Book Review: As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson

 

Book: As Good as Dead (Book #3 in the 'A Good Girl's Guide to Murder' Series)  

Author: Holly Jackson 

Pages: 464

Read on: Kindle 

Read in: 4 hours 

Plot Summary: Pip is about to head to college, but she is still haunted by the way her last investigation ended. She’s used to online death threats in the wake of her viral true-crime podcast, but she can’t help noticing an anonymous person who keeps asking her: Who will look for you when you’re the one who disappears? 

Soon the threats escalate and Pip realizes that someone is following her in real life. When she starts to find connections between her stalker and a local serial killer caught six years ago, she wonders if maybe the wrong man is behind bars.

Police refuse to act, so Pip has only one choice: find the suspect herself—or be the next victim. As the deadly game plays out, Pip discovers that everything in her small town is coming full circle . . .and if she doesn’t find the answers, this time she will be the one who disappears. 

General Thoughts: Last year I read and enjoyed the first two books in the A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series by Holly Jackson. I have reviewed the first book here. I didn't review the second book for some reason, but I did enjoy it as well. The second book ends on an unsatisfying note (refer to the first line in the 'plot summary' above) and so, I, guess, like Pip, I felt a bit sad and demotivated. However, when the third (and final) book in the series came out, I picked it up in the hope that all loose ends will be tied up and I was not disappointed! 

If you are looking for a good series of murder mystery books or even good young adult (YA) crime fiction with some old-fashioned soul, then you can't go wrong with these books! Highly recommend the entire series! 

Also, you will need to read the first two books in the series to truly enjoy (or even make sense) of this last instalment. 

Things I Liked: 

1. I love the depiction of young adults in this series of books. They are not too precocious or too desperate-to-be-wildly-grown-up. They are so real. This also extends to the kinds of investigation and investigative techniques used by Pip and Ravi, which are all within the limits of what young lay people can manage. I also liked how mental health is given so much space in this book. Pip struggles with severe PTSD after the events of book #2 and though her way to deal with it is not the best, the author still shines a light on mental health issues of those who decide to devote their lives to true crime or crime solving. 

2. I really liked how a huge focus of this book was on closing several open plot points and tying up loose ends of both book #1 and #2. We have a case in this book that *slight spoiler alert* is sort of connected to the events the previous books in the series. In that sense, the author has done a fantastic job of coming full circle and weaving the whole series together!

3. This book's narrative can be broken into two distinct parts (even the book is structured in such a manner)- first, closing the loop on the crimes/ events of the first two books and then, justice. That is all, unfortunately, that I can tell you about the second part of As Good As Dead because anything else I say will be a huge spoiler! 

4. Pip and Ravi are just so adorable! I really like how their relationship has evolved and they were somehow even cuter in this book! 

5. The ending! I know that a lot of reviewers have had mixed feelings about the second half of the book and the ending, but I really liked how it ended. Sure, there were some legalities that were glossed over by the author, but I am willing to disregard those as poetic license of sorts, but the overall ending of the book was so, so satisfying. That's all I am going to say on that! 

Rating: 4/5 

This is a great YA crime thriller series, do read it! Perfect for a long weekend of binge-reading!