Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson

21 reviews

maaggi13e's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective 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

4.5

i love these books so its no surprise i loved this one, there are a few cons i have for it (no charlie green type epilogue / lack of closure on a few things) but apart from that it was really just a good book, i can only hope there will be a fourth one despite knowing that is NOT going to happen but yeah if you wanna read it, go for it!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Mental illness, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Grief, and Stalking

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Racism, and Emotional abuse

ellahoward_'s review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-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

2.0

Really disappointed with how this series ended. Having loved the first two books I thought I would really enjoy this one and for the first half even though it was darker I found it intriguing but it just back too unhinged and found it difficult to finish it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Stalking, and Violence

Moderate: Drug use, Mental illness, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Animal death, Death, Vomit, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts

josxphinchen's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Rape, Misogyny, Sexism, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Death, Vomit, Violence, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Murder

bookswithlauren's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

I am wavering between a 3 star rating and a 3.5 star rating for this final book in the series.

My favourite thing about this series is how well planned and thought out each and every element is across all three books. There is always a connection, a deeper meaning, something to look further into and it is brilliant. However, this book is definitely my least favourite in the series for multiple reasons.

The first half is a slow burn and I really enjoyed it. We delve into Pip struggling with her mental health following the events from the second book and it is real and insightful. We explore PTSD, Anxiety, Addiction and Depression and how these have also had an impact on her relationships between her friends and family. It was well written and I am glad Pip was not just simply fine after everything she has been through.

There are two twists around the halfway marker in this book, one being the identity reveal for a serial killer and the other being what Pip does about it. Up until this point, I had not entirely worked out any of the twists Holly Jackson had written in her books and I enjoyed this uncommon occurrence for me but in this instance, I did work out the identity of the serial killer quite quickly. I did not mind working out a twist before it occurred, what I did mind was a character we have spent two and a half books getting to know and like acting completely out of character. I feel like the second half of the book had a much darker and far fetched tone and I was not a fan. I still finished the book as I wanted to know how the storyline was being played out but it was not the best choice in my opinion. All the characters we have grown to know and love seem to have a complete change in their morals and beliefs, especially Pip and I did not enjoy it. It made the second half of the book unrealistic and far-fetched to me.

The ending also aggravated me, for Pip to drag her friends into everything, for them to be so incredibly loyal to her and for her to just ghost them, not okay with that and not something Pip would have done. I think this particular storyline would have worked more if Pip's mental health had more to do with it but there was never any connections made between her mental health and her actions.

I still really enjoyed the series and would recommend the first two books to anyone and everyone but I feel this third instalment is a bit like marmite, you either love it or you hate it. I have said it in my other reviews and I will say it again here, the audiobooks for this series are incredible, immersive and impressive. Highly recommend listening over reading for sure!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Grief, Rape, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Animal death, Death, Gore, Body horror, Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical content, Addiction, Blood, and Torture

smkelly1997's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book is not for the faint of heart I would recommend reading the TW if you are concerned. 

I feel that this book wrapped up the AGGGTM series perfectly. Pip is an ever evolving character. Throughout this book I hated, loved, admired, and feared Pip. She is such a complex character it really made this book different that others. In this book you were constantly left wondering how is Pip going to get herself out of this? While I do think the DT killer was a bit obvious, there were still many plot twist leaving the reader on there toes. 

Trigger warning which may contain a spoiler:

the murder which takes place in this book left me with a visceral reaction. I struggled reading the words repeated over and over again. I do think this one page could be skipped if it will induce issues.

. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Violence

m4rtt4's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

What the hell. What the fuck. What on earth did I just read??
I really dislike the plot twist and the ending overall, but despite that I oddly find myself liking the book. I'd like to hate it, but I can't remember any books having ever made me as anxious as this one, and I mean that as a compliment. What a ride, what a page-turner. There definitely was some character development, just in the wrong direction... I usually like moral ambiguity, but this book should have stuck to its predecessors. The second half of the book was not what I wanted at all, nor do I consider it a suitable ending to the series, but THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE TRILOGIES AFTER ALL AND THE WRITING WAS ADDICTING IN THIS ONE AS WELL. One star reduced for the awful choices, but the rest still deserves the full four.

Also I don't give nor have I ever given a shit about Pip and Ravi's relationship.

the murder would have been a great plot twist if Pip hadn't cared about justice and "being right" all the time. I totally understand her mental health issues and everything she's gone through, but GOD DAMN WAS IT ANNOYING THAT SHE KEPT BLAMING MAX AFTER DOING WORSE CRIMES HERSELF. The framing would have been okay as well had she not done it because "Max deserves to go to jail after all his crimes" well what do you deserve then hun xx

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Drug use, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

ka_ke's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

4.75

A thrilling end to a magnificent y/a thriller. Although I’m sad to see it end, As Good As Dead is a solid wrap-up for such an intense plot. The books get progressively darker as you read them, with this one being the darkest.

Pip’s struggle with xanax and PTSD is well  researched and well written, you can see her slow descent into insanity as she tries to reclaim her old self from book 1

I also appreciated that we got justice in the end, it was a long time coming. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Grief, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Stalking, Violence, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Vomit

mme_carton's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Stalking, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Car accident, Child death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

The first half of this book feels like the first two, uncovering a new case trying to solve it. I would say I enjoyed it up to the halfway point until things get a little out of hand. Granted, the twists you've come to expect from Jackson are still there, even if I guessed a few of them. I'm just not a fan of how it ended! I understand some of the motivations, I'm just not sure it was executed in the best way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Addiction, and Rape

Minor: Animal death, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

yvonne_cl's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury