Released in January of 2021, Holly Jackson’s best-selling novel, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, has captivated readers with a gripping blend of mystery, romance, and just a sprinkle of horror. Recently, the young-adult novel was adapted into a TV Show on Netflix and BBC, telling the story of Pippa “Pip” Fitz-Amobi (played by Emma Myers) who intends to investigate a five-year-old murder-suicide of two teenagers as a part of her school project.
The case? Andie Bell (India Lillie Davies) and Salil “Sal” Singh (Rahul Pattni), two 17-year-olds in love before a disappearance, murder confession, and suicide change their worlds forever. Pip, who seemingly has no connection with the two other than seeing them on the last day they were alive, has always doubted the account of events due to her belief that Sal could never kill someone.
Sal died before he was convicted, unable to prove his innocence or guilt, leaving Pip with multiple questions left unanswered. As she dives deeper into the mystery, she begins to unravel the truth of what really happened that fateful April night.
As a longtime fan, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder holds a special place in my heart. It was the first murder-mystery series I had ever read, and, at age 15, the tale kept me up all night as I anxiously waited for the next book to release. If you were to ask me what my favourite book was, I would undoubtedly answer A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.
So, perhaps I’m biased when it comes to the book and the TV Show. However, if you know readers at all, their answers would remain similar to mine. Read the book first.
Books enrapture readers with its phrasing, sentence structure, and beautiful language. It understands a character’s emotion because it’s able to describe it, all the while helping readers understand what’s going on. Books, or any original source, are just that: the original source. It is created the way the author meant to create it and portrayed the way the author meant to have it portrayed.
Now, that’s not to say Holly Jackson had no power over the TV Show. As an executive producer, it was a priority for her to keep the spirit of the book alive within the adaptation, telling Deadline: “I would make a lot of notes on the scripts to try and get them into good shape and always get them to be closer to the books. I viewed my role as a representative of the readership because we wouldn’t be here without them.”
However, with any adaptation, changes were inevitable. Not every detail of the book could be captured on screen, but, still, the show remained true to the novel's core.
One example of the difficulty of this adaptation was the Sarge nickname. In the series, Pip teams up with Ravi Singh, Salil’s younger brother, to solve the case. Ravi gives Pip multiple nicknames, all within the realm of police detective or sergeant.
Sarge, short for sergeant, comes up as a nickname multiple times for Pip. To readers, this nickname is especially important. Jackson, wanting to keep such an important nickname, fought to keep it in the show. Eventually, it did make it in, appearing in a teaser of the show before its release.
Still, after the show aired, viewers were frustrated over the changes in the show. Holly Jackson wrote back in her Instagram comments, telling fans that she did not have full control over certain changes. In her defense, one X user wrote:
In my experience, the only way to truly appreciate the show for what it is is to first understand the book. By understanding the characters, plot, and message of the novel, you are provided with a more in-depth analysis of the story as a whole, placing you right there in the midst of all the action. Even more, you’ll have so much fun reading the novels!
The maps and pictures of texts in the books makes it truly an immersive experience. Perhaps you'll walk away with a new favourite novel.
Unfortunately, in a time populated by canceled TV Shows and remakes or adaptations being placed on a pedestal, it can be hard to find TV Shows that reach the quality viewers expect them to be. However, while I do prefer books over TV Shows, it doesn’t make it any less worth watching. It can be an exciting experience to discover something new and play detective.
And who knows? You might just solve the case before she does.