In episode 2 of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder season 2, the tension continues to build as the new disappearance pulls Pippa into another dangerous investigation that she would rather avoid.
In the first episode, Connor turns to Pippa for help when his brother, Jamie, disappears. Jamie was last seen near the memorial and has been missing for more than 24 hours. Pippa’s not looking to get involved again after everything that happened to her family, but Connor is adamant that he needs answers. Pippa remembers where Jamie was last seen and recalls having spotted him briefly on her way to meet Max.
Pippa is still unsure but turns to D.I. Hawkins and asks him to look into Jamie’s disappearance. She also suggests that Max might be stalling the ongoing trial. Hawkins brushed away her concerns, saying he had no room for another case. As she departs she comes face to face with Detective Daniel Da Silva, Nat’s older brother, who admits to her surprise that there may be some truth in her suspicions of Max, before he is led away.
That night Pippa tells Ravi what is happening. She is reluctant to get involved, afraid she will ruin someone else’s life as she believes she has done in the past. Ravi tells her to think about it but in the end he convinces her to help Connor.
The following day Pippa visits Cara to discuss a conversation they had the night before, but Cara claims she has no recollection of what she said. Cara warns Pippa that if she keeps digging, she may find something disturbing when Jamie’s disappearance is brought up.
Later, Pippa meets Ravi for coffee and discusses possible leads. Pippa does recommend Max as a place to start, and mentions details of his family dinner on the night of the memorial. Ravi is suspicious about how she knows this, but Pippa avoids the question.
Later, Pippa and Ravi join Connor, Lauren, Cara and Robin to hand out posters of Jamie who is missing. Ravi attempts to persuade Connor that Jamie is likely still alive. Meanwhile Pippa asks Robin where Max is and if he went to the family dinner.
Robin calls Max to verify his alibi. Max hears Pippa’s name on the phone and says he was at a golf club that night. Then he quietly leaves, making a phone call to say that there is a problem that needs attention.
Pippa and Ravi go with Victor to the golf club to check Max’s alibi. They trick staff into leaving, getting into the security office. Pippa looks at the CCTV footage. She sees Max at the bar, and Ravi standing guard. But she can’t tell you just when he came or went.
When a colleague calls Ravi away, leaving Pippa on her own, things get complicated. She narrowly escapes being caught in the security office. Later, Ravi apologizes, saying he meant what he said in his memorial speech. Pippa is focused on the case.
Back at Connor’s house, Pippa tells him that Jamie seems to be a key witness in Max’s trial and that his alibi checks out. Connor urges her to use her podcast to make people aware, and offers some disturbing facts about Jamie stealing from their mother, hinting that his disappearance might be more serious than they thought.
Pippa and Connor search through Jamie’s room and try to access his laptop. They find a picture of Jamie with Nat and Connor tells them Jamie had a crush on her. He also says Nat is with a rich guy now. And the search yields still more disturbing evidence.
That night, Pippa drops a new podcast episode, promising to reveal the truth about Jamie’s disappearance. Almost immediately, her car alarm is triggered and a threatening note is left on her windshield. She asks Charlie to pull up the security tapes, but there’s nothing useful there, and she’s alarmed.
Pippa talks to Victor about the case, prior to her upcoming witness hearing. She also gets a voicemail from a listener who says Jamie was last seen arguing with a blonde woman and she suspects Nat.
Pippa passes this to Ravi and has decided to go to the source and confront Nat. She questions Nat and Luke at Luke’s house, but Luke cuts her off, backs up Nat’s alibi and makes Pippa leave.
Outside, Nat runs after Pippa, who tells him that Jamie is on drugs again and has relapsed. She said the argument was over the way he was behaving at the memorial. Pippa then goes home to get ready for court.
Meanwhile, Becca testifies in court, recounting the events of the Calamity party where Max is accused of attacking her. Max’s lawyer, however, attacks her credibility by bringing up her involvement in the Andie murder case, putting pressure on her testimony as she tries to defend herself.
Elsewhere, Charlie watches security footage from Connor’s birthday party and sees Jamie enter a room during the party. Later Flora finds a bracelet missing. Pippa returns a bracelet she found in Jamie’s room. The episode ends with Pippa not knowing what Jamie was really investigating.
Review:
This episode increases the central mystery and expands the suspicion surrounding various characters. There’s a definite sense that the current trial is linked to Jamie’s disappearance, with whispers that he may have seen something crucial involving Max. The story just keeps blurring the line between personal conflict and legal drama, leaving every character feeling potentially involved.
Pippa’s mental health is still a major worry. Her hesitation to investigate again is a sign of her internal struggle, but the pull of the truth still pulls at her. Her growing reliance on Ravi is also more evident. Although there is certainly an emotional gap between them which adds to their relationship.
One of the more interesting aspects is the slow withholding, or distorting, of information by nearly every character. Cara’s memory lapses, Max’s shaky alibi and Nat’s contradictory story all add up to a story where trust is less and less stable.
Jamie might have been looking for evidence tied to the central case before he disappeared. The episode ends with a strong investigative hook. It really raises the stakes and opens a number of possible avenues for the next episode.