A Good Girls Guide to Murder delivers a solid murder mystery, with an excellent lead actress. The high school graduation research project is every student's nightmare. I remember doing mine on how people's facial expressions are interpreted. Pip Fitz-Amobi's (Emma Myers, Wednesday) project is on a whole other level: she's going to solve a murder.
Five years ago, a teenage girl went missing in her hometown. Her boyfriend Sal (Rahul Pattni) admitted to killing her a few days later, and then committed suicide. Pip, however, is convinced that Sal was innocent, and together with Sal's brother Ravi (Zain Iqbal), she starts investigating. But Pip soon learns that a project with this approach is a lot more dangerous than something about facial expressions.
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is based on the book of the same name by Holly Jackson, and is a collaboration between BBC Three and Netflix. The first season consists of six episodes of about 45 minutes, which is a very manageable size. The story is full of unexpected plot twists and the pace is high and it never gets boring. The tone is generally quite light, but sometimes also manages to touch on heavier themes, such as grief, identity and how the world sees you.
Emma Myers is a great lead actress
The actors also do well, and Emma Myers in particular is very strong. Her character has a very clear motive for wanting to solve the murder. However, the series does not explicitly state this and lets the viewer figure it out for themselves. Despite a somewhat younger target group, the series is not afraid to throw the viewer in the deep end every now and then.
Zain Iqbal also does well as Ravi. He and Myers have a nice interaction on screen. In addition, other young characters such as Pip's best friend Cara (Asha Banks) and one of Sal's friends Max (Henry Ashton, My Lady Jane) are well cast. Furthermore, the adult actors such as Anna Maxwell-Martin (Line of Duty) and Matthew Baynton (Horrible Histories) are good additions to the series.
This series delivers a solid murder mystery
The murder mystery is generally well constructed. The outcome of the case is, given the plot twists, no more than logical. Here and there the series tries to mislead the viewer. Now, the mystery is not rocket science, but that is not always necessary.
Thanks to the short playing time, the intriguing mystery and the nice leading actors, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder is a nice series to watch in between. It is not always of the highest quality, but that is not always necessary. Holly Jackson has written two sequels and a short prequel. I really hope that we will also see these stories on our screens.
About the writer, Nienke de Boode
She started with watching NCIS, CSI and Bones, but over time her passion for TV shows has grown to what it is today, with dozens of shows that need to be watched. You can always wake her up for a good crime show, but she is also open to different things. Comedy and fantasy are on her list of favourites as well. Since October 2014, she also writes for MySeries to combine her love for TV shows and writing.
110% agree with this review. I ended up with the same final score and I also found the cast very nice and natural. That Emma Myers is from Florida is not noticeable. She plays the English Pip perfectly. I haven't really been part of the YA target audience for quite a few years now, but I still thoroughly enjoyed this series. I've read the general content of the other books (not the books themselves) and I sincerely hope they'll pick them up for at least two more seasons.
I haven't really been part of the YA target audience for quite a few years now, but I still thoroughly enjoyed this series. I've read the general content of the other books (not the books themselves) and I sincerely hope they'll pick them up for at least two more seasons.