Super 6 Blog – A Good Girls Guide to Murder – Teen Crime & Thrillers
14th August 2024
Our 'Browns Super 6' highlights six of our favourite books on a chosen theme or topic, chosen by an experienced member of the Browns Selection Team. We hope you enjoy our selection!
I have been really enjoying the TV adaptation of Holly Jackson’s fantastic bestseller A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. Sometimes TV and film based on our favourite books can disappoint (and even the very best are rarely quite as good as the book in my opinion!) but seeing Pip investigate on the screen is fantastically enjoyable. I adore a good murder mystery both on the page and on screen, it is so satisfying as the plot twists and secrets are uncovered. Murder mysteries and thrillers set in schools or with teenage protagonists are particularly great – there is something about a setting where everyone is forced together and often under a variety of pressures including friendships, love and academic achievement that really lends itself to the crime and thriller genre.
If you’ve loved A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder as much as I have and are wondering what to read next the good news is there are some really fantastic books available that will have you hooked and entertained. If you want a great thriller set in a school then This Book Kills and Where Sleeping Girls Lie are great picks – full of twist and turns and atmospheric writing that really captures the sometimes claustrophobic atmosphere of school. If you want to head away from a school setting for your next mystery then We Were Liars or How To Die Famous are perfect choices. We Were Liars (which is currently being dramatized for Amazon Prime) is set on a private island where privileged teens lie, scheme and compete with terrible consequences while How To Die Famous is a twisty and hugely enjoyable look at the dark side of fame. If (like me) you’ve not only been hooked by A Good Girls Guide to Murder but have also been glued to Bridgerton then why not grab a historical mystery like The Agency For Scandal (which has both intrigue and romance) or the fabulous The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries: Drama and Danger which sees two friends solve crimes in eighteenth century London. However you enjoy your murder mysteries there are some fantastic books that will have you hooked so grab yourself a new read and start sleuthing!
Kate, Content Selection Team
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
Jackson, Holly
Paperback / softback
The New York Times No.1 bestselling and multi award-winning YA crime thriller and TikTok sensation that everyone is talking about. Now a major BBC series! ‘A taut, compulsively readable, elegantly plotted thriller', GUARDIAN 'Prepare to be murdered by this book. Dark, dangerous – my heart literally pounded', LAURA STEVEN, author of bestselling Infinite Fates The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it. But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the crime, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn't so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth … ?
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This Book Kills
Guron, Ravena
Paperback / softback
"For fans of Holly Jackson and Karen M McManus." The Observer "An awesome book, full of mystery, friendship and sass. ***** " The Sun*Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2024* *Shortlisted for the British Book Awards 2024*-------------------------------------------------- "I'll make it clear from the start: I did not kill Hugh Henry Van Boren. I didn't even help. Well, not intentionally." When Hugh Henry Van Boren, one of the most popular and richest kids in Jess Choudhary's school, is found dead, the student body is left reeling and wondering who the murderer could be... Jess, a student under strict instructions to keep her record clean or risk losing her scholarship, finds herself at the centre of the investigation when it's revealed that Hugh died in the exact same way as a character in a short story she wrote. And then Jess receives an anonymous text thanking her for the inspiration. With time running out, Jess knows if she doesn't solve this mystery she'll finally have something in common with Hugh Henry. She'll be dead too. --------------------------------------------------"A satire on race and class privilege as well as a complete murder mystery, this is gripping stuff." Daily Mail"Fun, twisty and insightful...will keep you on the edge of your seat." Adiba Jaigirdar, YA Book Prize winning author of Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating
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Where Sleeping Girls Lie
Abike-Iyimide, Faridah
Paperback / softback
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES bestseller. Where Sleeping Girls Lie is a haunting and compulsive new Dark Academia mystery of secrets, lies and revenge, from the award-winning, bestselling author of Ace of Spades, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé. Perfect for fans of Holly Jackson and Maureen Johnson. "Dark academia fans, this novel is for you." Cosmopolitan "The slow-burn mystery, imbued with a terrible sense of menace, is worth every page." The Observer"Àbíké-Íyímídé is an incisive force - and a total vibe." Olivie Blake, NYT bestselling author of THE ATLAS SIXThis was a mistake, the voice in her head whispered. You should never have come... Sade Hussein is the new girl at the prestigious Alfred Nobel Academy. She has no idea what to expect of her mysterious new boarding school - an institution steeped in tradition and secrets. But she certainly didn't imagine her roommate, Elizabeth, to go missing on her first night. Or for people to think Sade had something to do with it. Suddenly everyone is talking about Sade, including the Unholy Trinity: the three most popular girls at school. Swept up in their circle, Sade can't shake the sense that there's more to Elizabeth's disappearance - especially as the teachers don't seem to care. And then a student is found dead. It's clear there's more to Alfred Nobel Academy and its students than Sade could have imagined - and she must race to uncover the truth. But secrets lurk around every corner and beneath every surface...secrets that rival even her own. "With a shock slow-burning reveal at its core, it's also an uplifting story of survival and hope." StylistPraise for Ace of Spades "A heart-racing and twisty thriller." Alice Oseman"Heart-pounding suspense." Marie Claire "Strong Gossip Girl vibes and a whole lot of mystery." Buzzfeed
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We Were Liars
Lockhart, E.
Paperback / softback
THE TIKTOK PHENOMENON AND #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. ** NOW A MAJOR TV SERIES ON AMAZON PRIME! **Don't miss FAMILY OF LIARS and WE FELL APART - all in the world of WE WERE LIARS!A beautiful and distinguished family. A private island. A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy. A group of four friends-the Liars-whose friendship turns destructive. A revolution. An accident. A secret. Lies upon lies. True love. The truth. Read it. And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE. We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and Printz Award honouree E. Lockhart.
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How To Die Famous
Dean, Benjamin
Paperback / softback
From award-winning author Benjamin Dean comes a deliciously dark and addictive YA thriller following the lives of Gen Z’s rich and famous through the lens of an undercover teen journalist. Perfect for fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and One of Us is Lying. 'A tense, page-turning YA showbiz thriller' The Guardian 'This [book] has "Netflix adaptation" written all over it.' The Bookseller London-born Abel has landed the role of a lifetime for an upcoming blockbuster. On the face of it he’s Hollywood’s latest teen star, but below the surface he’s an undercover journalist on a mission to expose the ‘squeaky clean’ entertainment industry and the part they played in his brother’s ‘accidental’ death. As Abel steps into the spotlight alongside fellow actors Lucky, Ryan and Ella, he soon discovers that beneath the glittering surface of fame and riches lies a darker world of secrecy, scandal and murder. Nobody is who they seem when the cameras are off, and everybody has something to hide. But who’s next in line to die famous? Drawing on his previous career as a celebrity journalist, Benjamin Dean examines the dark underbelly of showbiz, leaving no stone unturned. PRAISE FOR BENJAMIN DEAN’S THE KING IS DEAD: ‘Benjamin Dean has written a royal triumph.’ Juno Dawson, author of Clean ‘All hail this exquisitely twisty, delightfully queer mystery.’ Chelsea Pitcher, author of This Lie Will Kill You ‘A compelling thriller that stays with you long after you’ve finished reading.’ Kathryn Foxfield, author of Good Girls Die First ‘More jaw-dropping, OMG-twists than even the most salacious tabloid journalist could create.’ Erik J. Brown, author of All That's Left in the World ‘One page-burning scandal after another. Benjamin Dean is YA royalty.’ Femi Fadugba, author of The Upper World ‘Addictive, compelling, and utterly delicious.’ Simon James Green, author of Noah Can’t Even
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The Agency for Scandal
Wood, Laura
Paperback / softback
“The Agency for Scandal is glorious! Clever, funny, charming, and achingly romantic, it is a delight from start to finish. Laura Wood always writes about love and friendship with a deft hand, and this is her best work yet” Katherine Webber, author of Twin Crowns "I loved it!" Julia Quinn, author of Bridgerton An all-female detective agency righting wrongs at the end of the nineteenth century; infiltrating a scandalous upper class world straight out of Bridgerton and using their wit and bravery to unmask a villain. Eighteen-year-old Isobel Stanhope is keeping a lot of secrets. There's the fact that she's head over heels in love with a Duke who doesn't know she exists; there's the fact that her family is penniless but nobody in society knows about it; and then there's her job at the Aviary, an investigative agency run by women that specializes in digging up scandal on powerful men. When Izzy finds herself pulled into a case that involves gaslighting, blackmail, and missing jewels, as well as the Duke who holds her heart, can she and her friends untangle the web of secrets and lies to uncover the truth and protect the innocent? And when the stakes are so high, what happens when the crush she's been hiding begins to turn into so much more? 'Incredibly charming' Sophie Irwin, author of A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting Bridgerton meets Charlie's Angels - the most romantic, exciting, empowering YA of the year. A smart, charming, brilliantly plotted and swooningly romantic story about a collective of bold women changing their world.
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