A Good Girl's Guide to Murder: Part One

by Holly Jackson
Pippa, a seventeen-year-old student, turns her town upside down when she starts investigating a murder case that everyone believed was solved five years ago.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. spectral
    resembling or characteristic of a phantom
    But it wasn’t haunted by ghosts, just three sad people trying to live their lives as before. A house not haunted by flickering lights or spectral falling chairs, but by dark spray-painted letters of “Scum Family” and stone-shattered windows.
  2. corroborate
    support with evidence or authority or make more certain
    This was corroborated by the police in a press conference on Tuesday, April 22: "Footage taken from a security camera outside the bank on Fairview's Main Street confirms that Andie's car was seen driving away from her home at about 10:40 p.m.’’
  3. incessantly
    without interruption
    1% of people who disappear are never found. And just 0.25% of all missing persons cases have a fatal outcome. So where does this leave Andie Bell? Floating incessantly somewhere between 1% and 0.25%.
  4. spiel
    artful or slick talk used to persuade
    “How were your days, then?” her dad asked, setting Josh off on a graphic spiel about the soccer games he’d played earlier.
  5. unabated
    continuing at full strength or intensity
    Police are not looking for anyone else in relation to Andie’s disappearance at this time, but our search for Andie will continue unabated.
  6. in absentia
    although or while not present
    Eighteen months later a court order was filed and Andie Bell was declared dead in absentia, based on the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.
  7. circumstantial
    suggesting that something is true without proving it
    After the ruling the district attorney said: "The case against Salil Singh would have been based on circumstantial and forensic evidence. It is not for me to state whether or not Salil Singh killed Andie Bell; that would have been a jury’s job to decide."
  8. feign
    give a false appearance of
    “Another Pip quote for the books.” Cara feigned writing it down in midair.
  9. segue
    changing smoothly from one state or situation to another
    “So, on to boys from this decade,” Cara said, prodding Pip on the shoulder. “Did you go see Ravi Singh yet?”
    “Questionable segue. But yes, and I’m going back to interview him tomorrow.”
  10. inconsistency
    the relation between propositions that cannot both be true
    For reasons I don’t even know how to explain to myself, I want Sal Singh to be innocent. Reasons carried with me since I was twelve years old, inconsistencies that have nagged at me these past five years.
  11. defamation
    an abusive attack on a person's character or good name
    To be honest I think he’s a poor journalist, and I’m pretty sure the Singhs could sue him for defamation and libel about a dozen times over.
  12. libel
    a false and malicious publication
    To be honest I think he’s a poor journalist, and I’m pretty sure the Singhs could sue him for defamation and libel about a dozen times over.
  13. divulge
    make known to the public information previously kept secret
    There are certain exemptions to disclosing information under the FOIA, like if the requested material relates to an ongoing investigation or if it would invade an individual’s privacy by divulging personal information.
  14. tawny
    having the color of tanned leather
    Naomi smiled weakly, twisting the ends of her tawny hair.
  15. fateful
    having extremely unfortunate or dire consequences
    It felt strange being there, like walking through some kind of crime-scene reconstruction; it looks just the same as it does in those Facebook photos they took on that fateful night five years ago.
  16. pretentious
    creating an appearance of importance or distinction
    Max still looks the same too: tall, blond floppy hair, mouth slightly too wide for his angular face, somewhat pretentious.
  17. noxious
    injurious to physical or mental health
    The woman scanned the milk, staring at Ravi with cold, noxious eyes.
  18. assessment
    the act of judging a person or situation or event
    I've already gotten character assessments from Sal’s friends and brother, but I thought Cara's dad might have some further, adult insights.
  19. emblazon
    decorate, adorn, or inscribe with a design
    That’s when she remembered what she was wearing: denim overalls and a white T-shirt with the words TALK NERDY TO ME emblazoned across the chest.
  20. stipple
    produce a mottled effect
    At the end of the driveway, they crossed the road and headed into the stippled shade of the woods opposite.
  21. at large
    having escaped, especially from confinement
    The actual killer is still at large.
  22. wistful
    showing pensive sadness
    Pip gave the phone one last wistful look before handing it back.
  23. flippant
    showing an inappropriate lack of seriousness
    Look, I know I've been flippant about her—and yeah, she had her flaws—but she was still my best friend who got murdered.
  24. tentatively
    in a hesitant manner
    “Um, Cara,” Pip said tentatively, “you know this isn’t a tent you brought, right? It’s a canopy with sides.”
  25. patriarchy
    a form of social organization in which men hold power
    “Dismantling the patriarchy, one tent at a time.”
  26. gangly
    tall, thin, and awkward
    And Connor Reynolds, who Pip and Cara had met in middle school, gangly and ever eager to be the class clown.
  27. inadvertently
    without knowledge or intention
    His shaggy blond hair had fallen into his eyes, and his hands were full, carrying a cooler with Zach, so he inadvertently walked into a low-hanging branch.
  28. stifling
    causing one to feel inhibited or oppressed
    “Connor!” she screamed again, chasing the only sign of him up ahead, a streak of light in the stifling darkness.
  29. brandish
    exhibit aggressively
    “Do you think this is funny?” Pip said, looking down at them as she brandished the note.
  30. clamber
    climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling
    Pip ignored him, clambering into her sleeping bag, using her scrunched-up sweater as a pillow.
Created on Wed Mar 09 09:33:12 EST 2022 (updated Fri Mar 18 10:51:09 EDT 2022)

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