When I found out that one of my favorite book series was being turned into a show, I was beyond excited.
“A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” by Holly Jackson is a mystery novel that follows Pippa “Pip” Fitz-Amobi (Emma Myers), a high school senior who must complete a capstone project to fulfill a graduation requirement. On this particular assignment, she chooses to solve a murder case.
In 2019, Pip’s town was plagued with the mysterious disappearance and alleged death of Andie Bell (India Lillie Davies), who was supposedly killed by her boyfriend Sal Singh (Rahul Pattni). Soon after, Sal dies by suicide and there was no trial to prove if he was truly guilty of Andie’s murder.
The book was almost perfect. The show, however, wasn’t.
In the first episode, Pip introduces her idea for the project, receiving pushback from people in the town, including Andie’s sister, Becca (Carla Woodcock). She tracks down Sal’s brother, Ravi (Zain Iqbal), and tells him she believes Sal is innocent and she’s determined to find a way to prove it. Later in the episode, she begins to develop a murder map on her bedroom wall with images, screenshots, Andie’s missing poster and articles from the night of her disappearance.
Usually, the first episode of a series entices you to watch more because you grow eager to know what happens next, but it’s hard to keep watching when the main character’s attitude is insufferable and the show isn’t meeting your expectations as a fan of the book series.
Throughout the episodes, Pip is abrasive and pretty much forces people to give her information on this case, even though it could be difficult for them to discuss. Despite their discomfort, she persists and creates tension between her and the people who have the information she needs — not a good look for her.
I constantly found myself saying “What?” and “That didn’t happen in the book” throughout the entire series because, quite honestly, the show was the furthest thing from accurate.
A huge part of the novels are Ravi’s contribution to helping solve the case but he didn’t nearly help Pip as much in the show — he seemed to be just a side character who awkwardly flirts with Pip and kisses her in the last 15 seconds of episode six.
The first four episodes are slow but episodes five and six seemed rushed because the latter dragged on without revealing anything important to the storyline. A threatening note from the killer here and there is not a cliffhanger, please move on with the plot.
I understand that the show is fiction, but some of Pip’s behavior was wildly unrealistic. Breaking into the victim’s house and ripping apart her stuffed animals to find her secret drug stash is insane for a 17 year old to be doing. Half of the evidence she obtained was found illegally and would be inadmissible in court. I hate to be that person, but if I’m watching a crime thriller, I want at least some parts to be realistic, not just added for the sake of suspense.
Needless to say, I’m disappointed by how this series came out because there was so much potential if they just took the novel and used it as a blueprint to bring the story to life.
I’m sure if I hadn’t read the book before watching the show, I would’ve enjoyed it a lot more but unfortunately, that’s not the case.
If a season came out for the other two books in the series, “Good Girl, Bad Blood” and “As Good as Dead,” I would probably watch them, but I can’t see the acting or the production getting any better.
For now, I’ll just stick to the books.
