By Book Club Team 
In Good Girl, Bad Blood, Pip Fitz-Amobi tries to leave her detective work behind and focuses on her true-crime podcast. But when Jamie Reynolds goes missing and the police don’t investigate, she steps in to find answers. As Pip digs into the case, she uncovers surprising twists and hidden secrets in her town, making for a fast-paced, suspenseful story filled with clever detective work and unexpected turns.
“Good Girl, Bad Blood” Book Summary
Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson is the sequel to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. In this book, Pip Fitz-Amobi has sworn off investigating after the events of the first novel, but when her friend Connor’s brother, Jamie, goes missing, she is pulled back into the world of crime-solving.
As Pip dives into the mystery, she starts a true-crime podcast, documenting Jamie’s disappearance and unraveling the clues. What starts as a missing person case quickly escalates, and Pip finds herself uncovering dark secrets about people she thought she knew. With time running out and the stakes higher than ever, Pip must navigate the fine line between being a hero and putting herself in danger.
Good Girl, Bad Blood continues Pip’s journey, exploring her struggles with morality, justice, and the consequences of exposing the truth. It’s a gripping and intense read, full of twists and turns that keep you guessing until the end.
| ✍️Author | Holly Jackson |
| 📅Publication date | April 30, 2020 |
| ⭐Goodreads Rating | 4.29 |
| ✔️ISBN-10 | 1405297751 |
| 📆 Age Rating | 13+ |
| ❔Topics | Mystery, Young Adult, Thriller Mystery Thriller, Crime, Fiction, Contemporary, Murder Mystery, Romance |
What is Good Girl Bad Blood About?
Six weeks after the shocking events of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Pip Fitz-Amobi is trying to move on. Elliot Ward has been arrested for Sal Singh’s murder, and Pip has turned her investigation into a viral true-crime podcast, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. But despite the podcast’s massive success (and the mix of admiration and threats it brings her), Pip insists she’s done with detective work—it’s too dangerous, too all-consuming.
Then, Jamie Reynolds goes missing.
His younger brother, Connor, comes to Pip, desperate for help. The police aren’t taking Jamie’s disappearance seriously—he’s 24, an adult, and has a history of going off the grid. But Connor insists something’s wrong: Jamie had been acting secretive, making strange calls, sneaking out late at night. With the police brushing it off, Pip is forced to break her own promise and take the case.
The Investigation Begins
Pip starts by interviewing Jamie’s family. His mother, Joanna, describes him as lost, unable to hold down a job, and obsessed with Nat da Silva—though she doesn’t return his feelings. Connor adds that Jamie had been moody, arguing with their dad, and, on the night of the memorial for Sal Singh and Andie Bell, he seemed distracted, even worried.
Digging through Jamie’s room, Pip uncovers some disturbing clues: a cryptic note—“Hillary Weiseman left 11”—which leads her to an elderly woman’s obituary, and a pink-banded watch no one in his family recognizes. The deeper Pip digs, the stranger things get.
Clues and Threats
Jamie was last seen at a wild high school party after the memorial, arguing on the phone, repeating, “I can’t do that.” He later vanished into the night. Meanwhile, Pip discovers he was fired from his real estate job two weeks earlier for attempting credit card fraud—something he claimed was a matter of life and death.
More red flags surface:
- A missing chef’s knife from Jamie’s home.
- A mysterious online persona—“Layla Mead”—who was messaging Jamie (and other local men) before his disappearance.
- A video of Jamie at the party, mistaking a girl for “Leila,” proving Layla’s identity was fake.
- A Fitbit GPS record showing Jamie ran after 11:40 p.m. the night he disappeared.
And then, the threats start. A note in Pip’s locker warns her: “This is your final warning, Pippa. Walk away.”
A Dangerous Game
The case takes a darker turn when Pip links Layla Mead to multiple local men—one of whom is Jamie’s former teacher. Meanwhile, a video surfaces of Jamie breaking into a house the week before he vanished, stealing only a cheap pink watch.
Things escalate when Pip follows a lead to an abandoned farmhouse—where someone has clearly been living. A stakeout reveals it’s a drug-dealing hotspot, linked to Nat da Silva’s boyfriend, Luke Eaton. Luke admits Jamie borrowed $900 from him before he disappeared but doesn’t know why.
Meanwhile, the Max Hastings trial ends in a devastating verdict: not guilty. Furious, Pip vandalizes his house, uploads an audio confession of his crimes online, and smashes his windows in revenge.
The Truth Behind Jamie’s Disappearance
Piecing together the clues, Pip and Ravi discover that “Child Brunswick”—a boy forced to help his serial killer father, Scott Brunswick, abduct victims—was released from juvenile detention at 18 with a new identity. Pip realizes that Layla Mead was searching for him.
When she investigates further, she uncovers the shocking truth:
- Stanley Forbes, the local journalist covering Jamie’s case, is Child Brunswick.
- He has been paying off a former inmate, Howie Bowers, to keep his past secret.
- Jamie stumbled upon his identity—and that’s why he disappeared.
Pip is in deeper than ever. And this time, she’s facing someone willing to kill to keep their secrets buried.
Good Girl Bad Blood Ending Explained
Pip sets a trap. Posing as Layla, she texts Stanley Forbes and lures him to the abandoned farmhouse. While Stanley drives there, Ravi and Connor break into his house—and find Jamie, alive but locked in a room. Shockingly, Jamie tells them to leave, claiming he’s worked out a deal with his captor.
Stanley’s Confession
At the farmhouse, Stanley arrives expecting Layla but instead finds Pip waiting. Realizing he’s caught, he confesses:
On the night Jamie disappeared, Stanley had also received a message from Layla, asking to meet at the farmhouse. But when he arrived, it was Jamie who confronted him—brandishing a knife. In the struggle, Jamie hit his head, and Stanley, panicked, locked him up in his house while figuring out what to do.
Then Jamie revealed something even darker: Layla had been manipulating him all along. She had convinced him to:
- Steal a pink watch she claimed belonged to her late mother.
- Leave money at the cemetery for a supposed medical trial.
- Kill a man—one of two people Layla claimed was stalking her.
Layla’s final instruction? Invite both men to the farmhouse, say “Child Brunswick”, and kill whichever one reacted.
But after their conversation, Stanley and Jamie struck a deal: Jamie wouldn’t expose Stanley’s true identity (Child Brunswick, the son of a serial killer), and Stanley wouldn’t report Jamie’s attack. Jamie remained locked up while Stanley tried to uncover who Layla really was.
The Real Mastermind
Then, everything takes a terrifying turn.
Pip tells Stanley that Ravi and Connor are at his house—and that they broke a window to get inside. Stanley’s face falls. The windows are rigged with an alarm that automatically alerts the police.
Before Pip can react, a new player enters the farmhouse: Charlie Green, her new neighbor. Holding a gun, he snatches their phones and reveals the truth—he and his wife, Flora, were behind the Layla Mead persona.
Charlie isn’t who he claimed to be. His real last name is Nowell, and he’s the twin brother of one of Scott Brunswick’s victims. For years, he had been hunting down Child Brunswick, seeking revenge for his brother’s murder. And now, he had found him—Stanley.
Charlie shoots Stanley. Then, he sets the farmhouse on fire and flees.
The Aftermath
With flames rising, Pip drags Stanley outside, but it’s too late—he dies from the gunshot wound. The police arrive, take Pip in for questioning, and test her hands for gunshot residue to clear her as a suspect.
Two and a half weeks later, Stanley is buried, but his funeral is a media circus. Protesters gather, furious that a former serial killer’s accomplice is being mourned at all.
A week after the funeral, the Reynolds family hosts a barbecue to celebrate Jamie’s safe return. The nightmare is over… or is it?
Pip does one final search: Charlie and Flora Green. They’ve been spotted in Wichita. But they’re still out there.
And they’re still on the run.
“Good Girl, Bad Blood” Characters
Here’s a list of the main characters in Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson:
- Pip Fitz-Amobi – The protagonist, a determined and intelligent young woman who reluctantly returns to investigating when her friend’s brother goes missing. She also runs a true-crime podcast.
- Ravi Singh – Pip’s boyfriend, who supports her investigations. Ravi has a personal connection to Pip’s past case, as his brother was wrongly accused in the first book.
- Connor Reynolds – Pip’s friend whose brother, Jamie, goes missing. He asks Pip to help find him when the police don’t take the case seriously.
- Jamie Reynolds – Connor’s older brother, whose sudden disappearance becomes the central mystery of the novel.
- Cara Ward – Pip’s best friend and sister of Naomi Ward. Cara is part of Pip’s close-knit circle and offers emotional support throughout the investigation.
- Naomi Ward – Cara’s older sister and a key character from the first book, Naomi’s past is still entangled with the mystery and drama in their town.
- The Reynolds Family – Connor and Jamie’s parents, who are distraught over Jamie’s disappearance and turn to Pip for help when the police fail to act.
- Detective Hawkins – A police officer who dismisses Jamie’s disappearance as less urgent, forcing Pip to take matters into her own hands.
- Max Hastings – A character from the first book whose past actions still have an impact on the town and its people.
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