I was mesmerised by Good Girl, Bad Blood from start to finish. It was a thrilling read without a dull moment. I would go as far as to say that I enjoyed it better than Holly Jackson’s first novel, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. The reason is this: the clues for the disappearance were so intricately woven together and the reasoning so astounding that the novel really felt different. In the previous novel I had some suspicions which turned out to be right, but in this book every moment was a page-turner. There were darker tones to the novel too due to Pip’s previous experiences and wariness with solving crime. This added brilliantly to the book. Below is a blurb and some spoiler-free Roses and Thorns associated with the book (please see About section if you are unfamiliar with this). A spoiler section is found at the bottom explaining the ending for anyone needing clarification. But don’t worry, this comes with a spoiler warning beforehand!

Book Description: Pip Fitz-Amobi is not a detective any more.

With the help of Ravi Singh, she released a true-crime podcast about the murder case they solved together last year. The podcast has gone viral, yet Pip insists her investigating days are behind her.

But she will have to break that promise when someone she knows goes missing. Jamie Reynolds has disappeared but the police won’t do anything about it. And if they won’t look for Jamie then Pip will, uncovering more of her town’s dark secrets along the way… and this time EVERYONE is listening. But will she find him before it’s too late? 

Please see About section if you are unfamiliar with the following Roses and Thorns reviewing method:

Roses

• Never a boring moment. No page-fillers. Everything is done with purpose.
• Great characterisation of suspects and Pip’s friends.
• The strength of female characters was really shown in this book.
• The exploration of justice.
• Fantastic plot with an interesting mystery.
• A well thought-out ending, very different from the previous book.

Thorns

• The written threat in her locker was a bit repetitive from the first novel.

Rating: 4.5/5

Age recommended: 12+

Spoiler Ending…

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Ending Explained:

Jamie really liked Nat but she had been ignoring/wasn’t aware that he liked her. He became upset and met a girl called Layla Mead online who he became really close to. She catfished him, as Layla Mead did not exist and her images were taken from a different girl at school. Pip finds out that whoever was pretending to be Layla had only been contacting men who were within a very specific age range and appearance. Jamie lied about his age to Layla and when he came clean, she began ignoring him. He then offers to do anything for her and Leyla puts him through tests (such as stealing money). It turns out that Charlie Green (the new neighbour) and his wife had been catfishing as Layla Mead as they were intent on finding Child Brunswick (a child whose father was a serial killer and who was forced to assist with the capture and disposal of children). This is because Charlie’s sister had been killed by Child Brunswick’s father and he was out for revenge. Child Brunswick had been given a new identity as Stanley Forbes in Little Kilton. Charlie knew his age range and rough profile so sought out men who fit the profile online. Charlie used Jamie to confront two suspects and kill the one who reacted to the phrase Child Brunswick. Stanley Forbes reacted and knocked the knife out of Jamie’s hand and brought him to his home and locked him in his home to stop him escaping and endangering his identity while he thought of a plan to find Layla’s true identity. Jamie was in agreement to this plan after realising he had been fooled. Pip confronted Stanley Forbes and Charlie comes and shoots Stanley who then dies. Stanley tried to protect Pip from danger and spoke of trying to find a new life and being disappointed with who his father was. Charlie and his wife go on the run. Jamie is freed and Nat appears to like him back.