The “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder,” a six-episode series released on Aug. 1., trailer is shown above. Following the murder-suicide of teenagers Andie Bell and Sal Singh five years prior, Pip Fitz-Amobi (Emma Myers) worked to solve the deaths in the short series. “While the show is good on its own, it is a disappointment to longtime fans of ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.’ It leaves promises unfilled in the solving of the mysterious deaths of Andy Bell and Sal Singh,” Managing Editor Janie Ripps wrote. Video by Netflix
“A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder,” released to Netflix on Aug. 1, is a flat mystery series that is fine in its own entity but will disappoint fans of the original novel.
The six-episode series “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” was released to Netflix on Aug. 1. Although anticipated by long-time fans of the riveting novel, released in 2019, the show will leave many unsatisfied.
Written by Holly Jackson, the original novel is set in Fairview, Connecticut five years after the murder-suicide of Andie Bell (India Lillie Davies) and Sal Singh (Rahul Pattni). The book follows high schooler Pip Fitz-Amobi and Ravi Singh (Zain Iqbal), Sal’s brother, on Pip’s investigation to exonerate Sal, the accused perpetrator, and solve the murder for a school project.
Although the series adaption follows a similar plot, “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” is set in Little Kilton, Buckinghamshire in the United Kingdom. Despite admirable performances from Pip (Emma Myers), the plot falls flat.
“Although anticipated by long-time fans of the riveting novel, released in 2019, the show will leave many unsatisfied.”
— Jane Ripps,
Managing Editor
While the book is set in a small, rich town in the United States, Little Kilton is dreary and distant to American viewers. What was so enjoyable about the book was how realistic the plot was, but it is hard to connect to something so detached from American viewers’ reality.
On a similar note, the book highlights Pip’s obsession with mysteries and strange professionalism in handling the case, but the show presents her as unorganized and makes it seem like she happens to stumble upon the answers to the case. This makes the suspects hard to understand, as the audience is just watching Pip figure the case out instead of actively piecing it together alongside her.
The first four episodes of the series are considerably boring, with little action occurring until the final episodes. Regardless, the end is riveting, and the uncovering of the murderer is shocking for those who haven’t read the book.
Overall, while the show is fine on its own, it is a disappointment to longtime fans of “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.” It leaves promises unfilled in the solving of the mysterious deaths of Andie Bell and Sal Singh.
