What a fun novella as a prequel to the AGGGTM series! I’m a huge fan of this series so I was excited to have another installment. It was fun to see how Pip was drawn into the murder mystery game, and how she decided on her Capstone Project that we see in the first book. Wish I could have had more, but it was fun to dive into the mind of Pip one more time!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Childrens for an ARC in exchange for my honest feedback!

I'm kicking myself, because I downloaded the protected PDF and promptly got distracted and didn't get to read this before it expired. Bummer! Definitely will be looking for this as a finished copy.

I really enjoyed this prequel to A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. It was fun to see the beginnings of Pip's interest in solving crime (even though it was a game) and subsequent interest in Andie Bell's case for her project.

Kill Joy
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder Novella
by Holly Jackson
Pub Date 28 Feb 2023
Random House Children's, Delacorte Press
Mystery & Thrillers | Teens & YA


I am reviewing a copy of Kill Joy through Delacorte Press and Netgalley:


Don't miss the murder mystery party of the year! Holly Jackson's mystery novella will appeal to fans of her #1 New York Times bestselling series A Good Girl's Guide to Murder.




There are six suspects. Approximately three hours. There was one murder...


Pip is not in the mood to attend her friend's murder mystery party. I particularly enjoyed one where they donned 1920's fancy dress and pretended that their town was an island called Joy. However, as soon as the game begins, Pip is sucked into the world of intrigue, deception, and murder that has been created.



In spite of this, Pip isn't just focused on the murder of Reginald Remy as she plays detective, unraveling clues one by one until she is able to identify the killer.



I give Kill Joy five out of five Stars!


Happiest Reading!

This was just okay. The characters are at a murder mystery party so there are no stakes at all - the reader knows nobody is going to get hurt going into this. It is set before book one of the series and because of that there is no Ravi, who is arguably the best character of the entire series. It is interesting to see how Pip initially gets her idea for her project (book one), but not interesting enough to warrant an entire novella. I would have been okay without this.

Kill Joy is a young adult thriller by Holly Jackson, author of The Good Girl's Guide to Murder series. In this stand-alone novel, a group of friends are in an RV and driving to a spring break destination when they have a flat tire in the middle of nowhere. When the group stops to work on the problem, things start to get weird . . . and scary. The friends quickly realize they were set up by an unknown sniper, one who needs a secret from one of the friends. And he will kill for it.

I am a big fan of Good Girl's Guide to Murder, but Kill Joy does not live up to the former series. Kill Joy, while appealing to fans of One of Us is Lying or The Agathas, is just too outlandish and angst-ridden for my personal tastes. The plot takes several wild leaps, and the main character is so full of guilt and misery that she is hard to root for. She also seems to have memory or processing issues that are not fully addressed. I think this is an attempt at an unreliable narrator, but really it just takes you out of the story.

I will still read Jackson's next work in hopes she can find the Good Girl's magic again.

This one really missed the mark for me. I enjoyed the series, so I thought this novella would be a fun addition to the trilogy. The story guides you through a murder mystery party happening before the original books take place. It's hard to give a full review without any spoilers, but overall I don't think this novella was a necessary addition to the series and kind of ruined Pip's character for me. If you haven't read the series yet, I recommend you start with the full length novels to get to know the characters and end with this one as there are quite a few players to keep track of in such a short and action-packed story.

Pip is asked to attend a themed murder mystery party that she doesn't want to attend but does so anyway. She learns that she has six suspects to choose from and three hours to figure out whodunit. Follow along as Pip is taken in by an imaginative plot filled with duplicity and death. Will she be able to figure out who the killer is or will she let another case in her thoughts take over. This was a wonderful new take on a murder mystery party and a fun plot to try and figure out!

Loved reading more about Pip and her friends before the whole AGGGTM series started. Seeing how Pip’s brain has always been wired, taking an interest and being serious about what she likes. Even if she might not see it yet!

Definitely has that Holly Jackson feel to it.

What a great novella! We are back with our friends from AGGGTM before the series begins and see the spark that ignites in Pip to investigate Andy Bell’s murder! It was so nostalgic to be back with the friends again and knowing what they all go through before it takes place. It was almost like a fun little Christmas special of your favorite show because it was short, sweet, and gave you more insight into your beloved characters.

Pippa is one of my favorite YA characters and I didn’t enjoy the turn her character took in the 3rd book so it was especially refreshing to have Pippa back. It’s a novella set before the series starts. Definitely a must if you’re a fan of the series!

This author has done it again! What a great fast pace twisty read. Great story line and characters. Can't wait to see what's next from this author. Thank you for the read

I'm familiar with the "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder" series, but I've never read it. I have friends that really enjoyed it, so I may have to move it up my TBR pile. This was slow to start, but only for me having to learn the multiple characters' names. Plus this is a murder mystery game, so I had to learn the cast of characters they were playing as well. By the time that it all began to make sense, I was sucked into the murder mystery. This is a short novella and I was able to get insight into Pip’s detective personality and how good she is at solving mysteries.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

I absolutely loved TGGGTM series so I had a lot of fun reading this. I don’t think it added anything to the original trilogy but it was a good read nonetheless. It’s pretty light hearted but still has the tension that the main series has. Pip is such a great cuártate to read from. My only complaint is Ravi is not in this one.

This was a fun little addition to AGGGTM series. I love Pip so it was nice to read about her again. Nothing too crazy happened since it was a murder mystery dinner but it was fun to read Pip's brain working double time to figure out a game that ended up being so simple.

This was such a fun book that lead into the first Good girls guide to murder! I loved that we got this introduction into the characters in such a creative way! I definitely would have enjoyed reading this before reading the rest of the series! I also really liked the murder mystery aspect!

I love Holly Jackson's writing, and this is a quick, fun read. Ultimately, I didn't enjoy it as much as the trilogy, and the main reason was that there was the knowledge that it was all a part of a game. Still, I'm glad that I read it and will continue to read anything Jackson writes!

This is another cute, fun Holly Jackson read. I don't feel like it's as good as the trilogy, but this is a novella and a prequel, so the expectations are not the same. It was a quick, fun read and I enjoyed it, although there was nothing "real" in the story. The game and the players were enough to keep my interest. I would recommend it to someone who has already read and enjoyed the trilogy to get a little more of the story and the characters.

I really enjoyed this prequel novella to the Good Girl's Guide to Murder series. I was a big fan of book 1 but felt that the other two books were not nearly as good or as interesting. I honestly felt that it could have been a standalone. However, this novella was definitely a sold and enjoyable read. We are following Pip and her friends as they go to their friends Connor's house for a murder mystery night. The whole evening is planned and everyone is a given a new name and backstory to help it be more enjoyable. Naturally, Pip wants to solve the case and sets out to do just that. I enjoyed getting more of the characters and seeing hints along the way of what was to come in the bigger story. In fact in almost made me want to reread book 1 so that I could remember and see everything again as it fell. If you are interested in this one I definitely I recommend and also think that it should be read before book 1


I received a copy of the book from NetGalley.. The opinions expressed are my own

This book is the perfect book recommendation for a reluctant teen reader. Quick and fast paced, it would be a great intro to the series.