I chose the series after reading the first book as part of COYER book club. Berls and I are doing our Series in a Month as a buddy read.
Review copy was received from Library, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Kill Joy by Holly Jackson Narrator: Bailey Carr, Raymond J Lee, Bruce Mann
Series: A Good Girl's Guide to Murder #0.5
Published by Listening Library on February 28, 2023
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult
Length: 2 hours, 37 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library, Publisher
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Six suspects. Three hours. One murder . . .
Pip is not in the mood for her friend’s murder mystery party. Especially one that involves 1920’s fancy dress and pretending that their town is an island called Joy. But when the game begins, Pip finds herself drawn into the make-believe world of intrigue, deception and murder.
But as Pip plays detective, teasing out the identity of the killer clue-by-clue, the murder of the fictional Reginald Remy isn’t the only case on her mind . . .
I enjoyed this short setup for the series. Kill Joy introduces the group of friends as they play a murder mystery type game. Pip isn’t interested but when she sets her brain to work on it, comes up with a realistic solution. In the end, this gives her the idea for her senior capstone project.
Listen to a clip: HERE
A Good Girl's Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson Narrator: Bailey Carr
Series: A Good Girl's Guide to Murder #1
Published by Listening Library on February 4, 2020
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult
Length: 10 hours, 53 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
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The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.
But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn't so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth?
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder was the first book I read in the series, which encouraged me to read all the other books in the series. I really enjoyed this one.
Pip is a smart teen and has taken on an interesting challenge, to solve a murder. Her strategy and investigation are excellent. She works hard to uncover the truth. While she and her cohorts are high school students, I really like how smart they are. I was glad it didn’t feel like a YA book.
However, she did freak me out by confronting those she thought were killers on her own. That was rather stupid.
I loved so much how kind and compassionate Pip was. She was unwilling to treat people badly just because they were different. She didn’t use those differences to make herself superior either.
Listen to a clip: HERE
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson Narrator: MacLeod Andrews
Series: A Good Girl's Guide to Murder #2
Published by Listening Library on March 2, 2021
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult
Length: 10 hours, 48 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
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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 was excited to see what Pip would do after her success in solving the disappearance case for her senior project. She and Ravi developed it into a podcast which went viral. However, there were some problems as they went about solving the case. Pip was hurt and went to the hospital. Her dog was killed. She put her family in danger. The revelations caused her best friend a lot of grief. So Pip has decided she will do no more investigations. It puts too much stress on her and too much danger for her family and friends.
Then her friend Jamie Reynolds goes missing. His brother is her close friend and he and his mom really want Pip to help. They convince her they will accept whatever things she finds out about Jamie’s life and really want her to use her huge podcast audience to help find him. Pip tries to make sure the police will investigate instead, but they won’t Jamie is an adult.
So Pip delves into the careful work of tracking everything. She is really smart with research and tech options. She knows all the people pretty well and is able to question them and sometimes get some information. Her deductive skills are excellent.
I was very impressed with Ravi and how he supported her. Their relationship really builds and I was happy to see it. Pip, herself, sort of went off the deep end with some things and that was a bit scary. I was worried for her.
The investigation takes them on all kinds of twists and things are not what they seem. The ending is rather sad, not unlike the previous book, because secrets revealed have consequences. A suspenseful, smart investigation which makes for great reading!
Listen to a clip: HERE
As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson Narrator: Bailey Carr
Series: A Good Girl's Guide to Murder #3
Published by Listening Library on September 28, 2021
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult
Length: 15 hours, 4 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
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Pip is about to head to college, but she is still haunted by the way her last investigation ended. She’s used to online death threats in the wake of her viral true-crime podcast, but she can’t help noticing an anonymous person who keeps asking her: Who will look for you when you’re the one who disappears?
Soon the threats escalate and Pip realizes that someone is following her in real life. When she starts to find connections between her stalker and a local serial killer caught six years ago, she wonders if maybe the wrong man is behind bars.
Police refuse to act, so Pip has only one choice: find the suspect herself—or be the next victim. As the deadly game plays out, Pip discovers that everything in her small town is coming full circle... and if she doesn’t find the answers, this time she will be the one who disappears...
Pip is struggling with the aftermath of the last investigation. Her guilt over Stanley is devastating. She has trouble sleeping and finds the medical people unhelpful. She is rocked by Max Hastings getting off on the rape charges. She decides to throw herself into another case to resolve her issues.
Then she starts getting hang up phone calls, chalk figures and dead birds. She thinks she has a stalker. Pip goes to the police about having a stalker and basically they don’t believe her. This sets her on a path to her own investigation. She finds the same sorts of things were reported by one of the DT Killer’s victims. She starts researching the DT (Duct Tape) Killer and finds quickly she doesn’t believe the man convicted is guilty.
I felt the beginning could have been a bit shorter with too much focus on Pip’s mental state, some of it was repetitive. Then I would have liked more information at the end about how the police came to recognize the actual DT Killer and the murder trial. Plus I wanted to know what Pip was studying at school.
Pip as usual solves the case but at great personal risks. Luckily, Ravi is rock solid, as are her friends. She has not only pushed the boundaries, but stepped over them for justice. I felt a couple things stretched my belief a bit. I really wish she was able to trust the police and the law but I wouldn’t have trusted them either based on her experience. It was certainly tense and suspenseful. I really loved reading As Good As Dead.
Narration:
Each book in the series has multiple narrators. Bailey Carr is a key narrator throughout the series. The transition between different characters is easy and I barely noticed. I loved that it didn’t interrupt the flow of the story, yet provided emotional tones for a great performance. I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About MacLeod Andrews
MacLeod Andrews is an actor and voice actor in Los Angeles He is a Company Member of Rising Phoenix Rep theater company in NYC
About 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.
I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 23-COYER
Well done, Anne💜 I have the first book but was still uncertain about it. I’ll put it in the mix.
Thanks, Jonetta. I rarely like YA books but this series is really good.
Reading an entire series in a month is a super fun idea. And it looks like you picked a good one. 😀
Yes it’s surprising because it’s YA and I often don’t like that. But the main character was smart.
I’ve heard of this author, but nothing more than that. This does sound like a good series, one I’d enjoy despite it being YA. It does sound like Pip is a little all over the place by the last book. Is this the end of the series? I’ll check it out.
If I enjoyed it and it’s YA, it must be an ok series because I am not often happy with YA. It is a girl, senior in high school. She is so smart and caring. She certainly goes through a lot, but she also solves some murders in her town. The most popular book is the one with the same name as the series.
I had trouble getting into the first one in this series, so I haven’t tried it again. Glad you enjoyed them enough to get them all done that quick though! Especially since you don’t usually read YA!
yes it was shocking that I liked them so much with the YA. But I liked how smart Pip was and she really cared about people.
I am so scattered brained. I don’t think I could read a whole series in a month…unless it was a trilogy or something lolll. I am
I enjoy reading them sort of altogether but it does take some planning and organization to pull it off.