Book Review KILL JOY Holly Jackson

I found Kill Joy by Holly Jackson on the Libby app. Check for your local library on the app and read great books for free!📚



My sweet husband gave me Holly Jackson's GOOD GIRL'S GUIDE TO MURDER trilogy for Christmas last year, and while I have yet to read them (you could read this whether or not you've read the other books), I was in no way lacking to enjoy this charming little mystery short. In it, several college students gather in a mansion to act out a murder mystery a la the old 90's murder-with-your-meal dinner shows. Many dramatic gasps, plot reversals, and suspenseful hijinks ensue.

I'm assuming these characters show up in the first book of the trilogy, which would be fine, because they are each genuinely likeable. The way the brothers fight constantly reminds me of me and my sisters. And I love the main character, Pip Fitz-Amobi (yeah, that name is amazing!), with her self-assuredness and keen judgment. I even love that Jackson decided to tell this one in third person.

Perhaps the best thing about this short is that I was expecting something very serious but I found something jaunty instead. Plenty of Jackson's macabre humor on decoration in this one:

I am requesting a carrot cake to be made for dessert. It's the birthday boy's favorite, after all. Make sure it's moist! -- R. R.

Cara shuddered. "Ugh, I hate the word 'moist.'"

"Who's Darlene?" Conner asked, screwing his eyes up at the note.

"Well, clearly someone can't be bothered to learn my actual name," Cara said. "So, I had to go into the vegetable patch to get the actual carrots. I made the bloody carrot cake, by the way. It was -- moist as f-ck." chapter 3

A quick note about the audiobook, which I recommend highly, as I thought the narration was very well done. I adore the grumpy housekeeper, Cara. Her delivery just brims with resentment, it is beautiful. She made me laugh a couple times when I'm not sure I should have been laughing 🤭

Unfortunately, I thought the whodunit was really tortured and contrived. When the "murder host" revealed the killer, I was like, yeah, okay, I guess so, but one of the elements was a real stretch. Luckily, I don't read mysteries for the whodunit, but for the often dark tone and mood, the character tropes often found in them (like grumpy house staff), and their tendency to favor irony.

So, I really liked it. A little grasping in the way of the mystery, but definitely an entertaining way to spend a couple hours!

Rating: 🥮🥮🥮🥮 / 5 carrot cakes
Recommend? Yes!
Finished? Jun 29 2023
Format: Audiobook, Libby 
Read this of you like:
📜 Short stories 
🔪 Murder mysteries 
🎭 Characters playing characters 
🗣 Good banter 

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