Netflix released a new series based on the book, “A Good Girl Guide to Murder” by Holly Jackson on Aug. 1. But many people point out the dramatic difference between the series and the novel.
“A Good Girl Guide to Murder” is a young adult murder mystery novel. It follows Pip uncovering her quiet town murder case that happened 5 years ago. Believing Sal did not kill Andie, his girlfriend, she makes it her duty to prove his innocence.
The show is only based on the first book in the series of four: “Good Girl Bad Blood”, “As Good as Dead” and “Kill Joy “ which is a prequel. Differences pointed out are from the US version of the book.
First season only has six episodes, around 45 minutes which raised red flags. Halfway through the first episode it became clear that details, scenes and characters were missing. This caused everything to be different compared to the book. You will still get a lot of the plot, just handled differently.
People took it to social media, expressing dissatisfaction. Hailey, @archersprophecy, took it to “X formerly known as Twitter”, how all around the episode limit takes away from its development.
“The pacing of ‘A Good Girl Guide to Murder’ is genuinely so bad,” Hailey said. “And it’s due to the 6 episode limit they gave to the show. We’ve got to bring back even 15 episodes per season to see genuine stories and character development. I’m so sick of this.”
Information about the murder is more told to Pip rather than her uncovering and piecing together evidence in the book. The TV series takes out important scenes, making the plot jump to different pieces of the story. Also, having the series move at a faster pace makes the show unfit for a murder mystery, taking away from the tension you feel before moving onto the next episode.
Missing scenes and characters also take away important character and story development, especially if Netflix decides to turn the second book into a second season.
However, some people have suspected the second season will be skipped entirely since they already gave all the information you need for the third book.
Katie Leonard, an actress, singer and curve model, posted a review on TikTok as a lover of books, films and shows. She expressed what a let down this series was when the novels had her hooked.
“My issue was the script,” said Katie Leonard. “I have no idea if BBC and Netflix have or had any plans to continue this series, but they didn’t do a great job of setting up a seamless transition from season 1 to season 2. They mentioned the duct tape killer when they were camping, I was like ‘Oh they are totally setting this up for more seasons,’ but in this series they never mention Stanley.”
What makes “A Good Girl Guide to Murder” readers interested in the series is how many times Pip gets herself into dangerous situations. Plot twists and roller coasters of emotion have elevated the book, leading to such a successful ending.
The series did stick well to Pip’s character development being such a “focus on school type” of student, not letting parties, drinking and drugs get in her way. Because of this, the murder case consumes her life and mind entirely.
She questions the mystery behind the murder, not always knowing the next step, especially when the murder circles back to her. . That is where she feels the pressure, second guessing if this case is worth it.
Adrenaline and pressure can change a person including dangerous situations, saying things people want you to say and wanting to see something in a separate way until it is right in front of you.
This case has always been more than proving Sal is innocent. The case is about freeing his family from the town’s disgust, at least in the book. Some points in the series state that she is more selfish than her original character , that if she doesn’t solve it, it will be self guilt as if she had to deal with the harassment.
However, a lot of the readers loved the casting. Emma Myers keeps Pip’s curiosity on point, keeping her bounding from one question to another. Zain Iqbal’s adaptation of Ravi adds emotion to his tone of voice and facial expression.
The four part book series is a must read. Holly Jackson carefully writes the characters and storyline to connect the entire plot. The reader is able to experience different emotions and heart-dropping scenes in the book that they have not gotten to see on the big screen.
Tinka, @TinyTinkerBell9, took it toX, expressing both love and hate towards the adaptation. She gave the series credit and praise to the actors who played Pip and Ravi.
“It’s a bit of an odd adaptation,” Tinka said. “It stays mostly loyal, apart from some weird changes, but the pacing is kinda off and it never reaches the excitement of the book. Still, an overall fine show. At least Pip and Ravi delivered.”
