Emma Myers as Pip Fitz-Amobi in ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’ | Photo Credit: Netflix
When it comes to small town stories, romance and murder mystery are the most popular. But sometimes, a story has multiple characters who are different from each other. Nancy Drew A lookalike from the books appears on our screens and tries to secure the order. Limited series A Good Girl’s Guide to Killing is Exhibit A.
Based on Holly Jackson’s book of the same name, the series is adapted by Poppy Cogan and directed by Dolly Wells and Tom Vaughan. The six-episode series moves along smoothly without giving you much room to pay attention to the erratic pace of events.
The story begins in 2019 on a dark street in the small English town of Little Kilton. In a brief flashback, Andie Bell (India Lily Davis) is seen walking down the street with a wound on the back of her head. This was the last time she was seen before she went missing. When the body of her boyfriend Sal Singh (Rahul Pattani) is found in the woods with a mysterious confession of the murder, it becomes an open case of a murder-suicide situation.
Emma Myers as Pip Fitz-Amobi and Zain Iqbal as Ravi Singh in ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’ | Photo Credit: Netflix
Five years later, 17-year-old Pippa Fitz-Amobey (Emma Myers) decides to take on the task of dusting off the cobwebs and finding the real truth as part of her EPQ (Extended Project Qualification). The residents of Little Kilton have moved on from the events of the past – erecting a memory wall for Andy, ostracising the Singh family, hurling racist insults at them, and believe that Andy’s missing corpse is the work of Sal, whom they call a mastermind killer.
The series examines anger, passion, friendship, drug use, assault and more from a teen’s perspective, just like many titles Pretty Little Liars, Stranger Things, And 13 Reasons Why Have done it before also. A Good Girl’s Guide to Killing He tries to follow in their footsteps and even succeeds, but it is not necessary that he surpasses them.
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (English)
Creators: Dolly Wells, Tom Vaughan
Mould: Emma Myers, India Lily Davis, Rahul Pattani, Zain Iqbal
Episodes: 6
Run-time: 40-50 minutes
Story: Five years after a 17-year-old girl was murdered, allegedly by her boyfriend who committed suicide, a young woman decides to clear the cobwebs and uncover the truth behind the deaths
Pippa teams up with Sal’s younger brother Ravi Singh (Zain Iqbal) and begins the investigation by reverse engineering the night Andy went missing. She questions the regular suspects – the victims’ friends and family – and no one questions her motive; most are eager to answer all her questions truthfully and promptly, just like in every other teenage mystery.
While the series of events isn’t exactly predictable, the first few episodes are spent setting up the initial stages of the investigation; then the series builds towards a climax in the finale, almost as if the writers wanted to tie the series up with a neat conclusion like a school essay. From the fifth episode, in which a major twist is revealed, the story picks up pace and from thereon, it’s a race against time.
The titular “good girl” has earned her identity by being a teenager who does not engage in any kind of evil, but instead takes the moral high ground for trying to right the town’s wrongs (as she suspects, only because Sal was a “good guy”). Her best friend, Cara Ward (Hope Banks), stands by her without adding much to the story, but is a constant presence on her conscience. Aside from the characters of Emma and Zane, the supporting cast are mere hangers-on to their roles and lack dimension.
Zain Iqbal as Ravi Singh and Emma Myers as Pip Fitz-Amobi in ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’ | Photo credit: Sally Mace/Netflix
Cara’s sister Naomi (Yasmine Al-Khudhairi), who was one of Sal’s best friends, and rich boy Max Hastings (Henry Ashton) have plenty of secrets to hide, which Pippa uncovers not by logic, but by chance. Clues fall into her lap, and her subjects become coy around her, because “no one would bother a school girl doing her project.” However, as she stumbles upon more and more dark secrets, she begins receiving anonymous threats telling her to stop digging. So as teenagers do, she does the opposite and foolishly puts herself and her loved ones in danger.
She plays stupid games and wins stupid prizes, but she is very successful at uncovering secrets, and even manages to learn a thing or two about herself.
Barring a few minor changes, the series pretty much follows the plot of the original book. That being said, the pace and flow of the story is more worth reading than watching.
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is currently streaming on Netflix
