Reviews tagging Grief

As Good As Dead, by Holly Jackson

56 reviews

camoo3032's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.75

This series started off as a really interesting murder mystery but over the course of the series it's focus turns to trauma, how it affects you and what it feels like. Holly Jackson's description of PTSD is incredibly well done. All of the characters feel really rich no matter how small they are. It's a fantastic series

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Addiction, Blood, Kidnapping, Sexism, Confinement, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, Bullying, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/injury detail, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, and Drug abuse

Minor: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Car accident

amandas_bookshelf'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? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Blood, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Stalking, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Animal death, Addiction, and Vomit

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.

Spoiler

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

lilliansbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

i am on the verge of a mental breakdown after finishing this but oh my god if it wasn’t worth it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Stalking, and Panic attacks/disorders

theromanticace's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Death, Blood, Grief, Violence, Drug use, Confinement, Murder, Injury/injury detail, Medical content, Stalking, Torture, Vomit, and Gaslighting

Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Rape

piperhill's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.0

While it makes sense that the finale of the trilogy would be something a little different than the first two, this book felt really tedious. By halfway through, I felt like I was slogging through - there were so many details & descriptions of each movement or thought Pip had…I felt like it could have been a way shorter book with the same impact. I enjoyed experiencing Pip’s thought processes & the overall storyline was intriguing…but I got pretty bored toward the end, just waiting to know what would happen and not interested in the details.

Also…it felt a little over the top & difficult to believe.

Spoiler

Like…Pip should know that the truth almost always comes out eventually? I get that her ptsd is making her not think rationally at times, but….really? When she decided to cover up the murder, I felt so frustrated! I totally get not trusting the justice system, but…framing someone for a murder they didn’t commit & expecting that you can just go back to a normal life? she’s gonna be scarred for life & haunted with that decision, even if Max deserved to be behind bars for another crime. It felt out of character and foolish and…not a great plot twist imo

Warning that this one is a lot darker than the first 2, both in the overall subject matter (serial killer/rapist/stalker) as well as the aspects of PTSD Pip is dealing with after the end of the second book.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Rape, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

sierranorgan's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

3.75

I think out of the trilogy, this was my least favorite. It was still a GREAT book, but I think it was the weakest out of the three. I found parts of it a little far fetched for me to really buy into it, and then other parts were a little too long and drawn out. I also wish we could’ve gotten more of an actual ending than we did. Overall it was a good book, but it just left some things to be desired. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Murder, Injury/injury detail, Addiction, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Violence, Stalking, Kidnapping, and Grief

paolina's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

Well that took a turn I wasn't expecting! This one lost a lot of what drew me in to the first two, and I think it tried a little too hard to make everything come full-circle. Also, I think a lot of Pip's problems could be solved with a doorbell camera and a VPN. But it still had me on the edge of my seat pretty much the whole time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Death, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Misogyny, and Violence

Minor: Rape

anielabooks's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense

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

5.0

Amazing book. Everyone kept telling me it was the best in the series, and I see why. At first I was skeptical because it was going so slow but around 20% it started picking up pace. Read this book in 4 days, which is super fast for me. Once I got past the first 20% of the book, I couldn’t put it down. There were definitely some scenes that made me want to throw up, so make sure to look at trigger warnings before picking this book up. I’d say I’m satisfied with this ending to the series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Blood, Death, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Sexism, Stalking, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Gore, Grief, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Hate crime, Physical abuse, and Vomit

Minor: Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Sexual violence, and Rape

brennapatt's review against another edition

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Kidnapping, Death, Rape, Blood, Grief, Stalking, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Sexual assault and Drug use