Hey, all! It’s Emma here, and I am thrilled to share my third article! This month, I will be sharing my analysis of the first two books of the well-renowned A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder Series. Spoilers will be included, so hold off on reading this until you’ve finished the books!
Listed below are five of my principal points that I want to deliberate today. Maybe my opinions are hot takes, but these are my unfiltered thoughts on some of the key storylines!
Point 1: Andie hitting her head TWICE before she died (Book 1)
Sorry, but I feel like there was a lack of creativity here. Before Andie died, she hit her head on a desk because she was pushed by Elliot Ward, which caused her to gain a severe head injury. Then later, once she is back at her house fighting with her sister, Andie falls and hits her head a second time, resulting in her choking on her own vomit and ultimately dying. While I think it was intriguing to have there be multiple components to Andie’s death, I would have liked for the contribution to her death in both scenes to not have been so identical, because then this leads to the question of who was more responsible for Andie’s death: Becca or Elliot? Because Elliot was the reason she hit her head initially, Andie wouldn’t have had those implications from that previous head injury affecting her later on. However, Becca could have done something to stop Andie from choking to death, but she chose not to. If she intervened, she could have at least had a chance at saving her sister. Obviously, Elliot is the larger villain in my eyes, as he had an inappropriate relationship with Andie when she was a high school student while he was a teacher in a position of authority, and then he literally KILLED Sal to frame him for her death and proceeded to lie about it for the next five years. But Becca also kept Andie’s true cause of death a secret for several years, hid her body, and let Sal take the blame. This leaves me wondering who is more to blame for what happened to Andie in the last few minutes of her life, specifically.
Point 2: Elliot kidnapping Isla Jordan because he thought she was Andie (Book 1)
You mean to tell me that Elliot really believed some random girl he found on the side of the road who somewhat looked like Andie was actually her after she was pronounced dead? Elliot Ward kidnapped this girl because he was so terrified that someone might find out the truth of what actually happened to Andie, making him responsible, and then he would be revealed as a murderer for killing Sal. But I can’t get over how paranoid Elliot was about this that he convinced himself to believe a girl who had obvious physical and personality differences from Andie was her. I mean, how delusional and selfish can one get? And he continued to live a double life, by visiting this girl to check up on her as he lied to his daughters and said he was “tutoring.” Not only this, but whether this girl was Andie or not, Elliot Ward still kidnapped her. So, he’s a murderer and a kidnapper too, absolutely disgusting.
Point 3: Using Jamie Reynolds as the character who goes missing in the second book (Book 2)
I didn’t quite understand this at first. Because Jamie is not a character who was introduced in Book 1, it seemed very random when he was the character to disappear in the second book and it was somewhat hard for me to connect with this as a reader because Jamie’s existence was never once mentioned before. After finishing the second book, it makes more sense to me as to why a male character had to go missing in order to satisfy the whole Child Brunswick/Layla Mead storyline, but I still felt like this could have happened to any male character. It could have been Connor or Zach who went missing, one of Pip’s friends who was already previously introduced. Ultimately, I think the storyline in Book 2 would have piqued my interest a lot more if Jamie was not the character to go missing.
Point 4: Pip and Ravi’s Romance (Books 1 & 2)
One storyline that I absolutely ADORE in this series is Pip and Ravi’s relationship. In book 1, they did not immediately jump into a romantic relationship, but it was developed over time through many meaningful (and traumatic) experiences until they discovered that they were truly compatible for each other. I strongly admire how Ravi is willing to do literally anything for Pip despite her many crazy, risky ideas and he sticks by her side no matter how angry or distant she can become. Ravi never once questions her abilities or gives up on her; contrarily, he is invested in her wholeheartedly and brings out a softer, more vulnerable side of Pip. I firmly believe that Ravi Singh is an example of what men in this generation should strive to be like as a significant other. His unwavering loyalty and commitment to Pip is admirable and he always prioritizes her safety and well-being above anything else. I also appreciate that while this storyline is prominent, it does not overpower or drive the plot in another direction. Instead, it is weaved in strategically and provides some consistent romance for the readers throughout a series that is centralized around true crime.
Point 5: Max Hastings found not guilty (Book 2)
This enrages me greatly and I hate how there’s so much buildup throughout the first half of the second book during Max’s trial only for him to be found not guilty. I was so confident that Max Hastings would be found guilty without a doubt due to the undeniable evidence, the numerous personal testimonies against him, and Max himself confessing to everything. I can only come up with one possible explanation for this outcome, and it is that the author wanted to further Pip’s character development and create a scenario for her to sit down and have a deep one-on-one conversation with Charlie Green (Stanley Forbes’s killer). Like many other storylines throughout the second book, I felt like it lingered on the verdict of Max’s trial longer than necessary, but I also realize that the result of the trial was a pivotal moment for Pip in character development. The “not guilty” verdict provided a perfect opportunity for Pip to have a spontaneous conversation with Charlie Green, which turned out to be a defining shift for the rest of the book. Ironically, her anger and dissatisfaction about the verdict shifted her mindset in a positive way after talking to Charlie. She was able to embrace who she truly was, especially her darker qualities that were perceived negatively by many characters in both books.
Overall, I have loved the A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder Series so far (I still have to read the final book)! But I will say that the first book, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, was far superior to its sequel. The second book, Good Girl, Bad Blood, was kind of disappointing and I practically had to force myself to finish it. But all in all, I truly LOVE how Pip has embraced being classified as a “villain” or someone who is “disliked” and she has fully accepted that she does not need anyone’s approval for what she chooses to do. She is caring and compassionate to the people she loves, and it is evident that she is willing to do anything to protect those she is close to, but at the same time, she is an unapologetic badass and I’m all for it. I’ll do another article on As Good as Dead, the final book, once I finish it, so stay tuned for my analysis!