5 stars for Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson!
I promise, I don't think every book I read is worthy of a 5-star rating, but this one definitely deserves all the stars.
In the sequel to A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, Pip is determined that her detective days are in the past. She may have been able to solve the murder, but her obsession put herself, her family, and her friends in serious danger. She can't put herself and those around her through it again, right? This is all fine and well until one of her best friends asks her for help and in the end, she is unable to say no to them. I want to be cautious about how much of the plot I give away, so I'm going to go ahead and stop there and instead talk about what I liked from the book.
First and foremost...I love Pip. Yes, she's independent. Yes, she's extremely smart and clever. But that's not why I love Pip's character so much. This might sound strange, but I love her obsessiveness the most. It's very double-edged. On one side she has this singular focus on justice and helping out, but it has a destructive edge to it. She puts herself and almost everyone she knows in danger. Somewhat unapologetically. Throughout the entire book, Pip is learning what we already know...this is who she is. She's wrestling with this idea of whether or not she's good or bad and in the end, she might just have to accept the fact that she doesn't fall into either category.
Ravi doesn't take center stage with Pip as he did in the first book, and that's okay. He doesn't need to be in every scene of the book to be an essential character. Ravi is Pip's tether. His wit, support, and acceptance are what keep Pip human, what keeps her sane. Without Ravi, who's to say what Pip could turn into?
I also liked that the mystery remained the key focus of the book. Yes, it's clear that Ravi and Pip are together, but it really just helps to flesh-out Pip's character more. There may be some drama in friend-land, but again, it's not the focus. It rounds out Pip's experiences and struggles. It shows how investigating these crimes/mysteries take a huge toll on the other areas of her life.
For this book, I made British flapjack squares. I'd tell you why, but I don't want to give anything away. I just felt it was the perfect thing to make for this book. :)
If you enjoyed the first book in the series, then you won't be disappointed by this sequel. I saw on Goodreads that it looks like there will be a book 3 and a book 4 in the series. I, personally, cannot wait to see what Pip gets herself into next!
Thanks for stopping by!
-Kim
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