“Someone is missing. Nobody’s talking. But this time, EVERYONE is listening… Pip Fitz-Amobi is not a detective any more. Her true-crime podcast about the murder case she solved last year has gone viral. Yet Pip insists her investigating days are behind her. But she will have to go back on her word when someone close to her goes missing and the police can’t do anything about it. If they won’t investigate, then Pip will, uncovering more of her town’s dark secrets along the way. But will she find the answers before time runs out?”
What is the book about?
After many articles, podcasts and more were released about Andie and Sal’s killer, Pip noticed that most people were telling the story incorrectly and so she decided to make her own true crime podcast about her investigation, leaving nothing out and telling the whole truth – not the one that people wanted to hear. But after her podcast went viral and everyone was asking for a season 2, Pip decided to not be a detective anymore and that this would be the end. She didn’t want to risk everything like she did last time and she knew that any more trouble wasn’t necessary. However, when Jamie Reynolds, her friend Connor’s brother, Pip decides that she will break that promise and start her investigation. The police aren’t doing anything about it as it is a low-risk case, so she must take the reins and find the truth about what happened to Jamie and won’t stop until he is home safe – no matter how many dark secrets she discovers along the way. But will she get to him before his time runs out? Or will this all end with another murderer in Little Kilton?
What were your initial thoughts on the book?
Since I had just read A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (the first book in the series) and absolutely loved it, I was obviously extremely excited to start reading Good Girl, Bad Blood. Initially, I was very convinced that I was going to love reading this book just as much as I did the first and I had no doubt that it was going to be a very enjoyable, easy read. When I read the blurb, I was even more intrigued about the book and was soon desperate to start discovering more about what was going to happen in the book. As soon as I started reading the book, I immediately knew that my initial assumptions were correct and that I was definitely going to find the book incredible in all aspects. From the very first page I felt completely at home and found it so easy to just forget about everything that was around me and just read and really live the story. The book immediately grabbed my attention and its clear to me that I loved the book from the very start.
Who was your favourite character and why?
Just like in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, this decision was pretty easy and my favourite character is definitely Pippa Fitz-Amobi. The main reason I liked her was because Pip was so intelligent, studious, independent and not like most teens – meaning she was just like me! I loved that I saw little things in her that I know I also have and it just made the book so much more relatable and just easier to read. However, she was also extremely confident in herself and was always willing to take a leap of faith and risk everything. I know I am definitely not like this and I prefer to live inside my own little world, but it did make me think that maybe I should try to be more open minded and have confidence in myself. There was also something new about Pip in Good Girl, Bad Blood – a new, deep, fiery anger inside her which wasn’t really present in the first book. I should’ve hated this angry, mean side of her, but in reality I actually liked it because it made me feel less alone. For the past 18 years Pip has tried to be the perfect daughter, sister, student, which is evident from her grades and the way she behaves. She has probably spent her entire life bottling up her emotions, trying not to burden anyone else, and now she has reached her limit where the smallest thing (though in her case it might’ve been a relatively big thing) can make the biggest change to her attitude and emotions. I am sure a few people found this sudden change in her odd, but I understood it because I also try to be perfect and sometimes I just snap at the smallest things because I have too much on my plate. I loved that Pip was also like this and I was so happy to see that I am not the only one, even if she is just a fictional character.
What was your favourite part of the book and why?
This was very hard decision for me because I loved the whole book but I think my favourite part of Good Girl, Bad Blood would have to be when Pip realised the real gravity of the situation and that time was running out. She had always known that she was running on a timer and that if she didn’t work fast that time would end with Jamie dead, never to return home again. However, it wasn’t until this moment when she realised just how serious it was and that she was given a chance to save Jamie and help Connor and she had to really work hard to achieve what she had promised. This part of the book started of really tense and dark, because the characters and I were on edge, not knowing if time had run out and there would be no happy ending to the investigation. Then, everyone was happy because they realised that there was still a chance, however the ending was what really stuck with me. The determination Pip had to solve this mystery and save Jamie was clear and strong and I knew that soon this book would end with Pip discovering the truth, for better or for worse.
What was your overall impression of the book?
Overall, I loved Good Girl, Bad Blood and found that it was perfect in every way. One thing that I loved about the book was how easy I found reading it. I finished the whole book quicker than I have ever been able to in a school week and I knew that there was only one explanation: the incredible writing and plot. It was so easy to read that while I was reading I completely forgot that that wasn’t actually my own reality and was able to fully allow myself to experience the book as if I was one of the main characters, helping Pip find Jamie. I love this feeling because it makes me feel like anything is possible because someone words on paper have been able to transport me to another world, just like magic. Another thing that I really loved about the book was that it rekindled my love for murder mystery in a way I never thought it could. When I was little, murder mystery books were the first books that made me feel like I was part of the world that I was reading about. That incredible feeling where you aren’t quite on Earth is something that I will never forget and I still remember reading underneath the covers, later questioning my idea as I was trembling from fear because it was past midnight and I wasn’t sure whether or not there was going to be a murderer coming for me or not. This series has been able to really make me remember why I have always considered murder mysteries to be my favourite sort of novels and I just can’t wait to read on. One last thing that I really liked about the book that really stood out to me was the fact that there were clues in the first book that were used in the second book. I really enjoyed this because I think it was a very realistic representation of what it is like to working on something, like a case, in real life because not everything is going to be clear and organised and sometimes you have to look to places that you wouldn’t even consider and look back to something from months ago in order to make sense of a situation. It also made it clear to me that this was what Holly Jackson had been planning all along and it made me truly think about what I was going to encounter in the last book. Good Girl, Bad Blood was an incredible second and I just can’t wait to see what’s in store for me with the final book in the series.
Which book did you like better, the first or the second?
Although I definitely loved both books and wouldn’t trade reading them for the first time for anything, I think personally I liked A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder a little more than Good Girl, Bad Blood. There wasn’t really anything that I found was better in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and mainly I think that the only reason I liked it better was that the whole experience was a lot newer and more shocking and interesting. However, there was one minor thing that I found I enjoyed more in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder than the second book: the plot. Both plots were incredible and I loved the whole Jamie’s disappearance thing and both books had the same amount of shocking plot twists, but I just liked the plot from the first book more because I could actually predicted the killer if I had just paid a lot more attention. All the clues were there and once everything was explained at the end I knew what I had missed. In contrast, in Good Girl, Bad Blood there were no clues at all that would’ve been able to point to the real bad guy in the end and I found that slightly disappointing. I also enjoyed the whole closed murder situation that was going on in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and the fact that there was not just one bad guy, but several, just like there is in real life because not everything can be clean and simple. However, I definitely enjoyed reading both books and I know I will love the third and final novel too.
Would you recommend this book?
I would definitely recommend reading this book; however you do need to read A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder before. I think it is a particularly great read for those who are over 14 and enjoy some crime, drama and mystery.
Summarise the book in one sentence. (Verdict)
A shocking mystery novel with twists and turns that no one could’ve ever seen coming.
Reviewed by Jimena Gutierrez Reviriego
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