Book vs. TV Series Review: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (2024)
One of my absolute favorite books just became a series and now I’m so excited that I get to review it for you guys! I’ll post my book review, review the series, and then go over the book vs. tv series differences.
Book Information
No one thought Sal Singh was innocent. No one, perhaps, except Pippa Fitz-Amobi. Pip begins her senior year in high school with her senior capstone project based on the Andie Bell case, and how media affects police investigations. What she really works on, though, is proving Sal’s innocence. With the help of Ravi, Sal’s younger brother, Pip sets off on an investigation that looks past what the police did, and gives a new meaning to the term “innocent until proven guilty.”
Book Review | Heidi Dischler
Holy cannoli it has been a long time since I’ve read a murder mystery book as artfully plotted out as this one. While there were a few minor bumps in terms of plot, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.
First off, Pip is an amazing character. She is quirky, sometimes annoying, but overall, she is real. Not real in terms of “based on a true story” real, but real in the way that she has been so carefully developed, so wonderfully drawn out that there is no way the reader could ever think of her as anything other than real.
Second, this plot will have you spinning. Spinning in the mind-numbingly complex way. It is so intricate that I remember thinking back to earlier parts in the novel and having that “aha” moment when something I thought was irrelevant tied together.
Spoilers ahead. Don’t go forward if you haven’t watched the series or read the book!! Skip to the series review if you want a spoiler free review of the series!
Okay, so on to what threw me off in this novel. Finding out that Elliot Ward had killed Sal was kind of… odd? He definitely did not seem like the type. Not only that, but to find out that Mr. Ward was harboring a girl who resembled Andie Bell because he seriously thought it was her makes him very deranged. It didn’t at all seem to fit to me. However, when it came to finding out that Becca Bell had accidentally killed her sister, it made so much more sense. Especially after all the things Andie had done that had hurt Becca in one way or another (don’t even get me started on the date-rape drugs).
My verdict is that this is the perfect novel for those of us who love murder mysteries (I’m raising my hand very high), and even for those who don’t particularly like that genre. It is such a well-crafted novel with wonderful characters that it would make any true reader fall in love. I’ve read a lot of murder mysteries in YA and I do think that this one has become my favorite. Thank you, Holly Jackson for delivering this gem to the world.
If you enjoyed A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, definitely go check out the second book in the series, Good Girl, Bad Blood!
Source: Personal Copy
“‘You have cast her as your beautiful victim and willfully overlook the other layers of her character, because they don’t comfortably fit your narrative.’”
– Pip (Holly Jackson), A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder
TV Series Review | Heidi Dischler
Okay, so here we go. As soon as I found out they were releasing a series, I was stoked. I waited for it to come out in the US and immediately watched the whole thing. Below you’ll find a collection of my thoughts and feelings (good and bad) on this whole adaptation :).
First thing I want to mention is the pacing. I honestly was so bored until maybe episode three? It seemed trivial and there were no stakes in the first few episodes. I get it’s hard to build up the drama for characters you’ve just met, but it felt like there was no connection whatsoever. And for three episodes? That’s a long time for a TV series to not be holding my attention (or the rest of the audience).
Minor spoiler that has nothing to do with the plot, but I really liked the fact that they mentioned the Duct Tape killer. For those who haven’t read the books, he comes into play in the last book of the trilogy. I thought it was nice that they mentioned him this early because you don’t get a mention of him until the third book in the series.
The charisma of some of the characters was off the charts. Ravi (Zain Iqbal) was adorable and awkward in all the Ravi ways, but Pip (Emma Myers) wasn’t really how I imagined her (she was still really good, but just not what I had envisioned). Max Hastings (Henry Ashton) was charismatic as heck and it kinda bothered me how much I liked his character 😂. Loved Cara (Asha Banks). Thought Dan da Silva (Jackson Bews) was oddly… not hate-able? I remember absolutely hating him in the books. That’s where I’ll stop on characters because honestly, everyone else didn’t hold my attention.
One thing that did bother me was I was trying to make myself feel the romance between Pip and Ravi the whole time, but their chemistry just wasn’t there and that was pretty disappointing.
With plot, this series largely follows the books threads (if not always in chronological order), but without having read the book, I think I would’ve felt like some things in the mystery were a little too convenient in the show. All-in-all, though, it was bad plotting (after the third episode because, like I said, I was bored up until then).
Ending was a good lead up just like in the books with all the twists and turns. The only thing I didn’t like was some things that were left unsaid. You can read about those things in the differences below.
Overall, I’d probably rate this 3.5 out of 5. It was bad, wasn’t the best, but I still enjoyed it for the most part. Just go into it without expectations from the book and the series is easy to enjoy. Don’t expect it to have a lot of romance, though, and go into it for the mystery aspect.
Where to Watch: Netflix
Book vs. TV Series (The Differences)
Here comes major spoilers so don’t go any further if you still need to read the book or watch the series!!!
The Differences (That I Could Spot Clearly):
- Pip felt guilty about telling Sal where Andie and that was a big motivation for her EPQ project. I really didn’t like this as an adage because it honestly didn’t need to be there.
- Barney was a golden retriever not a sheepdog and died by falling in a river, not the road. Alsooooo it never gets mentioned that it was Becca’s fault Barney died or that it was an accident which kinda peeves me.
- The cave parties were pretty cool as the calamities but that definitely didn’t happen in the book.
- Nat da Silva was for sure NOT Andie’s friend and was actually bullied by Andie (who was the one who sent her nudes to everyone in school). Nat also was a victim of Andie’s Rohypnol dealings.
- The girl who was kidnapped by Elliot Ward was actually someone who had mental issues and thought she was Andie Bell. She didn’t realize that she wasn’t, so that was different.
- Ravi wasn’t leaving town at the end if I can remember correctly (but I might be lying to you about this one).
- Also don’t remember Andie being as in love with Sal as they portray in the show. I remember her sleeping around and kinda using Sal as a backup and to help her get money to get away from her dad. All-in-all Andie was a shit person in the book (from what I remember) and Sal just got caught in her web.
Separate from the book, it really wasn’t a bad series. When you compare it to the book, though? It doesn’t even hold a spark of what the book does. While I really still enjoyed it, it wasn’t the best adaptation I could’ve hoped for.
