A Good Girl's Guide To Murder🔎 Tv Show 📺 Vs Book 📖

My review on the show 'A Good Girl's Guide to Murder' and how it differentiates from the book 😃

Content warnings

Drug abuse, suicide, murder, SA, kidnapping, drugging, death of an animal, swearing

Review

A Good Girl's Guide To Murder was released on July 1st, 2024, after months of teasing from the author Holly Jackson. When I found out it was finally on BBC iPlayer after watching a TikTok Holly Jackson had posted I was instantly all over it and logging into my BBC account.

It's an eight-part series, based on the first book in the 'A good Girl's Guide to Murder' series, though I'm really hoping the next two books also get a series because I think it only gets more interesting from there.

If you haven't read the books (which I strongly recommended as they are so good) it follows the story of Pippa Fitz-Amobi, in Little Kilton, completing an EPQ assignment on the case of Andie Bell. A girl who had gone missing 5 years previously with her boyfriend, Sal, as the main suspect for her supposed death, though they can't find her body. He later turns up dead in the forest from a suspect suicidal overdose. Pip is convinced that Sal is innocent and wants to exonerate his family from the torture of the town and relieve her own guilt from that day 5 years ago. She team's up with Ravi, Sal's younger brother, and begins to uncover the deep dark secrets of her quiet little town.

Though I would have preferred a British actress to play Pip, I think Emma Myers, Enid from Wednesday, played her quite well and if I hadn't have googled that she was American I wouldn’t really have known apart from the slight accent difference. Now the actor Zain Iqbal, played his breakthrough role as Ravi and was everything I expected and more. When Elliot Ward came on screen I had a niggling feeling that I knew who it was, only to discover that it was none other than, Mathew Baynton, one of the main actors from Horrible Histories. 

In general I think the cast was very well put together for bringing the book to life on screen. Though I do feel that there was a lot of scenes that were missed and could have been added to the show like how Ravi and Pip actually met, the main plot points beyond the little moments were kept in the show. They only had 6 episodes so with what they had they truly picked the important bits. As Jackson helped to create the show, I believe that it allowed her to keep the main parts of the book that are critical to the storyline to be kept in tack.

I think the music used in this TV show was kind of perfect. The music mixed with the scenic shots in each episode just made the story more suspenseful and too intriguing to switch off. That's what you want and even if there is missing moments from the book - not of significance - the feeling was correct for me as I followed her journey solving the case. To finally be able to visualise this novel masterpiece was pure bliss that begs me to re-read the book series. 👏yay!😁

I do recommend watching this TV show, if you are a fan of the books great but I think without the books it is an incredible watch. I am really happy that I was able to watch this show and even better that I get to say that I read the book before the show – I don’t usually get to say that as it usually tends to be the other way around. 

SPOILERS AHEAD

If don’t want to read leave here - have fun watching the show

NOTE = I have not read the book in a while, so even though I have checked some of the content I have not got all the discrepancies from the book vs show. There may also be some mistakes of what I have said so please be kind. Thank you.

Episode 1

Late at night. Andie Bell is walking down the road with her head dripping in blood. But what happened to her? 5 years late and Pip wants to solve the case to get justice for Andie and Sal - and get an A on her EPQ.

CRITIQUE = Pip finds Ravi by following him with her dog in the TV show but in the book, they meet for the first time when she knocks on the door to ask for an interview. Ant is meant to be one of Pip’s friends but he doesn’t really show up in the Tv Show apart from being name dropped by one of her other friends, Lauren, who has a crush on him.

Episode 2

With the help of Ravi, she learns more about Sal's and Andie's friends. When she goes on a trip into the woods for Cara's birthday, she gets a threatening note to stop searching. She also finds the photo of Andie from the hotel in Max's bedroom

CRITIQUE = In the book there was more information around Andie’s friends but in the show, dur to it not being of much importance, it was left. I feel like there should have been more about Nat Da Silva in the show. Nat was a lot different than I thought she would be, because she seems really put together in the show. From what I can remember, in the book she was not handling everything very well and she had a boyfriend that was trying to stop Pip from talking to her.

Episode 3

Pip goes to a calamity party to learn more about Andie's double life. She meets Howie and later gets warned off the case by Becca Bell. By the end of the episode she has planned to break into the Bell’s House to find evidence on Andie.

CRITIQUE = Though the calamity party was set up with great SFX and the lighting that was the right vibe in the show, the book didn't have it in a cave in the middle of nowhere. The party was in someone's house, and Pip also didn't meet Howie on the same day from just looking for him (book). Though I suppose this would have taken too long in the progress of the Tv Show vs novel, so it helped the show get the information it needed quickly.

Episode 4

After breaking into the Bells House she finds Andie’s stash of drugs and a list of people who buy drugs from her. This leads Pip to the Ivy Hotel that connects Max's photo of Andie that he found from school. Dan da silva is getting more involved with trying to stop Pip from learning about the case as he also believes Sal is guilty. She starts to fall out with Ravi and Cara’s sister, Naomi, spills the beans about Max’s secret party account.

CRITIQUE = In the book, when Pip breaks into the Bell’s house, she take multiple pictures of Andie’s diary which is the real place that she learns about Andie’s appointments - including the Ivy hotel. Also when they went to the Ivy hotel, it is owned by an older lady that doesn't have any of the records from 5 years ago (book) unlike in the Tv Show when they are able steal it. It can't be that simple for the book characters but then again, the show needs to prioritise scenes, and this isn't one of them.

Episode 5

We learn about the Hit and Run that Naomi and Max were in, resulting in them being blackmailed and being forced to change Sal’s real alibi. The tension on Pip being stalked is upped and later Barney is pup napped and killed. Dan's relationship with Andie comes out and Pip discovers that 'Secret Older Guy’ is in fact Elliott Ward. She discovers this when Naomi calls her with the same phone number on the reservation at the Ivy Hotel – Elliot’s old sim card.

CRITIQUE = In the book Barney, was let loose on a walk and when they found him, he had been drowned (They thought he fell in - he hadn’t).

Episode 6

With pip being locked in the attic, Elliott Ward is arrested when the police make it the house. This is where he has kept Iris for 5 years. Pip knows that Elliott didn't kill Andie but has to find out who did. Learning about Becca Bell and Max Hastings past results in Pip confronting Becca and running for her life in a cave. 

CRITIQUE = In the book Andie’s body was thrown into a septic tank by Becca, compared the show where they end up in a cave. Pip wasn't found by Ravi and Cara in the cave (show) but her dad and Ravi in the forest (book). Max Hastings’ villainous plotline was found out sooner with the story of Nat Da Silva (book) instead of just Becca Bell (show). From what I can remember I don't think Ravi nearly leaves in the book as he is mostly attached at Pip’s hip.

I think that about summons it up. I tried not to spoil it too much but if you haven’t watch it, you should still watch it as there is gaps in between what I have said. If you have watched it, I think you should treat yourself and watch it again. And if you don’t want to watch it that is up to you, but I think that you could be missing out. Maybe at least read the book instead. 😊 

Anyway thank you for taking the time to read this, I know it was bit longer than the others but I really appreciated it.

Until the Next Chapter

#Bellesbookbabble