Should You Try It: A Good Girl's Guide to Murder streaming on Netflix

We’re in the midst of the Summer Olympics, which is a rich time for sports and entertainment. But when you’ve binged out on swimming, gymnastics, and the rest, you might be looking for a new binge. That could draw you to a new series. We don’t have many premiers this week, but Netflix is offering up a new drama based on a book series. Should you dive in? Let’s weigh the details!

Series: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

Where to Find It: All six episodes are now available to stream on Netflix.

What’s It About: This new series from Netflix is a six-episode exploration that is airing on BBC Three in England and Netflix nearly everywhere else. The series is based on the book series from Holly Jackson and adapted by Poppy Cogan. Three of the episodes are directed by Dolly Wells, who worked on the series Doll & Em.

The season covers the first novel with the potential for future seasons to cover more books in the series. But the first season tells a self-contained story with a resolution, similar to the book of the same name upon which It’s based. It’s focuses on Pip Fitz-Amobi (Emma Myers), a young student who isn’t satisfied by the police investigation into a missing teen.

As part of a project, Pip takes it on herself to dive into the case. She begins interviewing the victims’ family and friends, trying to get to the truth. The deeper she dives, the more peril she finds herself in as she seeks to uncover the truth.

You Should Try It If: You’re a fan of teen dramas, a fan of detective stories, or were a fan of the original novel.

One Man’s Opinion of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

I was curious about this one when it dropped. It’s only six episodes, each about 45-50 minutes, making for a quick binge. Being adapted from a book, I knew the story would be mapped out in a satisfying way, too. More importantly, it’s something of a genre and set up that interested me. I really enjoyed Veronica Mars, which was similarly about an American teen that sets out to solve a friend’s murder. This new series gives some of those vibes, so I was curious to see how it would turn out.

It turns out that it works well. I enjoyed Myers in the lead role and I like the basic premise. I will say that, through two episodes, some of the rest of the characters have blended together and failed to really stand out. But I like the idea and the lead enough that I’m curious to see how this mystery ends. The show also manages to work in a twist and cliff hanger to end the episodes, which keeps you wanting to move forward and see what happens next.

The show moves at a good pace and is a relatively short commitment. It’s a busy end-of-summer period, but this is the perfect kind of quick diversion that you can power through while you wait for the next medal competition at the Summer Olympics.