A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson - Book Review

Oh girl…! This was one of those books I have read non-stop, reading every minute I could squeeze in those 3 days of life. It was like I was almost literally glued to it. I guess, I need not say but still, I lOVED IT. I have read such a good book after years and it brought me back from my very long reading slump.

So, “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” is the debut novel by Holly Jackson. She has written quite a few more books after this one and I do hope I stumble upon them, and they are as good as well. Coming to our Good Girls Guide to Murder, written in third person, this is a murder mystery of a schoolgirl called Andie Bell who was allegedly murdered by her boyfriend Sal Singh. Everyone in the small town knows it and the case is closed and all. But as we would have it, our hero Pippa Fitz-Amboi, somehow has her own doubts over the story and picks it up as her school project. Then of course, things happen, stories unfold, secrets reveal, lot of other things happen. No! No way I am giving out any spoilers here.

What’s that I loved so much about this book?

Okay, so I have been struggling very hard to find some good books which could make me read more books for a really long time. I did read some good books this year eventually, but this was game changer. I am now craving to read more, and I hope that the next book I pick does not dump me back to my slump.

A murder mystery well written which at-least I was not able to predict at any given page or even line until the author wanted me to. The must have thing about thrillers and mysteries is they must be non-predictable. I mean, there are of course some things as a reader that things to our mind while reading such books, but the author took care of all of them quite cleverly. It was definitely a page turner, nail biter (all the stuff)  -  one which can bring to sleep deprived dark circles for a day or two. Then comes the characters. Do I have a favorite character? Ummm – not really, but all the characters had their required sufficient details. The language as we already said is third person, was quite a breeze to read through. There were a lot of things which a young adult reader will be able to relate to as well.

There was particularly one instance in the story which I will not talk about made me wipe my tears and put the book down for 5-10 minutes – yes, I do cry while reading….

To wrap it all, I really enjoyed reading this brilliantly written book and will be on my recommendations list for sure. Well done Pippa – wink wink.

Buy the book at amazon from link below:

The Ring o’ Bells Mystery by Enid Blyton

I found this little book with rusty pages in one of my cupboards. I picked it up out of curiosity and thought of being traveling back to childhood. And then, there was no stopping till it was finished.

It’s a mystery thriller meant for kids. The story goes as below:

When Roger, Diana and Snubby go to stay at Ring O’Bells village, their old friend Barney hitchhikes over with his monkey, Miranda, to join them. Barney has nowhere to stay so he decides to sleep in deserted Ring O’Bells Hall. Bit eerie things happen - bells start to ring, strange noises are heard in a secret passage, and there are some unfriendly strangers about. 

Something very mysterious is going on and the friends mean to find out what...

Now, I totally read it with a kid’s mind. There is a secret passage, a village and people resembling children’s favorite bed time story - “Little Red Riding Hood”. Last but not the least, there are dogs! The description of dogs doing everything they could possibly do to show off and to gain attention of is just hilarious. I was smiling really-really wide as I could so relate that to the Labrador – Skipper at one of my cousin’s house. He is always picking up shoes or anything he can possibly get his mouth on while we are at their place to make sure that we do not indulge too much in our conversations and forget pampering him. To sum up this paragraph, there is something for everyone who reads it. 

The plot is just perfect for the age group “Ring O’Bells Mystery” is targeted for. Although it is obviously a little predictable for an adult, I totally put that aside as I thoroughly enjoyed reading it all.

All the characters and the language also very good which kept me engaged and not wanting to put it down till the end. If I had the luxury of sleeping through the day, I would have sat all night up to finish and reach to the end of truly adventurous journey.

I am all praises for this and recalled the "Famous Five" series! There are more books for sure, coming up in my book shelf soon to accompany it! I am waiting for my kids to grow up to the right age to introduce it to them.

Book Review: Thicker than Water by Lexie Conyngham

About The Author:
Lexie Conyngham has written multiple series in historical crime.  Murray of Letho and Hippolyta Napier aare two of her series. Thicker than Water is tenth in the series 'Murray of Letho' series. Author can be found on her personal website ~ Lexie Conyngham and on good reads profile.

The Blurb:
When young Walter finds a dead body along with the dead fish in his tutor’s fishpond, he knows he should tell his old master, Charles Murray of Letho. The dead man leaves a pretty wife and child and a broken string quartet, but someone must have profited by his death – could it be the avenger from his past as his widow fears, or is it someone from closer at hand? St. Andrews is once again the setting for a murder mystery, and a puzzle that Murray must solve before the murderer strikes again.

About The Book:
I generally do not read Crime Thriller but whenever I read them, I am always surprised by the imagination of authors. I personally find it extremely hard to pen down a crime fiction and that too in a thriller genre.

Honestly, I had some problem initially with the tone of writing, but as I held my patience, I got the heck of at and was more and more comfortable. I would not say that it's an easy read but then it's not difficult as-well. The story starts with artist, leading to a pleasant journey. There were curiosity, mystery, accidents, murder, blood, shock and almost all elements of a thriller. The way each chapter ended with a surprise or a question or a shock made the reader jump on to next one without stopping or taking a break.  The transition from one revelation to another felt surprisingly smooth and as a reader I found myself connecting various clues and trying to solve the mystery.

I must mention that there is something about horses that almost all writer capture very easily. I could not help but imagine the "beautiful black stallion" at every mention.

I found the plot very crisp and the author did not took much pages to get to main scene. I could not stop reading ahead after that. The story has background of long long time back and thus I could very easily identify the generation gap in all areas - society, dressing up, studies, occupation and many other things.

Many might not relate it, but I found below lines too inclined or inspired by old Bollywood movies.
"There were two signs of hope, as far as Murray was concerned: the thrawn old man had managed not to die straightaway, hanging on till he was found, and while he was being tended to he did, just once, squirm under the doctor’s hands and mutter something entirely incomprehensible."

Well, generally, some lines equivalent to quotes make a way to my diary, I am actually guilty rather being sad or disappointed that none did this time. Thanks to my bad vocabulary and difficulty in reading the style of writing. But here is one I typed:

"He was growing impatient to return to St. Andrews and see what progress had been made."
and so was I... I know its not funny. - wink wink.

It was a good and pleasant read which gave me a short break from the type of books I generally pick myself.

In case you wish to buy the book, here is the link to kindle edition:


Note: I received a kindle version of the book in exchange of honest review from  b00k r3vi3ws.