An important theme throughout Kill Joy is the development of investigative skills and critical thinking. Pip’s investment in solving the murder-mystery party game inspires her decision to re-examine the murder of Andie Bell. Since Kill Joy is the prequel to the A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder trilogy, the text explores how Pip develops her keen investigative and critical-thinking skills, which she will use later in the series.

Pip initially struggles with going to the murder-mystery game party at all, thinking that it will be a “waste of time” because she has work to do at home (2)—namely, deciding on her senior capstone project topic. As she begins playing the game, however, Pip discovers that her natural skills are uniquely suited for this kind of game and becomes increasingly committed to cracking the case: “Maybe solving murders wasn’t too different from homework after all” (31). Pip’s penchant for a near-obsessive commitment to hard work and figuring things out lends itself well to solving mysteries. Pip takes copious notes on the other players: their alibis, motives, and the secrets they reveal. As she listens, she comes closer to solving the case.

As the game progresses, it is Pip who notices certain subtleties that help her untangle the narrative: “Wait, there was a pattern here.