Cover of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #1)

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #1

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

by Holly Jackson


Genre
Mystery, Young Adult, Thriller, Crime
Year
2021
Pages
401
Contents

Sixteen

Overview

Pip confronts Max Hastings and catches him lying about how well Max knew Andie Bell. By finding a hidden compromising photo and threatening police involvement, Pip forces Max to reveal that Andie secretly sold drugs to students, including Max.

The revelation explains Andie’s unexplained cash and introduces an unknown town dealer as a major new lead. It also reframes Andie’s secret life and suggests Sal may have been unaware of a dangerous part of Andie’s world.

Summary

Pip visits Max Hastings at home under the pretense of being his friend. Max’s mother lets Pip in, and Pip immediately challenges Max in front of her by asking how well Max really knew Andie Bell. Alarmed, Max takes Pip upstairs to his bedroom so his mother will not hear more about Andie and Sal.

In Max’s room, Pip presses Max about his claim that Andie was only an acquaintance. Pip cites a witness from a March 2012 calamity party who saw Max and Andie alone together and looking close. Max denies any secret relationship and mocks Pip’s investigation, but Pip notices Max repeatedly glancing toward his noticeboard.

Pip moves closer to the noticeboard while continuing the questioning. When Pip searches through Max’s papers, Max tries to stop Pip, but Pip pulls out a hidden photo of Andie in black underwear. Max admits Andie did not give Max the photo and claims Max found it hidden at school, then kept it without telling anyone.

Pip threatens to take the photo to the police, so Max changes tactics and asks Pip not to involve them. Max admits Max knew Andie much better than Max previously claimed, but insists Max and Andie were not romantically involved. Instead, Max says Max was buying drugs from Andie.

Max explains that Andie sold weed and pills at calamity parties and clubs to a small group of people. According to Max, Andie worked with an unknown real dealer in town, giving that dealer access to the school crowd, and Andie did it for money and the power it gave her. Max says Sal hated drugs and did not know, and Max cannot identify Andie’s supplier or say where people got drugs after Andie died.

Who Appears

  • Pip
    Confronts Max, searches his room, and uncovers Andie’s secret drug dealing.
  • Max Hastings
    Lies about Andie, hides her photo, then admits buying drugs from her.
  • Andie Bell
    Absent but central; revealed as a secret seller of weed and pills.
  • Sal Singh
    Absent; Max says Andie hid the drug dealing because Sal hated drugs.
  • Max’s mother
    Lets Pip inside and unknowingly pressures Max by being nearby.
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