The Young Amateur Sleuth in A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
-- Spoilers --
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson left me
feeling unsettled, much like The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. Real-life
mystery-thrillers seem to have that effect on me. I think it was worse in this
book because when I was halfway through, I had the brilliant idea to look at
the sequel excerpt because I wanted to see what the next mystery would be.
However, I spoiled myself for one of this book’s culprits. I didn’t expect Book
2 to continue from Book 1. I expected it to start anew like the other books
(not just mysteries) I’ve read and later down the line mention Book 1’s
culprits. So knowing whom I thought was the only culprit, I reflected on Pip’s
investigation thus far and was upset that we had had only one conversation with
Mr. Ward and nothing was given away. We also had one or two quick encounters
where Pip runs into him and asks him a question or two. It wasn’t hard to
realize that he was the “older secret guy,” especially since his wife had
passed away.
From the start, I knew Becca was involved since it was
mentioned that she looked similar to Andie. Almost every time this is mentioned
in a book, it’s a vital clue. The video footage of Andie supposedly leaving the
house at 10:40 p.m. could have been recorded in black and white or color, but either
way, the driver would have been obscured because it was dark and at a distance;
we later learn this is the case because Becca is mistaken for Andie because of
the sisterly resemblances and because she’s in Andie’s car.
Another reason this book left me feeling unsettled (Sia agreed with me on this point) is
because I don’t like it when animals are harmed. Personally, I’m not sure I buy the author’s
excuse that Becca let Barney go, but he accidentally felt into the river. In
all the years Pippa and her family had him and let him off the leash, they
never had that happen (at least, it’s not mentioned). If it was known that
Barney was a clumsy dog, okay, then I’d buy it. Also, I hate that people in
real life think it’s safe for any size and type of dog to be off their leash. Case
in point, Barney is dognapped while gallivanting around the woods out of Pippa’s
sight.
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| Photo by George Milton |
Title Analysis
When I first read the title online, it gave me the
impression that the killer, a good girl until the murder, would be narrating
her guide to murder. However, this is not the case. A “guide” is a set of steps
that explains how to do something; additionally, a guide is usually seen as a
successful set of steps that ensure the accomplishment of a drawn-out task. No
one in the book provides information like this. Unless the title implies that Becca,
the “good girl” of the two killers, succeeded since it took so long for her
crime to be solved?
Pip questions whether she still is a “good girl” during the
investigation, but she can’t be the “good girl” of the title since she’s not
committing murder, but investigating and solving it, so, I guess Becca is the “good
girl” of the title, but then, why focus solely on her and not Mr. Ward?
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| Photo by Mahrael Boutros |
A Question of Identity
Pippa “Pip” Fitz-Amobi questions who she is throughout her investigation, more so when she has to write an essay about herself to accompany a college application. Pip wonders if she is the stereotypical “good girl” since she has always focused on achieving high grades and always doing what she’s told. We don’t see much of her personality outside of her investigation (there is a low percentage of time in the book where she must do tasks for her parents or interact with adults whom she knows, which is where we would see how she reacts to authority in her daily life).
There are two issues with living life as a totally "good girl":
1.
A good girl stereotype, if wholeheartedly
embraced, leads to a submissive personality and can be harmful to the girl,
such as in Cinderella Is Dead.
2.
A good girl stereotype, if wholeheartedly
embraced, leads to a boring life.
If Pip were to be totally submissive, she wouldn’t be an
interesting character since she’d have zero agency to run her own life. Her
parents don’t seem to be the type to fix her up with a partner of their
choosing, so it would be left up to her to find one when she’s ready. She may,
then, end up with a bad person. Additionally, if she were to become submissive,
she wouldn’t have had the motivation or determination to solve the Andie/Sal
case. Pip would be living a life dictated by others, denying her own interests
and needs; that would make for a boring and pointless life.
Pip questions her “good girl” identity when she’s knee-deep
in suspects, alibis and clues. When she first questions herself, I laughed
because it was obvious to me from page one: Readers are shown the form Pip must
fill out for her capstone project and the teacher clearly states that it is unethical
for Pip to engage with anyone involved in the original investigation, particularly
the families and friends of Sal Singh and Andie Bell; on the next page, she
knocks on the door to the Singh’s house and asks Sal’s brother, Ravi, if she
can question him. Pip has already broken her teacher’s rule, thereby ensuring
from the start that her project isn’t eligible. Pip knowingly broke a rule,
which goes against the stereotypical “good girl.” That’s not to say she shouldn’t
have broken the rule; it’s only because of her kicking up the dust of the past
does the cold case get solved.
I wish we had had more details about Pip's interest in journalism, criminal investigation and criminal law as the capstone states on the first page. Aside from her investigation, we don't get a sense of Pip; we only ever see her in relation to the investigation. I felt like we were missing a part of her. There's no subplot where Pip deals with daily tasks. We get little glimpses of her at school and with her friends, but it always connects back to the investigation, like when their camping is interrupted by someone watching them.
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| Photo by EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA |
On Their Own
It’s hard for amateur sleuths to know when to go to the
police since:
1.
They might not have enough evidence for the
police to take them seriously
2.
They might tip off the police person if they are
involved and
3.
Something or someone might prevent them from
going to the police because they waited too long
For high-school amateur sleuths, the stakes are higher. They
have much less experience of the real world. In Pip’s case, she ignores the
first few threats from the culprit because she doesn’t think she’s in any danger.
It’s like what Mrs. Incredible says to her children when they’re in the cave:
Remember the bad guys on the shows you used to watch on Saturday mornings? Well, these bad guys aren’t like those bad guys. They won’t exercise restraint because you are children. They will kill you if they get the chance.
During Pip’s investigation, she doesn’t get her parents involved
or any other adult when things get really serious since she’s afraid her
parents will take her off the case and no one will solve it. And any other
adult is a suspect. The adults involved in the case, Mr. Ward, Howard Bowers and
Daniel da Silva, are either looking out for themselves and not sympathetic to
Pip’s cause or aren’t interested in re-opening the case, which means the
police, whom are supposed to help, are not the ones to call until things get
serious.
Young sleuths learn first-hand about danger and risk and that people they trusted are not the people they thought they were. Pip is faced with both of these scenarios and would not have continued to solve the case if Ravi hadn't figured out that Pip tries to turn herself against Ravi to protect him since the culprit killed her dog. Pip is still stunned about Mr. Ward's secret life in the opening of Book 2, listening to her recorded interviews with him. People we come to know and trust don't always reveal everything to us and/or they do things in the heat of the moment that scares even themselves. The question is: Will Pip continue to study investigative journalism and criminal law? Will she be more cynical and guarded as she matures?
Pip: Smart Yet Dumb (Inspired by Sia)
Pip does a fantastic job of connecting clues together during her investigation. She's also highly organized and focused, so much so that she struggles to write her personal essay and often pushes it to the side to return to her investigation. However, she makes many mistakes, partly because she's an inexperienced sleuth and partly because she's eager to solve the case.
When Pip visits and interrogates the drug dealer, Howard Bowers, I was surprised that she smartly called Ravi to go with her. But on the other hand, both of them entering a suspect and potential killer's home without anyone knowing their whereabouts was not a smart idea. They're lucky they were able to leave unscathed.
One instance that exasperated me was at the end when she realizes that Becca was the one responsible for Andie's death. She goes over there and drinks. The. Tea. Becca. Offers. It's worse because this case has involved drug dealing. Pip is too trusting and thinks that Becca wouldn't try to kill her to save her own skin. Pip also didn't tell anyone that she was going over to Becca's house.
As I mentioned above, Pip was not smart to let her dog off the leash; it doesn't matter where you are or what size your dog is. Pip never thinks that the killer would harm her or her loved ones until it's too late.
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| Photo by Joshua Fuller on Unsplash |
Too Much Going On
Mysteries are fun because it means there are secrets to
uncover. In this book, there were many and they were dramatic, such as Andie
selling drugs and having a relationship with a much older man, bullying, etc. With
everything we find out about Andie, I found the revelation of Naomi, Max and
two other of their friends having been involved in a hit-and-run was too much.
It does connect well to what Andie and the others were doing (attending calamity
parties, getting drunk, taking drugs, etc.), but it felt like the author was
packing in too much drama for the story. What’s more, is that since Mr. Ward,
Naomi’s father found out about the hit-and-run by reading Naomi’s diary, he
never talks to her about it! His daughter went through a traumatic experience
and has been carrying around the guilt for years, but he leaves her to bear
this alone and in silence.
From Pip’s experience with the Ward family, she has never
known him to behave badly towards his daughters, but he has neglected them in
this. Therefore, I think Naomi and Max (and their two absent friends) should
have almost hit an animal, but swerved and damaged the car. It’s enough to rattle
them and think twice about their lifestyle (as Naomi does) and continue on with
their lives having learned a lesson, but maybe still hiding a secret. Mr. Ward
would still be able to use it to his advantage and make them change their alibi.
The group could still have called the police to report the accident (thereby
involving Daniel da Silva) and that would have been it. This would justify Mr.
Ward not talking to his daughter about the accident. Something along these
lines would have suited, I think.
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| Photo by niu niu on Unsplash |
Conclusion
This book had a lot of in-depth investigation that kept me hooked, but I'm still on the fence about reading Book 2 because of the unsettled feeling I had with Book 1. It's a major reason why I don't watch forensic mysteries unless it's unique and not focused too much on gore (Instinct, for example, would sometimes show some pretty graphic scenes).
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