New Netflix Dark Crime Series Is Already A Hit With Audiences

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is based on the Holly Jackson novel of the same name with Poppy Cogan adapting the book and Dolly Wells directing the series. The series follows the brilliant Pip Fitz-Amobi (Emma Myers), a teen who decides to investigate the disappearance and apparent murder of schoolgirl Andie Bell (India Lillie Davies) five years earlier. Most people suspect that Bell’s lover, Sal Singh (Zain Iqbal), committed the crime but Pip believes otherwise. 

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is already getting quite a bit of buzz despite only being out for a month in the UK and now only a couple of days in the US. On Rotten Tomatoes, critics gave the series a respectable 83% and while audiences weren’t as keen on it, it still got a respectable 73% from those who have given it a watch. From what the reviews are saying, it seems like it’s a very strong take on the YA mystery genre, so if that’s something you love then you likely won’t be disappointed.

Anne Brodie from What She Said praised A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder for its combination of the British village murder genre and Nancy Drew, saying it “doesn’t speak down to teens.” Brodie also said “I foresee a hit and adaptation of the following books in the series.”

There’s definitely plenty more to draw from, as there are two sequels in Holly Jackson’s novel series titled Good Girl, Bad Blood and As Good As Dead, along with a prequel novel titled Killjoy. 

If A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is renewed the creative team has already announced that future series would adapt the events from the sequel books, but executive producer Frith Tiplady also noted that the first season has a true end. In other words, if the renewal doesn’t happen you don’t have to worry about getting invested in a show that doesn’t have a satisfying ending. But seeing as the show is already finding a foothold on Netflix, it wouldn’t be surprising if it did get renewed sooner than later.

While many of the reviews of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder are glowing, John Anderson of the Wall Street Journal did note that the series has “very little urgency,” placing blame on the YA genre that the series is adapted from. So, if you’re not the biggest fan of the young adult genre, it probably won’t be for you. Which isn’t surprising because a lot of the positive reviews mention the show’s skill at hitting the right notes in the YA genre.

Alan Sepinwall from Rolling Stone summed it up by saying, “Once again, the idea is to contrast the seemingly sweet, wide-eyed, innocent exterior of these girls with the dark secrets they’re trying to uncover … “Good Girl’s Guide” is a reasonably well made version of that old formula.” Following the right formula for a YA show isn’t a bad thing if it’s done well. If that sounds up your alley, you can check out A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder on Netflix now.