A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #1
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
by Holly Jackson
Contents
Production Log – Entry 20
Overview
Jess Walker gives Pip a stark picture of the Bell household, revealing Jason Bell’s emotional cruelty and its damaging effects on Andie and Becca. Jess also discloses that Jason left the dinner party on the night Andie disappeared, adding weight to Pip’s suspicion of him.
The interview shifts suspicion sharply toward Max Hastings when Jess says she saw Max and Andie acting intimate at a party, contradicting Max’s claim that Andie was merely an acquaintance. Pip connects this to the possibility that Max was Andie’s secret older guy and uncovers evidence that Max hid a private Facebook identity.
Summary
Pip interviews Jess Walker, Becca Bell’s former friend, and asks about the Bell family rather than only Andie. Jess says the Bells seemed normal from outside, but spending time in their house revealed a toxic atmosphere, largely caused by Jason Bell’s constant comments about Dawn, Andie, and Becca’s appearances.
Jess describes Jason as belittling the women in his family while framing his remarks as jokes. Jess believes Jason damaged both daughters’ self-esteem: Andie became more image-conscious and volatile, while Becca became quieter, obsessed over perceived flaws, and began skipping meals. Jess also says Jason turned the sisters against each other by making their achievements into competitions.
Jess explains that Becca admired Andie and tried to imitate her, including wanting to attend older students’ calamity parties. At one March party before Andie disappeared, Becca and Jess arrived uninvited; Andie ignored Becca, Becca vanished, and Jess later learned Becca needed the morning-after pill but refused to say who she had slept with. The incident caused a major fight and widened the gap in Jess and Becca’s friendship shortly before Andie went missing.
Jess says that after Andie’s disappearance the Bell home became quiet and strained. Jason’s temper worsened, especially when police interviewed him because, according to Becca, Jason had left the dinner party on the night Andie vanished to check an alarm at his business offices after drinking alcohol. Jess also remembers Dawn keeping Andie’s room unchanged, hoping Andie might return.
When Pip asks about Andie at the calamity party, Jess reveals that she saw Andie alone and close with Max Hastings several times and assumed Max was Andie’s boyfriend, never seeing Andie with Sal. Pip realizes Max lied when he claimed Andie was only an acquaintance and considers whether Max could be the secret older guy. Pip then discovers Max appears to maintain a hidden Facebook profile under the name Nancy Tangotits, while his public Max Hastings profile is a clean decoy, and decides she must confront him about the lie.
Who Appears
- Pippa Fitz-AmobiInterviews Jess, reassesses the Bell family, and identifies Max as a newly suspicious liar.
- Jess WalkerBecca’s former friend; reveals the Bells’ toxic home life and Max’s closeness with Andie.
- Jason BellAndie and Becca’s father; described as emotionally cruel and absent briefly on the disappearance night.
- Becca BellAndie’s sister; portrayed as damaged by Jason and involved in a secret party incident.
- Andie BellVictim whose family life, insecurity, and possible secret involvement with Max are revealed.
- Max HastingsSeen acting intimate with Andie despite previously minimizing their relationship to Pip.
- Dawn BellAndie and Becca’s mother; also mocked by Jason and later preserves Andie’s room.
- Sal SinghAndie’s known boyfriend, notably absent from Jess’s memories of the March party.