish that Nat had only one or two alcoholic drinks the night of the alleged attacks, which couldn’t possibly account for her level of intoxication. Specifically, Nat said she only drank one bottle of beer that night. And she stated who allegedly gave her that drink on her arrival: Max.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Diversified Publishing; Large type / Large print edition (March 16, 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 528 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593340485
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593340486
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 14 - 17 years
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ HL740L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.14 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.13 x 1.19 x 9.25 inches
#546 in Teen & Young Adult Law & Crime Stories
#2,055 in Teen & Young Adult Romantic Mysteries & Thrillers
#2,676 in Teen & Young Adult Thrillers & Suspense (Books)

About the author

Holly jackson.

Holly Jackson started writing stories from a young age, completing her first (poor) attempt at a novel aged fifteen. She lives in London and aside from reading and writing, she enjoys playing video games and watching true crime documentaries so she can pretend to be a detective. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder is her first novel. You can follow Holly on Twitter and Instagram @HoJay92

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Behind the Pages

Book reviews and bookish thoughts.

Mar 16, 2022

Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson | Book Review

Updated: Mar 26, 2022

Hello fellow bookworms! By purchasing books through the Bookshop link in this post Behind the Pages will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your help and dedication!

Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson | Book Review

Book Review

After the obsession that overtook her during the Andie Bell case, Pip has decided to put investigating to the side. Once she releases the case files onto her podcast, she calls it quits despite the podcast going viral. But when her friend’s brother goes missing, and the police refuse to help, the family turns to Pip.

Similar to the first book, Good Girl, Bad Blood has notes and extra bits of information tucked away in between chapters. If you are able to, listen to this sequel on audiobook. The format is perfect as Pip switches to recorded interviews and plays clips from her podcast. Not to mention the voice acting is spot on for each character. When Pip needs to disguise a person’s voice for protection, they even add in a voice modulator. It’s truly an experience listening to this as an audiobook.

Pip’s investigation will once again take her down dangerous roads, both physically and mentally. And instead of repeating the past investigative techniques, Holly Jackson works in new angles and types of leads for Pip to follow. Good Girl, Bad Blood still sticks to its true crime roots, leaving the relationship building to the background and only mentioning school related events as it pertains to Pip’s case. And as she digs deeper into the case, Pip will uncover secrets that would have been better off remaining secrets.

There is also an added layer of pressure on Pip as the media begins to question her honesty. But what truly cuts Pip to the core, is when people close to her begin to doubt her as well. This launches Pip into a dark spiral, questioning what she is doing and whether or not it even makes a difference. Many people experience self doubt, and Pip is no different. Adding the peer pressure makes it even more traumatic for Pip and hooks the reader. Especially when her follow up actions begin to show a new direction for Pip as a character.

Good Girl, Bad Blood was a fantastic sequel. With the way this one ended, I know I’m going to jump into book three as soon as possible. Pip’s character undergoes such a transformation and I need to see where her story will lead. If you’re a fan of mysteries and true crime, give this series a read!

To Purchase: Bookshop | Author's Twitter

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A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

Young Adult

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Good Girl, Bad Blood

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Good Girl, Bad Blood By Holly Jackson Book Review

1) Arthur Reynolds

1. Becca Bell

2. Max Hastings

1. Are we going to find Charlie and Flora in the next book?

2. Is Pippa going to let the anger consume her? Is Pippa going to heal? What about Pippa?

3. Are we going to take down Max Hastings in the next book?

4. Nat and Jamie?

5. Is there more to Harry, Marry, and Joe (the bookshop people) being related to Hillary F. Weiseman?

6. What about Luke Eaton?

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