"Good Girl, Bad Blood" by Holly Jackson: A Review
The sequel to the smash hit "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder," this thriller from Jackson proves to be a worthy successor.
After reading Good Girl, Bad Blood, I was left with one undeniable conclusion: Holly Jackson knows how to write a good mystery and how to learn from her mistakes. While it’s difficult to judge this novel as a separate entity from the original A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, I’d argue that there is no need to see them as disconnected books. Outside of the fact that they represent a somewhat contiguous story, Good Girl, Bad Blood makes its best moments when developing the characters and plot themes established or hinted at in the first installment. Indeed, while the original managed only superficial development of Pippa as a character, this book dives deeper into how her internal conflict of self-worth and her moral boundaries affect the investigation as a whole. While such internal conflict was a mere sideshow in the first book, it is integrated masterfully into the fabric of the main plot in the second book. Even the emotional depth of some supporting characters, which I called out in my review of the first book, was markedly improved in the sequel. Of course, it would be reviewer’s malpractice to not mention the page-turning mystery aspect of what is by all accounts a mystery novel. Truthfully, there isn’t much to say. As in the original, the mystery is paced well with revelations and red herrings inserted every few chapters. It keeps you hooked up until the end and shocks you with the major twist at its conclusion. Overall, Good Girl, Bad Blood is the perfect sequel, maintaining what was so great about the original while cleaning up most of its deficiencies. FINAL RATING: 9/10.