Reviews with content warning for Grief - As Good As Dead

Honestly, I don’t know how I feel about this

I will say I’ve loved this trilogy as a whole, I’ve loved how it’s developed and how the character development (especially in Pip) has been a crucial point over the three books and that Jackson’s writing style has adapted over the course to match this. Starting as an innocent and curious Pip slowly becoming darker and darker and picking up a hell of a lot of emotional trauma and baggage along the way.

However, I do feel like this book has left me with some questions and issues.

(Spoilers ahead)

I can’t get behind Pip actually killing Jason, I feel like it didn’t suit her character at all. I get the logic behind it and how she was tired of a government that had failed her and rightly how terrified she must have been but surely when she’d escaped there was a better solution? Even if she did go back, surely just knocking him out in some way or even breaking a bone so he couldn’t escape and then keeping him there until she could get someone would make more sense.

Then, not only did she kill someone, she got all her friends and our sweet innocent loveable Labrador boy Ravi involved in the cover up. It just felt so selfish of Pip to even risk any of them getting caught because of her. And then after all of this, she then goes and cuts off everyone who helped her anyway because it was ‘safer for them’ I cannot forgive and forget that description of Ravi’s cries. I honestly feel like this book made me dislike Pip’s character which, if that was its intention, then it worked but I can’t imagine why. Also the book itself felt unresolved, I needed like another chapter that just kind of went into how life went on beyond this point or maybe a meet up of everyone. It just felt a bit anticlimactic to end this high intensity trilogy with just a text.

Overall, I have loved this series but I do honestly feel like the plot quality did drop between books

Content Warnings

matidareads'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? It's complicated

5.0

This book has so many twists and turns that make sense and forms the best mystery. Holly Jackson really knows how write the best mysteries and that all intertwine.

Content Warnings

hannahs_library__'s review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-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? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

aysha_blake's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative 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

4.0

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jackieyvette's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.0

I loved the first two books, but I think this one fell a little short for me. I think it could be the fact that Pip became a person I wasn't sure I liked anymore. Her decisions were so insane and just so unlike Pip. The story was good, the case was good, but there was something about the change in Pip that I couldn't seem to like. I understand her story and why it took the turn that it did, but that doesn't mean I had to like it. This book was way darker than the others had been as well which I actually did like.
I still enjoy Ravi, Cara, Connor, Josh, Nat, Jamie and all the rest of the characters that surround Pip, but I don't think it was enough to save this book from dropping almost a whole star grade for me.
Also, I am a person who actually really enjoys an open ending, but I actually didn't like this one. It makes sense, but yet again that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Crying score: nope.

I don't know if this counts as a spoiler or not so I'll just mark it as such. Pip should have died in this books. She should have been murdered by the DT Killer and then Part II should have been Ravi and her friends/family investigating her murder, but I guess that's just me.

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dramagirl2003's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

5.0

that was whirlwind of emotions. I read all of part 2 in a day, and i don't really know how to process it all yet. extremely dark, so um yeah definitely like a 16+ book i'd say. it's not spicy at all though, so that's a win. never mind pip, i think i've fallen in love with ravi too

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ckjl123456's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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

5.0

I was always on the edge of my seat. I wanted to hug Pip the whole time. I was so scared for her.

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ilaronicly's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

4.5

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