Synopsis
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?
The first book in this trilogy was fantastic, so I was eager to jump into second book. Unfortunately, I had forgotten a lot of the characters from the first book, so it made this book a bit of a challenging read. However, I did find an overview of ‘A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder’ at Recaptains.
Unlike the first book, I wasn’t captivated from the start. I wasn’t sure about the whole friend’s missing brother plot. A missing persons case is very different from a murder/mystery. Still, Pippa is a fearless protagonist with a curious personality. Even with her reservations about taking on another potentially dangerous case, she can’t say no. It’s like they say: “A tiger can’t change it’s stripes”.
Although, the mystery was interesting, and I was enjoying all the twists, the plot wasn’t as thrilling as the previous book. But as the plot progressed, the pace picked up, and the story continued to get better. For me, a part of the reason I wasn’t as engaged as I thought I’d be, is that I felt like Pippa had changed since the first book. But, that is to be expected, given the life and death situation that she went through.
In this book, Pippa and Ravi are in a relationship, but I am unsure of how I feel about them being together. They had cute moments, but I didn’t sense a ton of chemistry between them. That aside, I do think they work well together. Ravi is very supportive of Pip’s inquisitive nature, while still being protective of her.
There was this new podcast element, and a lot more social media references. There are mentions of Instagram and Tinder. Authors tend to love throwing in bits of the real world like that, Maybe to connect with their readers more?
By the halfway point, I couldn’t put the book down. I felt like Pip. Trying to piece everything together, and my suspicions were even right a few times. And, when everything unfolded at the end, I was shocked, but not surprised at where the story went.
“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.”
There was a lot of talk about the justice system, and how it fails more often than not. I think the justice system isn’t always so black and white. The way this book handles right and wrong is very powerful. It is an interesting take on justice and makes you take a closer look at your own beliefs.
The ending was incredibly sad, and begs the topics of what makes a victim. Should the sins of our parents become ours as well? By the end of the book, I sympathized with both the killer and victim. The ending was done so well, and was very thought provoking. In fact, the entire book will leave you with a lot to think about.
This book does show how much hypocrites people can be. It is always interesting to see just how easily people can turn on others. This is a real life thing, and makes you wonder why the world is full of so many judgmental individuals. Do genuine friends even exist?
Overall, I found it to be a great sequel. The storyline didn’t disappoint me one bit, and my reading experience was a positive one. Give this post a quick like and a share before you go. Also, did you know you could follow my blog? That really does help it grow, and reassures me that you like my content.
Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny