Those who crowd into seats for A Good Girl's Guide to Murder will do so via one of three cannily-placed turnstiles. The largest intake will likely be fans of Holly Jackson's YA trilogy, which, in spite of a cumbersome title, went down such a treat with the BookTokkers that it led to this BBC adaptation.
Next, there will be the Wednesday fans, desperate for some succour in the year-plus drought since Netflix's favourite nihilist arrived. They may be amazed to see Emma Myers take such a turn from bath-bomb-bobbed Enid, but more on that in a mo.
Then there will be those just craving some classic escapism. In creating a distinct world preserved like the landscape of a snowglobe and set at a very specific time in a teenager's life, this is a place you'll want to get lost in for a few hours.
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder – or AGGGTM, for the sake of the word count – sees Pip Fitz-Amobi (Myers) and her group of Stranger Things-reminiscent pals embark on a couple of months of languid, lazy fun for the summer holidays. Specifically, the last summer before they enter their final year of school.
Alice Cooper triumphantly scream-singing "School's out for summer" might come to mind. But the reality of a lot of school summer holidays comes to bear a couple of lines later: "I'm bored to pieces."
That's true for some in the aptly-named rural town of Little Kilton, but not Pip Fitz-Amobi. She decides to use her A-Level extended project to investigate the disappearance of schoolmate Andie Bell five years ago.
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Andie's boyfriend Sal confessed to the murder and was found dead. Her body was never found. As far as the seemingly humdrum people of Little Kilton go, that was that. But Pip becomes hellbent on proving Sal's innocence and enlists his younger brother Ravi (Zain Iqbal) to do so.
Pip's path to proving Sal's innocence is littered with sinister Little Kilton characters who stare at her with ominous intent, or threaten her to stay out of it. In supreme Nancy Drew style, she keeps at it.
The cast of young mostly unknowns is rounded out with a crop of familiar older faces – Anna Maxwell Martin (Motherland), Gary Beadle (Rye Lane) and Mathew Baynton (Ghosts) – relegated to playing the parents.
Mixed in with the murder mystery, Pip's gang enjoy a perfect summer. This is where AGGGTM makes a strong case for having the best vibes of any show so far this year. Every other scene is one of exquisite summertime indolence: camping, playing tennis, parties in the long, hot nights while sipping booze from coupe glasses. At one point, Pip and her mates actually run through a field of wheat. Theresa May would be beside herself.
All of this is set to a banging soundtrack. We get tracks including Wet Leg and AWOLNATION's crashing 'Sail'. The mood builds and builds. All of this would leave you wanting to live suspended in this Little Kilton summer, were it not for the murder-suicide conspiracy bubbling away.
It's made all the more poignant because this time is surrounded by the creeping hallmarks of fading youth. Pip's investigation revolves around her older school peers, all of whom are still in and around Little Kilton years down the line.
AGGGTM points to young people disenfranchised by a lack of opportunities and the pressure to have everything figured out. With a dollop of summer ennui thrown in, many turn to drugs, sex and necking industrial-strength vodka at woodland raves. The murder investigation starts to feel like a welcome distraction from real-life worries.
Myers as Pip is a tender, sometimes naïve but incredibly headstrong heroine, with a British accent that mostly holds up. She inhabits Pip's quirky wardrobe perfectly – think Portia in The White Lotus meets Pippi Longstocking, but more effortlessly cool. Her bond with Iqbal's Ravi is suitably YA sweet.
They pore over an artful suspect board in Pip's room. With an unwieldy and somewhat lookalike cast, this is a helpful reminder of who exactly is who. A printout version would be invaluable for those trying to unpick the case as they go along.
AGGGTM is far from grounded in reality and characters react to Pip's increasingly bold manoeuvres as if trapped in some hazy, lazy summer daydream. It's been years since the disappearance of Andie and the death of her boyfriend Sal, but that fact isn't quite the raw nerve you would imagine in a town as close-knit as this one.
Although, the vibes probably go down smoother for it. What better way to beat the heat?
For more on A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, check out:
- Emma Myers discusses changes from book for A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
- Emma Myers on why Somerset location was crucial to new BBC murder mystery
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder is available on BBC iPlayer from Monday, July 1.
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Previously Deputy TV Editor at Digital Spy and, before that, a TV Reporter at The Mirror, Rebecca can now be found crafting expert analysis of the TV landscape, when she's not talking on the BBC or Times Radio about everything from the latest season of Bridgerton or The White Lotus to whatever chaos is unfolding in the various Love Island villas. When she's not bingeing a boxset, in-the-wild sightings of Rebecca have included stints on the National TV Awards and BAFTAs red carpets, and post-match video explainers of the reality TV we're all watching.
