Review of As Good As Dead

Have you read the first two books in the AGGGTM (A Good Girls Guide to Murder) series and are contemplating the third, As Good As Dead? Have you heard mixed things and need an opinion? Check out my review of As Good As Dead.

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As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson

Published on September 28, 2021 by Delacorte Press.

Synopsis: 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.

Review of As Good As Dead

Wow – I resisted reading this after seeing some reviews that mentioned what a dark turn events in the book took. But I decided to try As Good As Dead and I have to say that I think Holly Jackson is by far the best YA mystery/thriller writer out there at the moment. The plotting in these three was intricate and I liked the fact that Jackson doesn’t shy away from the toll that Pip’s investigations take on her.

Yes, As Good As Dead is dark. What do I mean by “dark?” Well, without spoilers, it’s dark in the events it depicts, it’s dark in tone, and Pip’s character development takes a HUGE turn. Pip is no longer the plucky, curious, crusader she was in book one. She’s a mess – anxious and jumpy and furious at the way the criminal justice system works (or doesn’t). 

Pip is getting ready to head to college, but is distracted by her PTSD and some weird things that she’s experiencing – threatening messages and phone calls and strange stuff left outside her house. This leads her to an old (and presumably closed) case from ten years ago – could it be connected to the cases she’s investigated already? 

I have REALLY mixed feelings about one major aspect of the plot. From books one to two, Pip changed, and rightfully so. In this book, she’s become almost completely unrecognizable. She went from plucky, crusading Pip in book one to a slightly more cynical Pip in book two, to a completely different person who scared me a little in As Good As Dead. If that’s going to upset you (and clearly it did upset some readers) then proceed with caution.

Have you read this? Please tell me your thoughts in comments!

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