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Chapter 19
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Justice vs. the Law
Secrets
The Meaning of Family
Racism, Sexism, and Discrimination
Summary
Analysis
Ravi runs to meet Pip. First, she apologizes to him for lying: she told him Sal’s interview transcript hadn’t come in yet because she didn’t want to talk about how Sal seemed evasive in it when investigators asked him about his argument with Andie. But now Pip knows why Sal didn’t want to discuss it. It turns out the plate number on Howie’s car is something that Sal wrote into his phone’s notes. Sal was evasive because he didn’t want to tell the police about Andie’s involvement with drugs.
Despite all the lies or half-truths Pip has to tell as part of her investigation, Ravi is the one person that she seldom holds the truth back from, even when it’s difficult. Although she delayed telling him about Sal’s interview transcript, she does ultimately reveal it. Although Pip’s investigation has made her paranoid about the people around her who might be lying, it has also brought her closer to Ravi, who seems trustworthy.
Active
Themes
Pip convinces Ravi to come with her as they knock on Howie’s door. Pip immediately threatens Howie with the photos she took of Stanley and Robin. Howie grudgingly agrees to answer some questions about Andie. He admits that Andie started working with him around early 2011. She came to him. They set up a business arrangement, and he gave her a pre-paid burner phone. Andie’s hiding spot for the phone, drugs, and cash was a loose floorboard in her wardrobe.
Pip shows her sometimes-brash personality by threatening Howie with the photos right away. In some ways, she may be naïve about the dangers she faces, but her confidence also makes her convincing. Andie’s burner phone shows that her dealing of drugs wasn’t just a casual thing—it was a planned, thought-out business arrangement, showing again the extent of the secrets that lie hidden beneath the surface in this town.
Active
Themes
Pip makes Howie list what Andie sold. In addition to weed, one thing she sold was Rohypnol (roofies), and one of the buyers was Max. Pip asks Howie if he ever had anything sexual with Andie, and Howie strongly denies it, saying it was all business. Howie believes Sal was guilty. When Pip gets ready to leave, Howie blocks her path like he’s going to stop her, but it turns out that he just wants her to delete the photos.
Active
Themes
