Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson

299 reviews

ursa_arlo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really like this installment. It starts of slow with Pip dealing with her trauma and starting to suspect she is being stalked; this part is a little jarring as it's very heavy and repetitive, but near the middle, the book speeds up and damn... It is the perfect circular ending to this series.

I was wondering what could possible happen after

Pip escapes from Jason

around the middle of the book but I was pleasantly surprised. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Kidnapping, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, and Addiction

_pauline's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

loved it but GGBB remains my favourite.

The whole no-contact thing at the end just felt too far-fetched. I get the cover up, it was a little weird since imo it could easily have passed/been disguised as self defence, but I get that it was relevant to the plot. but why would she need to distance herself from people who didn’t even know about it in the first place like her family? that felt a little forced in order to keep the ending dramatic and open.

Plus

the DT-scene

was a little intense for me at times but tbh what did I expect seeing that title and cover (a little crazy for YA though).

Still, nothing can keep me from reading every single thing Holly Jackson publishes, and I liked how seemingly little things from the previous books were resolved (

like the backstory of why Andie was the way she was and why Sal put up with her - I‘d been slightly confused/irritated by that in the previous books but didn’t expect it to be picked up again like that; or Barney, breaking my heart AGAIN

), all without major plot holes or inconsistencies. 
And I really liked the portrayal of

Pip’s ptsd, panic attacks, addiction etc as well as everything on sexual assault trials and the criminal justice system.

The best crime/mystery/thriller series I‘ve ever read 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Stalking, Confinement, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Drug abuse, Vomit, and Addiction

Minor: Animal death and Sexual assault

cbuchanan's review against another edition

dark tense

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Violence, Drug abuse, Death, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Vomit, and Torture

Minor: Vomit, Rape, and Sexism

I really liked the previous books in the series, but this felt like an inadequate ending to the series. (Light, non-detailed spoilers ahead)

about halfway through the book, we learn who the DT killer is, and the turn the book takes from there is jarring. Pip was set up as a brilliant young woman, and the actions she takes don't feel like they track with her character from previous books. It's understandable, but seems highly illogical even with her explanation of her decisions.

Detailed spoilers below:

I loved that Jason Bell was the DT Killer, but I hated everything after Pip escaped and decided to turn back and kill him and then pin it on Max Hastings. I hated Max, he was written to be incredibly hateable and explicitly bad, but setting him up to take the fall for killing Jason just doesn't feel satisfying to me. The decision will haunt Pip forever, and she's already struggling with her mental health after seeing Stanley die in the previous book, so it doesn't make sense to me that she's going to be okay with this for the rest of her life. I'm really disappointed with how this ended honestly, and I wish I'd liked it more.

drjosh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death, and Rape

kshurtz13's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Drug abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Rape and Vomit

nele_281's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Violence, Murder, Blood, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Death, Kidnapping, Stalking, Gore, and Torture

Moderate: Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Misogyny, Sexism, Drug abuse, and Rape

Minor: Animal death, Gun violence, and Cursing

violet_viper's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was so good. It was quite dark, but a perfect end to the series. It tied up all the loose ends and came full circle. Easily 5 stars. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Drug abuse, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Violence

Minor: Sexual assault

kat_a's review against another edition

It got just really confusing and I couldn't imagine it was well as I was able to wirh her previous work. This confusion and muddled detailed had me put it down temporarily. I also have a concussion which only added to my delayed attitude when picking it up and wanting to read it. I'll most likely pick it back up later in the year or maybe even in a few days. I love Holly Jackson, but I'm just not in the mood right now it seems. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, and Grief

I just put all the warnings I could think of in the graphic section. I'm very tried and recovering from a concussion currently. Apologies for the messiness and lack of organization.

isaile's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Confinement, Death, Murder, Kidnapping, Stalking, Grief, and Violence

Moderate: Vomit, Addiction, Rape, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, and Drug abuse

Minor: Eating disorder, Child death, Abandonment, and Gun violence

escape_to_reality's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book really neatly tied together the trilogy,

Andie still being a part of the mystery felt fitting. 
That Pip didn't realize that Jason Bell was DT earlier felt a bit off, I knew that immedialy when she found out about his companys connections and that he was away on the night Tara was killed. She should have at least questioned what he was doing that night.

Overall I really loved how Pips character grew during the series, and how her trauma is dealt with. The pacing and events really kept me hooked all the way through and I was truly stressed out while reading. 
I'm now ready for the tv-series to drop and I'm really excited to see all the characters come to life!!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Murder, Drug abuse, Violence, Blood, Drug use, Kidnapping, Stalking, Confinement, and Death

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Domestic abuse

Minor: Death of parent, Rape, Animal death, and Child abuse