Rating: 2.5/5

Synopsis

Five years ago, popular 17-year-old Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend Salil Singh.  According to the police that’s the truth and everybody in Little Kilton believes it. so that should be the end. Case closed. However, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn’t so sure…

Deciding to investigate the case further, Pippa makes the town’s most prolific murder case the topic of her independent project. Enlisting the help of the culprit’s younger brother, Ravi Singh as her partner in crime, together they slowly unravel the events of five years ago, coming across twisted truths and shocking discoveries that may actually prove Sal’s innocence… Which begs the question, who is the real murderer? And what lengths are they willing to go to keep Pippa from uncovering their identity?

Review

Fresh off reading the first book of the series, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, I was thrilled to dive back into the story I so enjoyed. I don’t know if it was because I just finished the book that I had such high expectations. I was excited to see this thrilling mystery come to life, though unfortunately, this series just didn’t hit the mark in my opinion. Fortunately, there were parts of the show I liked, but for the most part, I was disappointed by its poor execution and obvious lack of emotional appeal.

Positive Aspects that I Enjoyed:

Pip and Cara’s Relationship

The bond between Pip and Cara far exceeds that of a typical friendship. In the book, you really do get the feeling that they are just like sisters; even Pip refers to them as such. I can happily say the show did a great job showcasing this. You can definitely feel the love between Cara and Pip. I believe the showrunners and the actors themselves were very conscious of making sure that their relationship stood out, especially in a group setting where it’s clearly exhibited that they are a duo amongst the rest of their friends. I adored the many cute, heart-warming moments between them that made me smile. I’m glad to see there were, just as I imagined.

Their closeness also enhanced the plot by raising the stakes, which helped heighten the emotional aspect of the show that was severely lacking.

Portrayal of Max Hastings

I loved the portrayal of Max Hastings. He was miles more developed here than in the first book. Here, you get a deeper look into his family life. You can tell that he’s wounded by his relationship with his parents, which by no means negates his behaviour, but it does give us a better picture of why he is the way he is.

Henry Ashton, who played the character, did a remarkable job at showcasing his multiple layers. A real benefit of book-to-screen adaptations is that supporting characters who are perhaps not as fleshed out can be given their full complexity on screen. Particularly immoral characters like Max Hastings, where facial expressions and body language can play a huge role in adding to the character.

Top Differences Between the Book and the TV Show That Negatively Impacted the Series:

Too Many Key Scenes from the Book Were Not Included in the TV Series

I’m not so rigid that I expect a TV adaptation to play out EXACTLY as described in the book. I understand that not everything can be included, and some scenes might not translate well. I’m always open to a few changes here and there if they project better on-screen and are equally, if not better than, the original. Sadly, that wasn’t the case here.

In my opinion, a lot of the changes weren’t necessary. Not only did they cut out a lot of Pippa’s investigation, but they also removed scenes that created that emotional impact that kept us constantly enthralled and obsessed with finding out what really happened to Andie Bell. There were so many components to the story that kept us guessing which should have been included. Consequently, the story took a massive hit, changing for the worse.

Portrayal of Ravi 

I wasn’t too impressed by Ravi’s character. His humour didn’t translate as well to me; there was an element of it that felt unnatural. Appearance-wise, I couldn’t have asked for better casting, and to be honest, I don’t think it boiled down to the acting either. The emotion was lacking in the script overall, making the entire story bland. As a result, his wit wasn’t successfully conveyed as well as it should have, which is not the fault of the actor but of the script itself.

His character, in my opinion, fell flat. This isn’t exclusive to Ravi; this was the case for many characters, including Pip. However, I think in Pip’s case, because she has a lot of screen time, it’s easier to recognise parts of her character and find her likeable as the episodes go on. However, because Ravi wasn’t on screen as much and many pivotal scenes were missing, I couldn’t connect with him as well as I hoped. TV Ravi, compared to Book Ravi, felt mediocre at best.

Portrayal of Andi Bell

In the book, Andie Bell was presented as a complex character with multiple layers. Unfortunately, in the TV series, she is portrayed as a one-dimensional young girl with a pretty face and no real depth or substance. The darker parts of her personality that Pip uncovers within her investigation are almost completely ignored throughout the show, making her character less impactful and interesting.

The character Natalie de Silvia played a huge part in introducing us to another side of Andie Bell. Sadly, they completely changed the character’s connection with her in the show. Their relationship did a complete 180 from the original, which took away from an impactful storyline that would have drawn you in further. It was a completely wasted opportunity and a major disappointment for fans of the book.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the TV adaptation is a far cry from the popular book. Despite its significant shortcomings, there were some redeemable qualities, but essentially, the show was a watered-down version that didn’t have the same appeal. The changes made took away from what made the story so gripping and addictive in the first place.

Then again, this is just my opinion, and you may have a completely different experience, so check out the show for yourself and let me know what you think.