In the fictional town of Little Kilton, it is common knowledge that five years ago, a high school student named Andie was murdered by her boyfriend, who confessed to the crime before killing himself. But Pip, the heroine of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murderthe successful new British series adaptation of Holly Jackson’s 2019 best-selling young adult novel of the same name, does not believe this account of events. Under the pretext of doing a high school project, the titular “good girl” Pip (played by Wednesday‘S Emma Myers) decides to investigate the alleged murder-suicide after the fact in the hope of exonerating the accused boyfriend Sal. If that sounds like a cliched teen detective premise, well, it is – but it is also what A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder work so well. The series is equal parts clever mystery and classic teen cliches – from a budding romance between unlikely partners to dealing with a newfound sense of teenage rebellion – with a delicious dash of mystery.

To disprove the disturbing outcome of the infamous case for her high school senior project, Pip teams up with Sal’s younger brother, a tall, charming young fellow named Ravi (Zain Iqbal), and sets out to retrace Sal and Andie’s steps to the night the latter disappeared. All this despite the demands of her mother (Anna Maxwell Martin), who is not only concerned that Pip’s investigation could re-traumatize the families of those involved, but also that Pip’s tendency to fixate on things could create an unhealthy attachment to undeniably disturbing events. Already Guide for good girls has perfectly executed the tried and tested plot element of the “obedient teenager finally showing his feelings” and in doing so has laid the foundation for a romance between Ravi and Pip that is sure to be rewarding.

But the series really shines when it uses other aspects of adolescence to challenge its own premise. In many ways, Pip is still a kid, and a sheltered one at that. Due to the plot, there are doubts about the show’s titular “murder”: Maybe it wasn’t Sal, but since Andie’s body was never found, maybe no one did. The “Führer” part of the series name is also called into question – Pip may be smart, but she doesn’t know what the hell she’s doing. She’s adept at puzzles, can easily point out logistical inconsistencies in someone’s account of what happened, and often asks the right questions when she finds new evidence that contradicts common assumptions. However, she’s often completely out of her depth, putting herself in dangerous situations without any support or warning from her support system about her whereabouts, and she’s foolhardy in her assumptions, which is reflected in her constantly changing idea of ​​the perpetrator. Sometimes her biggest goal is cosplaying as a wilder Younger than her years, she infiltrates impromptu rave parties and interrogates drug dealers on their home turf, tasks she botches compared to the more traditional detective Nancy Drew roles.

Whether or not Pip is “good,” as the show’s name suggests, is complicated by her more serious reasons (which I won’t reveal here) for investigating Andie’s disappearance. These reasons make her meticulous dedication to clearing Sal’s name—potentially at the expense of the health and happiness of herself, her family, her friends, Ravi, and even her family dog—believable. In fact, the most impressive thing about Guide for good girls is simply that this makes everything senseimbued with a coherence that isn’t always a given in the teen shows we know and love. Usually, that doesn’t matter: After all, we come for the melodrama and the dashing 30-somethings playing high school students. But in this series, even Pip’s unlikely closeness to Ravi works better than the usual good-girl-likes-bad-boy or “right-side-of-the-tracks”-with-the-wrong-side-of-the-tracks storylines. Pip must get closer to Ravi to learn more about Sal, while Ravi must team up with Pip to clear his brother’s name. Sal’s postmortem condemnation gnawed at both of them for different reasons, and both feel they have nothing but time to get to the bottom of it. They also have literally have no choice but to snoop around together: Pip is supposed to concentrate on her project and Ravi, who is a few years older, finished school some time ago.

But the greatest achievement that Guide for good girls succeeds is to make the best argument for teen detectives. I know, I know—they’re just kids, detective work can be dangerous, and teens aren’t exactly known for their good judgment. But there’s an argument for access that this show deftly executes: Pip can get into places and have candid conversations that she wouldn’t be able to as an adult, let alone a member of the police force. Sure, the police could find out the location of the impromptu rave party Pip goes to in order to corner the aforementioned drug dealer, but could they mingle and get into his hideout without putting him on the defensive? Could adults get real testimony from other teens about Sal or Andie’s character, or moonlight as a waiter for an upper-class cocktail party, only to sneak off and convince the rich host family’s spoiled brat of a son to have a moment alone with them? Ultimately, it may prove to be to the girl’s advantage if adults who have something to hide underestimate a teenager’s ability to uncover her secrets.

The adaptation is not perfect, of course. The way the series handles the salacious elements of teenage life that Pip must participate in to solve the mystery can feel a little forced – the exact opposite of euphoriaa series full of scandals involving minors. And sometimes you get the feeling that Little Kilton is the most cursed town with the most nefarious individuals – an almost too perfect setting for a crime thriller. But despite the few under-appreciated or overly convenient parts, the series is a surprisingly balanced cocktail of the usual problems of adolescence and the much less usual hurdles of solving a crime. Despite the heavy subject matter, it even manages to be entertaining and light-hearted at times. Pip may or may not be quite good, her actions may or may not be a worthy guide, and she may or may not be investigating a murder, but A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is a great crime series for teenagers because it keeps you in the realm of possibility – even if it guess.