A Good Girl's Guide To Murder: release date, recaps, cast, plot, trailer and everything we know

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder star Emma Myers in front of a board of clues
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder follows the murder of a local schoolgirl. (Image credit: BBC)

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder is a drama series based on the hugely successful mystery thrillers by Holly Jackson. The series follows "smart and single-minded" Pip Fitz-Amobi who becomes determined to solve the murder of a local schoolgirl after growing convinced that the police had pinned the case on the wrong person.

Emma Myers, who plays Pip, explains: "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder is the story of Pip and her determination to solve a murder that happened in her hometown five years ago. She doesn't believe who was accused of it, did it. So she goes on this mission to uncover it herself. Along the way she finds out lots of twists and turns, secrets and some bad people."

Describing Pip, she adds: "Pip is a very strong character, just so determined. The way Holly Jackson has written her in the books and the way it's been translated on screen by Poppy Cogan was such a joy to play. Pip's journey and what she goes through is quite a lot. She's a completely different person from the start to the end. It was really fun exploring that."

Speaking to us, Emma added: "I'd heard about it, but I'd never read it before. But I have a lot of friends that are obsessed with it. And then after I officially signed on, I bought all the books and binged on them. So I've read them multiple times now! And we have tried to stay as true to the books as possible."

Here's everything we know about A Good Girl's Guide to Murder...

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder release date

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder was released on BBC iPlayer on Monday, July 1 and all six episodes are now available. 

In the US, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder landed on Netflix on Thursday, August 1 where all episodes are now available to stream.

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder plot

The plot synopsis for A Good Girl's Guide to Murder reads: "Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend Sal Singh. Case closed. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it. 

"But smart and single-minded Pip Fitz-Amobi isn't so sure and she’s determined to prove it. And if Sal Singh isn’t a murderer and the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth?"

The events of the six-part series are based on the first book in Holly Jackson's thriller series, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. It has been adapted by Red Rose's Poppy Cogan and directed by Dolly Wells, who is known for her work on Good Posture.

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder cast

Cara (Asha Banks), Pip (Emma Myers), Lauren (Yali Topol Margolith), Zach (Raiko Gohara) and Connor (Jude Collie) walking in a group

(Image credit: BBC)

Wednesday star Emma Myers plays the lead role of Pip Fitz-Amobi. Fans of the hit Netflix series will know her as Wednesday Addams' colorful roommate, Enid Sinclair.

Meanwhile, Zain Iqbal is making his TV debut after previously starring in the short film Why ME?. He plays Ravi, who assists Pip in investigating the case, considering his brother has been wrongly blamed. 

Anna Maxwell-Martin sitting at a table

Anna Maxwell-Martin plays Pip's mum Leanne (Image credit: BBC)

Author Holly Jackson spoke about the casting and added: "I am so unbelievably excited that Emma is our Pip. She is phenomenal and this role was truly always meant to be hers. And we found our perfect Ravi in Zain. I can’t wait for us all to be able to watch their scenes. 

"I smile every time I see them together, because I know that we’ve pulled off the impossible, and Emma and Zain are the only two people I would trust to bring these characters to life. Everyone’s going to be just as thrilled as I am."

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder also features Asha Banks as Cara, Yali Topol Margalith as Lauren, Jude Collie as Connor, and Raiko Gohara as Zach.

Mathew Baynton, Anna Maxwell Martin and Gary Beadle are also in the cast.

Jackson said: "I am beyond thrilled to finally introduce Anna and Gary as Pip’s parents, Leanne and Victor, and Mathew Baynton as Elliot Ward. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we’d have such an incredible cast and yet – at the same time – it always had to be them, because they are perfect for these characters.”

In addition, the series also features India Lillie Davies playing Andie Bell, Rahul Pattni as Sal Singh, Henry Ashton as Max Hastings, Mitu Panicucci as Stella Chapman, Orla Hill as Ruby Foxcroft, Ephraim O.P. Sampson as Jake Lawrence, Carla Woodcock as Becca, Yasmin Al-Khudhairi as Naomi Ward, Jessica Webber as Nat Da Silva, Matthew Khan as Dylan, Georgia Aaron as Emma Hutton, Oliver Wickham as Jesse Walker, Adam Astill as Toby Hastings and Annabel Mullion as Rosie Hastings.

Is there a trailer?

Yes, here it is...

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder | Trailer - BBC - YouTube A Good Girl's Guide to Murder | Trailer - BBC - YouTube
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Will there be a second season?

Well, Emma told us she was keen on more seasons, saying: "If it does well and people really love it, I would love to finish the books, for sure. You want more of the characters." However, there's no official word as yet.

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David Hollingsworth
Editor

David is the What To Watch Editor and has over 20 years of experience in television journalism. He is currently writing about the latest television and film news for What To Watch.

Before working for What To Watch, David spent many years working for TV Times magazine, interviewing some of television's most famous stars including Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland, singer Lionel Richie and wildlife legend Sir David Attenborough. 

David started out as a writer for TV Times before becoming the title's deputy features editor and then features editor. During his time on TV Times, David also helped run the annual TV Times Awards. David is a huge Death in Paradise fan, although he's still failed to solve a case before the show's detective! He also loves James Bond and controversially thinks that Timothy Dalton was an excellent 007.

Other than watching and writing about telly, David loves playing cricket, going to the cinema, trying to improve his tennis and chasing about after his kids!