From ’13 Reasons Why’ to ‘Cruel Summer’ and the various incarnations of ‘Pretty Little Liars’, mysteries involving teenage girls have carved out a clear path in the television landscape. Based on the first book in Holly Jackson’s bestselling series, “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” is the latest mystery thriller that explores anger, obsession and sexual assault from the perspective of a young person.
Adapted by Poppy Cogan and directed by Dolly Wells, the series begins in 2019 on a dark road in the small English town of Little Kilton. Andie Bell (India Lillie Davies), 17, staggers down the street. Up close, a gushing wound is visible on the back of her head, and this will be the last time she is seen alive. Five years later, audiences meet Pippa “Pip” Fitz-Amobi (a delightful Emma Myers). As her senior year of high school approaches, Pip decides to focus her senior project on solving Andie’s disappearance and suspected murder. Although Andie’s then-boyfriend, Sal Singh (Rahul Pattni), confessed to the crime before dying by suicide, Andie’s body was never found. The residents of Little Kilton are determined to put the heinous crime behind them (while racially abusing the Singh family), but the case continues to plague Pip, who doggedly digs up the past. In six episodes she discovers secrets and revelations that she – and the city – will no longer be able to bury.
Pip begins her investigation by interviewing the dead teens’ respective friend groups, including her best friend’s troubled older sister Naomi (Yasmin Al-Khudhairi), to find out where it all went so wrong. Pip befriends Sal’s reluctant younger brother Ravi (Zain Iqbal), who becomes her Sherlock’s Watson, creating a profound timeline that leads them down a shocking path.
Much of “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” works well as a mystery thriller. With only six episodes, however, Cogen and her writing team are relying on more than a few coincidences. Clues to the crime fall into Pip’s lap. Furthermore, Pip’s detective skills, while realistic on some levels, leave a lot to be desired. She puts herself in danger and makes bizarre decisions, including confronting dangerous characters and parking her family’s bright red station wagon in plain sight during stakeouts. Pip’s questionable actions can be attributed to not having a fully formed frontal lobe. But that doesn’t make them any less frustrating.
Yet for its first five episodes, especially the penultimate, which reveals a stunning twist, “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” captivatingly unfolds the anguish of being a teenage girl, the complexities of friendship, and the deceptiveness of appearances. But as Pip ties up the loose ends in the finale, the storylines become jumbled and far-fetched, as if the writers are rushing to tie a neat bow around the story. But despite all of Pip’s bad decisions, her tenacity and willingness to follow her feelings make her a compelling character.
The circumstances surrounding Andie’s disappearance are one thing, but “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” focuses primarily on the truths Pip learns about himself. During her detective work, she discovers the strengths and fractures in her own relationships and the real reason why she was forced to look into the case.
“A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” premieres on Netflix on August 1.