“A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder”: The Biggest Differences Between the BookTok Sensation and the TV Series

The show, based on Holly Jackson’s novel, follows a teenager attempting to uncover the real story behind a tragic murder

The small screen adaptation of Holly Jackson’s novel, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, is finally here!

The young adult mystery novel, which was published in the United Kingdom in 2019 and the United States in 2020, arrived on Netflix on Aug. 1 after debuting on BBC iPlayer in July. The novel's popularity skyrocketed thanks to the booktok community on TikTok, and fans have been anxiously waiting for the show to drop.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder follows Pippa "Pip" Fitz-Amobi (Wednesday and The Family Switch's Emma Myers), a high school student who has always believed that there was more to the murder of her town’s sweetheart, Andie Bell. Though authorities determined that Andie was killed by her boyfriend Sal Singh, before he died by suicide, Pip dedicates her senior year capstone project to proving Sal’s innocence.

Soon Pip, with the help of Sal’s brother Ravi, is reopening the case, generating new suspects and tracking down clues. When Pip begins receiving threatening notes telling her to stop her investigation, however, she realizes that she's in over her head — and that there’s someone out there who wants her discoveries to stay hidden.

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The show's cast also features Zain Iqbal as Ravi, Rahul Pattni as Sal, India Lillie Davies as Andie, Henry Ashton as Max, Asha Banks as Cara, Carla Woodcock as Becca and Mathew Baynton as Elliot.

Wherever you're watching the show, there are some major differences between the novel and the new TV adaptation — which the novel's author has even commented on. Read on to uncover the biggest ones.

Note: this article examines the differences between the Netflix series and the U.S. edition of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. Major spoilers ahead for both the novel and the Netflix series.

The TV show and the novel take place in different settings

The Netflix series follows the U.K.'s lead and sets the show in England. Pip attends a school in the small, fictional town of Little Kilton, and aspires to attend Cambridge University.

In the U.S. version of the novel, Pip lives in Fairview, Ct. An aspiring journalist, she wants to attend Columbia University after she graduates.

Nat da Silva is one of Andie’s best friends in the TV series

A prominent change from page to screen comes with the character Nat da Silva. In the TV series, Nat, the younger sister of police officer Daniel da Silva, was one of Andie’s best friends. Pip confronts her after a tennis match, wherein Nat reveals that there was more to Andie than most people thought.

In the novel, Nat da Silva is one of Andie’s enemies. Andie, who felt threatened by Nat, posed as a boy that Nat liked and texted Nat asking for a topless video, spreading it all over the school. Andie also blackmailed Nat, saying she would go to the police about a statutory rape committed by Nat's brother, if Nat didn’t drop out of the school play. Nat is later arrested and charged with aggravated assault.

Though Dan does have an underage relationship with Andie in the show, Nat’s hostility toward Andie is largely cut from the series.

There is a new side plot about Pip’s father that wasn’t in the novel

The TV adaptation sees a new side plot centered around Pip’s parents that isn’t in the novel. When Pip and Ravi investigate the hotel where Andie was meeting an older man, Pip learns that her father, Victor, had previously checked into the hotel during a period when he was supposedly visiting family in Nigeria.

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When Pip confronts her mother, she learns that her parents had been having marital problems. Victor lied about his trip and instead spent some time away from the family to regroup. Though Pip originally thinks that her father is having an affair, Victor reassures her.

In the TV series, Pip uses social media to try and weed out the killer

As Pip gets deeper into her investigation, Andie’s killer also grows more vengeful. A turning point of the novel comes when Pip takes her dog Barney for a walk, and he gets stolen. The killer keeps Barney until Pip agrees to destroy all of her evidence about the case. Though Pip obliges, Barney is killed anyway.

In the TV series, the killer doesn’t outright tell Pip to destroy her evidence. Pip posts a video to social media in an attempt to draw out the killer, announcing that she’s solved the case and will soon publish what she's learned. The killer then steals Barney from Pip’s house during her brother's birthday party. Pip goes online and rebukes her video in an attempt to ensure Barney’s safety, but the dog is still killed.

The woman that Elliot kidnaps does not believe she’s Andie in the TV series

Pip’s investigation takes a dark turn when she learns that her friend Cara’s father, Elliot, is involved in the case. In both the show and the novel, Pip learns that Elliot and Andie had an illicit relationship. Shortly before she died, the two had an argument, where Elliot pushed Andie and injured her. Andie left his house and Elliot presumed her to be dead (Elliot also killed Sal to try and protect himself). Later, Elliot is driving and sees a woman on the side of the road that he believes to be Andie. Elliot kidnaps her and keeps her in the attic of his second home.

In the novel, the woman that Elliot kidnaps doesn’t even realize she isn’t Andie. Her real name is Isla Jordan, and she has a disability that means she has the mental capacity of a 12-year-old, even though she's actually 23. Because she had lived with Elliot for so long, she actually believed that she was Andie. In the TV show, the woman that Elliot kidnaps knows that she’s not Andie, and has tried to escape the house before. Elliot kept her there for years until Pip discovers her.

The scene where Pip confronts Becca — and is nearly murdered by her — is changed

One of the novel’s most pivotal scenes comes when Pip confronts Becca Bell, Andie's sister, who Pip discovers actually killed Andie. In the novel, Pip visits Becca at home, where she learns that Becca killed Andie shortly after she was injured at Elliot's house.

Becca was upset because Andie didn't help her after Andie’s friend, Max, raped Becca at a party. While admitting her crime, Becca spikes Pip’s drink and drugs her. When Pip tries to escape outside, Becca tries to kill her too, until Ravi and Pip’s father show up to save her.

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In the TV show, after Pip shows up to Becca’s house, Becca takes her to the location where she dumped Andie’s body. Pip doesn’t originally see where Andie’s body was in the novel, and is saved by Ravi and Cara in the show.

The consequences of Pip’s research are not fully explored in the TV series

At the end of the novel, Pip’s findings about the case bring about drastic consequences for everyone involved. Elliot has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and kidnapping charges, Becca is set to face trial for charges including criminally negligent homicide and Max will face trial for sexual assault and rape. Pip also presents her research at a community event and lets Ravi give remarks about his late brother.

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In the TV show, though Elliot is arrested, it’s not explicitly clear what happens to Becca. Pip also tells Max that she won’t stop until she uncovers all of the people that Max has hurt, which differs from him being charged for his crimes in the novel. Pip also doesn’t present her research to the community. The series instead ends with Pip and Ravi reuniting and sharing a kiss together.

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