Reviews tagging 'Murder'

As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson

1003 reviews

milmilmil's review against another edition

dark tense fast-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

4.5

This book was CRAZY!!! It was so many hours of pure anxiety waiting to see what would happen next. It was really really dark, which I wasn't expecting, as this is YA. It was a bit gruesome and hard to read at points. I liked this as the series ending, though I do think some moments are really out of character for a few of them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, and Body horror

ursa_arlo's review against another edition

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

4.0

I really like this installment. It starts of slow with Pip dealing with her trauma and starting to suspect she is being stalked; this part is a little jarring as it's very heavy and repetitive, but near the middle, the book speeds up and damn... It is the perfect circular ending to this series.

I was wondering what could possible happen after

Pip escapes from Jason

around the middle of the book but I was pleasantly surprised. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Kidnapping, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, and Addiction

treasureinbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Drug use

a_ira's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Torture, and Murder

Moderate: Rape

_pauline's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

loved it but GGBB remains my favourite.

The whole no-contact thing at the end just felt too far-fetched. I get the cover up; it was a little weird since imo it easily could’ve passed/been disguised as self defence, but I get that it was relevant to the plot. but why would she then need to distance herself from people who - unlike Ravi - didn’t even know about it, let alone were involved in it (like her family)? that felt a little forced in order to make the ending more dramatic and open.

It was a little intense for me at times, but then again what did I expect seeing that title and cover. Some love it for this, others don’t - either way the stakes are way higher, it’s way more intense than the first 2.

Still, nothing can keep me from reading every single thing Holly Jackson publishes, and I liked how seemingly irrelevant things from the previous books were resolved (

like the backstory of why Andie was the way she was and why Sal put up with her - I‘d been slightly confused/irritated by that in the previous books but didn’t expect it to be picked up again like that; or the way Barney died, breaking my heart AGAIN

), all without major plot holes or inconsistencies.
And I really liked the portrayal of

Pip’s ptsd, panic attacks, addiction etc as well as everything on sexual assault trials and the criminal justice system.

The best crime/mystery/thriller series I‘ve ever read 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Murder, Stalking, and Confinement

Moderate: Vomit, Addiction, and Drug abuse

Minor: Sexual assault and Animal death

cbuchanan's review

dark tense

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Violence, Drug abuse, Death, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Vomit, and Torture

Minor: Vomit, Rape, and Sexism

I really liked the previous books in the series, but this felt like an inadequate ending to the series. (Light, non-detailed spoilers ahead)

about halfway through the book, we learn who the DT killer is, and the turn the book takes from there is jarring. Pip was set up as a brilliant young woman, and the actions she takes don't feel like they track with her character from previous books. It's understandable, but seems highly illogical even with her explanation of her decisions.

Detailed spoilers below:

I loved that Jason Bell was the DT Killer, but I hated everything after Pip escaped and decided to turn back and kill him and then pin it on Max Hastings. I hated Max, he was written to be incredibly hateable and explicitly bad, but setting him up to take the fall for killing Jason just doesn't feel satisfying to me. The decision will haunt Pip forever, and she's already struggling with her mental health after seeing Stanley die in the previous book, so it doesn't make sense to me that she's going to be okay with this for the rest of her life. I'm really disappointed with how this ended honestly, and I wish I'd liked it more.

florapatricia's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

It took me two tries to finish this book. The teenage anxt was getting at me big times. 

ALthough, if I think about it, I would love me a partner who helps with cleaning up my murder without question. But the breakup scene at the very end reminded me of Twilight New Moon big times. Maybe I am just jealous of the teenage passion these characters embody.

Anyways; the narrators did a fantastic job, I recommend the audiobook if you're interested in an unconventional murder mytery book series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Stalking, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, and Addiction

drjosh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death, and Rape

kshurtz13's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Drug abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Rape and Vomit

eleos01's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Death

Moderate: Drug use and Animal death