A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

The novel utilizes a literary style of investigative journalism to establish an official tone that helps both Pip and the reader experience a simulation of a real-life murder investigation carried out by a true journalist. This stylistic tool can be seen in Pip’s capstone log entries, her investigative skills, and the murder board she creates. Through these elements, the book gains a sense of structure that lends itself to the periodic revelations of the case.

The first facet of investigative journalism that helps establish the tone is Pip’s capstone log. Using her log entries, Pip gathers key information and is able to keep track of the interconnected web of suspects relating to the case. She also informs the reader of much-needed background information that allows them to follow along. As twists and turns emerge throughout Pip’s investigation, logging this information mirrors the files of documents a real journalist would keep when looking into and trying to solve a case. The author thus uses these entries to provide a tone of official investigation, emphasizing their use as a stylistic tool. Each is a marker of the progress of Pip’s investigation of the case—containing key background information, clues, and suspects—and by periodically including them throughout the