Good Girls Guide trilogy (2019-2021)
In the lead up to the release of Season 2 of the Netflix adaptation, I made my way through this series again. Holly Jacksons work is a huge reason why I got back into reading as much as I have over the past few years.
The original Good Girl's Guide to Murder reads a lot like how it felt to listen to the Serial podcast episode to episode in 2014. Holly Jackson has said that true crime podcasts, including Serial, had a huge influence on her around that time. The book itself even includes interview transcripts and excerpts from Pips project that give it that podcast investigation feel with added documents in the description. The biggest difference here, and one of the reasons why I love this book so much, is that we actually get definitive answers as we reach the end of the book. It's a satisfying and surprising investigation that I've returned to multiple times now.
The sequel, Good Girl Bad Blood, doesn't break the mold but that is perfectly good with me. Without having to establish the full cast of characters I really enjoy the deeper dive that this entry provides into the town. The reluctance of Pip to investigate after seeing how many local secrets these adventures seem to recover. I love the dynamics of a town that is wary of the person that essentially solved the biggest story the area had ever seen.
As Good As Dead is such a stressful experience. It's one of the only times I've been reading where I've closed the book to gauge how long left, I had before the stress of it is over. The second half of this book is so tense, so fast and absolutely exhilarating. Of the three, it definitely was the most emotional and maddening read. It's less enjoyable to go back to this one whereas I would endlessly read the first book over and over. It's not to say it's bad, it's fantastic but it is at times so bleak and upsetting to see that female experience and the failures of society to properly prosecute those with the means to hire expensive lawyers who are accused of rape, abuse, murder or anything else. It's tough but I think it's important to feel that rage for Pip.
I've had the pleasure of meeting Holly Jackson twice now and she's an absolute pleasure. I'm sure I'll continue to be a fan of hers for many years to come. Season Two of the show was a huge improvement and much more faithful to the book (even with a little Kill Joy reference in there) so I'm excited to hopefully see Season 3 in future alongside whatever other harrowing books she can cook up for us.
