Reviews with content warning for Child death - As Good As Dead

I did not think this series could continue in a meaningful way, I'll be honest. The second book was great, but certainly had a dip in quality compared to the first book, so I was expecting the third installment to be even worse. I was mistaken to the most severe definition of the word. Pip is an amazing character whose arc fully rounds out in a way both expected and unexpected from the moment you first pick up the series. Jackson artfully interconnected every character's plot line in this story in an almost incomprehensible way. I swear she must have had the entire series mapped out from the beginning, it is crafted that masterfully. I have to wake up at 3:30 in the morning but at this point I don't care. I picked up this book at 10:30 and could not put it down for the life of me.

Spoiler

From the second I read that Pip had turned back to face Jason Bell my heart dropped. I stared at the book in my hands, too in shock to comprehend that I was holding it open to the middle. Meaning Pip's story was far from over. After that point I was pulled in every direction, I felt my heart beat against my ribs as if I were Pip herself. I just have to applaud Holly Jackson. I am in awe.

Ranking of the books: As Good As Dead, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, Good Girl Bad Blood

Song:

Power & Control - Marina and The Diamonds

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bookishgoob's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

what an amazing end to this trilogy. i loved each book by itself and this was the most perfect ending. it was incredibly fast paced and it had me on the edge of my seat. i held my breath a lot. audibly gasped. got chills and felt so many emotions. to sum the book up i would say: i support womens rights, but more importantly, i support womens wrongs. i loved pip and i felt for her during the series. such a loveable and headstrong character. i wish there was going to be more books but i understand that the story is over, i just wish it wasn’t. this is a series i would recommend everyone.

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katieedwards's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-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

4.0

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cianarae's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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cultbyproxy's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-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

This book shot me in the heart and Holly Jackson pulled the trigger! The first half of As Good As Dead felt as close to your average mystery as you could get, with our honorary Sarge Pippa Fitz-Amobi absolutely spiralling and losing her shit. An almost The Woman In The Window atmosphere.

But that all took a sharp turn. The second half made me cry, multiple times. It made me laugh, it made me hope. It made me questions right and wrong, and truth and justice. I was rooting for Team Pip and Ravi all the way and Holly Jackson made sure of it. Which made the last chapters even more gut wrenching. If Pip was a ticking time bomb then I was sitting right there with her, within the blast radius. Absolutely blown to smithereens. Every “Sarge”, “It’s me and you, trouble”, “I don’t want to lose you,” and “he was my best thing” completely shattered me. I wished to take away half their pain, to share in their fears and I did. Pip said, “If it was a choice between me and you, I choose you,” and I wholeheartedly choose them. Mariah Carey’s Always Be My Baby started playing as I read the last page and I sobbed for the entire song.

The answer to the question, “Who will look for you when you’re the one who disappears?” was found family. It was to love and to be loved and the things we do for that love. I wasn’t sure what direction this trilogy would go in after Good Girl, Bad Blood. It simply felt impossible for it to get any better, but it did. And it has solidified itself as one of my favourite books of all time. And my favourite series.

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