A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. What ethical questions surround Pip’s choice of a topic for her capstone project? Do you agree with her reasoning for her choice? Do you think the adults in her life react to her project in appropriate ways?

2. Why does Pip worry that her morals are being compromised in the course of her investigations? Do you think she is being unethical, or do you approve of the choices she makes?

3. As she investigates what happened to Andie, Pip discovers a number of other crimes. Which of the characters, in your opinion, is the biggest villain? What factors influence your answer? 

4. How do you think you would react if you were falsely accused of something? What advice would you give to someone in this situation?

5. Pip is willing to take significant risks in order to uncover the truth. What real-life people do you know of with a similar devotion to the truth? What risks do you think are unacceptable to take in order to find the truth? Does the nature of the “truth” being pursued matter to your answer?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. How does the novel both highlight and critique the vulnerable position that young women occupy in contemporary society? How would you sum up the novel’s message about these dangers?

2. How does Sal’s ethnicity impact public perception of him and his family? What real-world examples can you think of involving members of marginalized groups being judged more harshly by the public? How often do you think the ethnicity of an accused criminal compromises a fair investigation or trial? 

3. Many readers have compared the central mystery in this novel to the real-life case of Adnan Syed. What do you know about Syed’s case? Do you agree with this comparison?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. The novel’s structure intersperses false documents—fictional documents that are “real” within the world of the novel—with third-person narration. How do these false documents advance the plot and help to develop the novel’s tone, characterization, and themes? How might the reader’s experience of the story change if these documents were replaced with more third-person narration?

2. How does Pip’s college application essay function as a symbol of her search for identity? What qualities does she discover in herself, and how does her understanding of her identity change over the course of the novel? Which events and characters would you argue are most responsible for helping Pip discover herself?

3. What is the purpose of Stanley Forbes’s character? How does his approach to journalism compare to and contrast with Pip’s approach? When you consider their respective ages, personalities, and circumstances, what message do you think is being sent about the state of journalism today?

4. How would you characterize the dynamics within the Bell family? What does the Bell family suggest about hierarchies and their impact on individuals? Which other elements of the novel support your interpretation?