Bingo square: New Series (first book published in 2019)
Series: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. This is book #2, I read book #1 in April of this year (and reviewed it).
What I remembered about the series prior to reading this book: It’s only been a few months, so you’d think a lot. But I’d already forgotten the plot of the first book although I did remember the main characters, Pip and Ravi (and I certainly remember how something bad happens to Pip’s dog FOR NO GOOD REASON).
Why I stopped reading the series: I don’t know if waiting three months to read book #2 counts as stopping the series, but I do know that if my goal for this year weren’t to give unfinished series another shot, I never would have picked up this book.
The plot: Pip, still in high school, is now something of a celebrity podcaster after using her podcast series to solve a murder during book #1. She’s now dating Ravi (whose brother she exonerated in book #1) when her friend Connor’s brother goes missing and she agrees to help find him. Soon she’s caught up in something more serious involving catfishing and a serial killer.
The good: Hmm. Pip was more likable and more believable in this book than in book #1. There’s a character who’s really only in the last few pages, but I really liked the way he was written. I just didn’t really like or connect with this book, though.
The bad: I didn’t like the ending. I also didn’t like how suddenly some of Pip’s friends were weirdly snotty and mean to Connor because his brother was missing, and this was never really explained. They just were suddenly mean to someone who was supposedly their best friend, while he was going through something traumatic, for reasons that were never really made clear, and this was also not resolved–maybe it will be in the third book, though.
Did Good Girl, Bad Blood change my mind about this series?: No. I can see why people would like it, but it’s just not for me.
Will I keep reading the series?: No, I’m going to let this one go.