Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - As Good As Dead

Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson

661 reviews

rorlav22's review

This book was extremely hard to get through. I rarely DNF a book - I don’t remember the last time I did - but I had to stop with this one for a couple reasons: **SPOILER ALERT**

1) the reveal and in-depth explanation of how Barney (the dog) was murdered - this, to me, is so unnecessary and animal murder is something that completely turns me off from books. I didn’t like this in the first book, and the expansion and increased violence of it in this book is even worse.
2) Pip has COMPLETELY changed from who she was. Granted, she has gone through some life-altering things, but becoming a jaded individual who puts herself above others (not caring that there’s an innocent man in prison for DT’s murders to save herself from going to jail when she did commit manslaughter as an act of almost-self-defense) is so far from the character she was that it’s hard to empathize with her or want to continue to see her path in this story.

Overall, I think there was unnecessary violence that was disturbing and didn’t add to the plot, as well as character development that didn’t seem true to who the character was at their core.

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vinch1784's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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fuzzy_fairy's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I really enjoyed book 1 & 2, listened to them in like 2 days lol.

This one started quite well, I liked that we got a better insight to pips PTSD and darker personality side that was hinted at in the second book. Who the dt killer was was predictable and I think Pip should have made that connection immediately, that was really our of character for her.

But boy oh boy was this a theme. Why in the WORLD would she MURDER this man and become a killer?? Witnessing a killing and experiencing the trauma it came with wasn't enough? Girl, honestly.

I hate how she just plays God up until the very end, when she breaks up with Ravi (which also broke my heart in a million pieces, obviously) so she can save him... Maybe, I don't know, not involve him at all if you care so much about this safety? and then the savage left him CRYING in the WOODS really great Pippa, great way to leave your boyfriend (who would have also married your crazy ass) who also committed a huge crime helping you out.

I simply cannot wrap my head around the fact that she didn't even think twice in framing Max. He's obviously a bad guy, but he's not a killer (she is) and doesn't deserve to be imprisoned for that (she does).

PS I really hope the police is not as incapable in rl as they are in the book
PPS why Pippa, why, didn't you go with the

self defense? Everyone would have believed you? He literally kidnapped and was planning to kill you? How bad is your godcomplex and need for control. But instead bring in SIX other people to help you do with dirty work so you don't have to face the consequences, sure. No wonder she couldn't finish therapy. Argh

PPPS 3 stars instead of 1 because I was still very much entertained. 😒

Content Warnings

imbored_soillread's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

5.0

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sadiebugreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes

5.0

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3mmers's review against another edition

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adventurous tense slow-paced

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

1.5

My review of the previous book in the A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder trilogy was that it was more of the same but with more frustrating characters and a less good plot. Well here we go again because As Good as Dead has the same good ideas and great presentation but this time with poor pacing in addition to the characters and plot.
I’ll be candid: I hated this. I hated it so much it made me question why I ever liked the first one at all.
One of the things that had really impressed me about the first book was its excellent pacing. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is a case study plotting that sees protagonist Pippa discovering a new lead or a breakthrough in the case at the exact moment she exhausts the last one. This was still present in the sequel, in spite of a much more challenging premise. By the conclusion it’s like the good pacing never existed at all. This book is way too long. Basically nothing happens in its first half (and the character choice of Pippa fucking losing it has escape the typical quarantine zone of the climax to infest this section too). At the halfway mark we see the midpoint twist , which is, in fairness, pretty good. I enjoyed about a fifth of the book around here.
Unfortunately this improvement lulled me into a false sense of security and As Good as Dead ends with the worst trope out there:

the ‘I had to abandon/lie/isolate myself… to protect you!’ Brother EWWWWWWW. It’s a condescending, manipulative, and shitty thing to tell someone, and it never convinces me that it would be more effective than the characters teaming up.

The thing I liked about the first two books was the way they subverted the trope of the teen detective going it alone by showing how Pippa’s communication with others was a key part of her personality and her mystery solving technique. Without that element, without the good pacing and interesting character choices, what is there left for me to like?

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bee_n_cats's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

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kenziehath's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.5

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emlawley's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

A thrilling finale to the series, I was not expecting what happened at the end of part 1! After enjoying the other books in the series, but being able to guess who the killer was, I felt a similar pang of mild disappointment when I figured it out again this time. The huge twist and incredibly tense part 2 of the book had me listening ‘on the edge of my seat’ - the tension was palpable thanks to such great writing.

Content Warnings

hrubelle's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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