Good Girl, Bad Blood Book Review

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 six-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?^[1]

I really liked this book. Something I really appreciate about Good Girl, Bad Blood is how Holly Jackson develops the character of Pip; she doesn’t write her like an eager detective, jumping case to case, but we get a more raw, realistic look at the physical, mental, and emotional toll that Pip endures while she is trying to help the people closest to her. Throughout the novel, we follow Pip as she tries to recapture the sense of purpose and meaning she felt in the first book, which is an angle that Jackson handles with such complexity that you can’t help but question whether any of it was all worth it by the end; Pip willingly puts herself in danger at multiple points in this book to find answers. I didn’t expect this story to end up in this direction, but I’m certainly glad it did.

Mystery-wise, it’s another intricate, suspenseful thriller, and I love how Jackson incorporates podcast transcripts and Pip’s notes, similar to the previous novel; it’s an effective way to present key information without making characters sound like they’re just info dumping. As for the Plot, Jackson comes with many of the same strengths as the first book. Pip remains a great main character, and I especially enjoyed watching her relationship with Ravi Singh develop further. We also get to know some of her other friends better, including Connor, which adds more depth to the story.

Good Girl, Bad Blood also uses this sequel to critique the flaws in our justice system. The local police show no urgency in investigating Jamie’s disappearance, which leads to Pip taking on the case in the first place, and the Max Hastings trial demonstrates the common “he said, she said” dynamic, disregarding witnesses that lack evidence, which often results in real-world injustice. These elements, while present in the previous novel, are especially clear now, adding weight to Pip’s story and taking her to some dark and difficult places.

Another aspect of the novel that I appreciated was the way that Pip’s gradual mental decline is portrayed. As the story progresses and more things begin to go wrong, her mental state slowly deteriorates. This downward spiral reaches its peak when she witnesses the violent death of Stanley Forbes, a moment that leaves her deeply traumatized. Afterward, Pip is left to deal with the emotional aftermath on her own, believing that no one around her would understand what she has been through.

I really enjoyed this book as a sequel to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. Even though it does feel like a re-hash of the first book, it is a quality sequel, and I encourage everybody reading to at least pick up this book series and give it a read.

“You think you’d know what a killer sounds like. That their lies would have a different texture, some barely perceptible shift. A voice that thickens, grows sharp and uneven as the truth slips beneath the jagged edges.”

1. Jackson, Holly. Good Girl, Bad Blood. Delacorte Press, 2020