Key themes
- The true crime obsession and what it reveals about its audience
- The 'closed case' that wasn't — and what institutions protect when they close cases
- Complicity, class and who gets to be believed
About this book
Everyone is talking about A Good Girl's Guide to Murder! With shades of Serial and Making a Murderer this is the story about an investigation turned obsession, full of twists and turns and with an end
Published in 2019, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder became one of the most-talked-about YA crime novels of recent years, generating two sequels and a significant online community. Jackson said she wanted to write a procedural mystery that acknowledged what true crime fandom actually looks like.
Discussion questions
- Pip investigates a closed murder case for her EPQ project, convinced the convicted killer was innocent. What is Jackson saying about the gap between official verdicts and truth — and about who gets to reopen a case?
- The novel is aware of the 'true crime' genre it is both inhabiting and satirising. How does Jackson use this self-awareness — to comment on the podcast/documentary culture, or simply to add texture?
- Andie Bell is the victim but also a complex character who was keeping secrets. How does Jackson avoid making the dead woman a mere MacGuffin?
- Pip's investigation puts her in real danger. How does Jackson balance the intellectual puzzle with genuine stakes?
- A Good Girl's Guide to Murder has been enormously popular with teenage readers. What does it offer that adult crime fiction typically does not?
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