Pippa Fitz-Amobi is a straight A* student, good hearted and very intelligent with an inquisitive mind. Pippa chooses to study a closed murder case from 5 years ago for her EPQ project while she is in her final year at college, and she believes that now is the perfect time to investigate and find out the truth about what truly happened to ex-pupil Andie Bell; she is determined to prove that Andie's boyfriend, Sal Singh, was actually innocent. Unfortunately, it seemed as though Sal committed suicide a few days after the murder, with his final words being a text to his family saying that he killed her. But did he? Pip doesn't think so.
When Pip sees Sal's brother Ravi being spoken to abusively in a local supermarket, she stands up for him to speak out against what she thinks is wrong, showing that she is a feisty young woman not afraid of what people think about her when she speaks up for what she thinks is wrong. They soon become friends and decide to work on Pips project to find out together what really happened the night Andie Bell disappeared and to prove that Ravi's brother was actually innocent.
Pip soon realizes that her school project is slowly turning into her own investigation and notices that some of the people that she has known and loves are not as innocent as she has always seen them as.
Holly Jackson portrays the Singh family brilliantly, conveying hat the family have been through the the hate mail and abuse that was hurled at them because of what their son had allegedly done. The town seemed to justify their hatred by blaming the families skin colour, not sugar coating what the
life of a murderer's family would be like after the crime had been committed.
Usually when I have read thrillers, I have an idea in my head of who the culprit is really early on, but Holly kept me guessing throughout the story with plot twists that sent me around in circles with me suspecting one person, but then finding out that it could have been a different person. Also, Pip is such an inspirational character, with a no nonsense attitude and out of the box thinking. Her characterisation and the format the book was written in made me wish I could go back to my EPQ Project and do it all differently.
Speaking of the format of the book, I found it very interesting and different to how other books have presented themselves. Jackson has mixed third person narration with extracts from the production log Pip created for her project. The third person narrative helped carry the story along and painted a fantastic picture of the wider world and the people who lived within it; the project log entries in the first person allowed you to have a clear insight into Pip's thoughts and gave you the impression that you were investigating the case alongside Pip herself. I loved reading through Pip's interview files and looking as the suspect lists and diagrams; it really immerses the reader into the story. The plot was paced perfectly, with the tension and drama building through the first two parts before reaching the dramatic conclusion in part three.
In my opinion, it was the characters that truly made this book great. They were the reason I became so invested in the story; I didn't just want to find out the truth about Andie Bell's disappearance, I needed it to be the truth so the characters I cared about could have a better life.
Starting with the star of the show: Pip who was an absolutely brilliant protagonist. She is smart and determined, but is not afraid to show some compassion. I fell in love with her just that little bit more when it was revealed her reasoning's for wanting to investigate this particular case. She has definitely made some difficult decisions throughout the story line, but with every choice she has to make she tries to do what she believes is the right thing for that situation.
We see Pip meet Ravi Singh early on in the story, and she tells him that she is investigating this case and - more importantly - that she does not believe that his brother Sal was responsible for Andie's disappearance and assumed murder. Jackson really makes you feel sorry for Ravi and his parents. It was not only Sal's life that ended when Andie disappeared, it impacted the whole family. with the whole town turning on them since they were relatives of a murderer. It is understandable why Ravi is a little apprehensive to the investigation at first, but it was enjoyable to see their friendship develop.
This review does not really do the book justice. It was everything I could hope for from a mystery thriller, with an engaging plot and wonderful characters. I really look forward to seeing what comes next from Holly Jackson.
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