We’re well into spooky season, and Halloween is just around the corner. If you’re looking for a book to really capture the moment, “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” by Holly Jackson is a great place to start.

“A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” focuses on Pip Fitz-Amobi, a high-schooler who thinks the police in her small town got a murder-suicide case wrong. Five years ago, popular teenager Andie Bell was supposedly murdered (though her body was never found) by her boyfriend Sal Singh, who then committed suicide. Before killing himself, Sal sent a text confessing to the murder, shifting him from a person of interest to the killer. Pip initially began working on the case for a school project to see if her doubts had any merit, and she is quickly drawn in.

Pip works on the case with Sal’s younger brother Ravi, and the more they find out, the less the “facts” make sense. Sal’s grammar in his last text isn’t consistent with how he normally texts, Andie had a secret older boyfriend and Pip starts receiving threats to stop investigating. With a combination of interviews with Andie’s friends and the impact of a digital footprint, Pip and Ravi piece together what really happened, and the true story isn’t even close to what they initially thought.

I really enjoyed this book. It does a fantastic job of juggling different theories and information at the same time. Every theory Pip has is supported by the evidence she has at the time, and it’s laid out well, which is consistent through the book. You’re never left confused, and you’re on the edge of your seat to see how Pip and Ravi put everything together as they learn more.

What makes “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” exciting is that it doesn’t rely on one random piece of information that turns up at the end to solve the case. It instead weaves an intricate web with each bit of information Pip and Ravi find until they uncover the final piece that unravels the whole mystery.

Or does it? Just when you think the duo has it all figured out, author Holly Jackson throws another curveball. Once you finally arrive at the ending, it’s satisfying. I found it hard to believe everything would come together in the end, but somehow, Jackson managed to do just that. Despite my best efforts, I could find no loose ends in the plot — every question was answered.

Another strong suit of the book is the fully fleshed out characters who aren’t defined by one archetype. Pip isn’t a genius; she’s a girl determined to prove some people wrong. Sal isn’t a convicted killer; he was a boy accused of murder who died before he could testify. While we spend the most time with Pip and Ravi, everyone from Andie’s old friends and their caginess when Pip comes knocking, to Pip’s mom and her worries about Pip, feels real. The characters are why the book is so easy to get immersed in — the mystery reels you in, but the characters keep you there.

Is Sal innocent? Or did he kill Andie? If Sal didn’t kill Andie, then who did? If you want the answers to these questions, grab some Halloween cookies and apple cider, and curl up with “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder,” by Holly Jackson for your spooky season read.