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dark
emotional
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Murder
Moderate: Rape
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The YA mystery thriller series has come to an end.
An interesting conclusion to the AGGGTM trilogy. I have to say it had its ups and downs. It was my least favorite of the three books but it was still good and entertaining.
While it still is on the “unbelievable, this is definitely fiction” side of things, it does deal with a lot of serious, really dark issues of mental illness, PTSD, and self-medicating.
Pip is reeling from witnessing Stanley’s murder from the previous books. She’s experiencing severe PTSD and can’t sleep. Her anxiety is on a whole other level. When he doctor stops prescribing her Xanax so she can learn to cope without them, she begins buying them off of Luke. The first third of the book does lean into this darkness Pip is stuck in and it’s also when she begins to notice strange things around the house. She’s noticed dead pigeons and strange chalk drawings in front of her house. Then she gets another creepy message from what she believed was a troll at first, but now it seems like this troll is connected to the dead birds and drawings, which means she has a stalker.
She attempts to bring this to the attention of the police but classic Detective Hawkins let’s us down again. So Pip takes it into her own hands to investigate with Ravi by her side. And god I love Ravi so much. Too good for this world that kid. On a whim she finds a very flimsy connection to a case 6 years prior. It’s a serial killer case about the DT Killer, who everyone believes is behind bars now. But in a offhand comment made by one of victim’s family members, Pip made a connection to the birds and drawings. Then the prank calls started. Just like the victim’s sister mentioned.
As Pip looks into the DT case, she sees how the police coerced a false confession out of a man, Billy, who is now imprisoned for these murders. She then starts drawing connections between the DT killings and Andie Bell (the murder that started it all). Andie reached out to one of the victim’s sisters using a secret email, one that Pip gained access to and saw that Andie knew who the DT Killer was and that she was doing everything she could to get her and her sister, Becca, out of Fairview. This sheds a new light on Andie (though I thought it was fine having a victim not be perfect or likable but I digress). Pip recognizes that Billy and Daniel de Silva worked for Jason Bell’s company. Pip begins to believe that Daniel is the real DT Killer. And it’s clear, the DT Killer is the one stalking her.
She keeps everything from her family and friends, only Ravi knows everything that’s going on. She’s carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders and at any moment it seems like she’ll crack under the pressure.
And this is when the spoilers come in, so read the book first and come back.
Pip is abducted by DT and it’s revealed that Jason is the killer (just as I predicted back when his company was first mentioned). He takes her to a warehouse, does his whole “villain revealing his plans and past crimes” thing, and he duct tapes her arms, feet, and wraps her head with tape. Then he leaves her there for some good ol’ psychological torture. I’ll admit I was freaking out from the moment she called his number and until she was trapped in this warehouse. Even with 200 pages left in the book, I just assumed she’d be get free and deal with Max Hastings. And I wasn’t wrong. After crying through Pip being utterly terrified, she frees herself, arms herself with a hammer, and escapes. Then she hears Jason return and in a split decision she doubles back. She keeps thinking how the police won’t believe her, Jason is a prominent member of society, a pillar of the community if you will, and they believe the DT Killer is in prison. They’ve never believed Pip before so why would they now? And Pip kills Jason with the hammer. It’s oddly satisfying.
Then she calls Ravi (which the entire time I’m like okay your DNA is all in the warehouse, duct tape, and the trunk of his car even if they don’t believe he’s DT the evidence that he kidnapped you is pretty damning) and together they come up with a plan to erase Pip’s existence from the crime scene. And at this point I’m like “Pip, what are you doing? The cops need a killer regardless. What are you gonna do? Frame Max? Lol.” And a few pages later, Pip chooses Max to frame for the murder.
The rest of the book is pretty much Pip and Ravi manipulating the crime scene to make it appear that Jason died much later, gathering evidence to frame Max (with a vindicating moment where Max gets roofied), and then establishing ironclad alibis. And yes, she recruited her friends to help without telling them anything they didn’t need to know. Then it’s just stress the rest of the book. To be honest, the whole thing was stressful. Waiting with Pip to hear news of the murder and the police investigating Max. There was an “oh shit” moment when it seemed like Pip was about to get caught, but it worked out. Pip decided to cut off her friends, family, and Ravi to protect them until Max if found guilty, on the chance he’s freed again and police continue their investigation that will point to Pip. With Jason’s DNA and fingerprints, as well as trophies he took from his victims, Billy was exonerated, and now people know Jason was the DT Killer.
Pip had her moments, where the decisions she was making seemed wrong and impulsive to the point she second guesses whether there was a better way. Either she’s maturing or learning from her past mistakes or both. Regardless, Pip is only 18, still a kid, and making bad decisions comes with the territory. It makes sense for both her and Ravi to distrust the system and take matters into their own hands.
It’s all quite dramatic and unrealistic in a lot of ways. I know these books are inspired by actually crimes, but it does seem so out there to have the DT Killer be the catalyst for Andie’s death, Sal’s murder, Max raping Becca, Howie going to jail, Stanley being outed and murdered, just to come full circle and end with the DT Killer being murdered himself. A lot of shit happens to Pip, and yeah she inserts herself into these investigations, and at least with this one, it came to her, but can this much coincidental, bad shit happen to one person? Also, very dumb on Jason’s part though. After being careful for years, he chooses a victim he knows, has motive to kill, and is close to home? I mean he could’ve just been spiraling which is what it seemed like when he was talking to Pip, but come on man.
It was the most predictable of the three books, which is unfortunate because I like to be surprised like I was in the first two books, but maybe I just remember too much from the other two books to be taken by surprise? And while I like that we don’t know what happens to Pip and her mental health, her and Ravi, Becca, or Charlie Green, I’m still a little peeved I don’t have the answers. I’m spoiled I guess.
I think the book did well showing what it’s like to be a woman trying to report stalking or sexual assault, especially when the assailant is a rich white man. It gives a little highlight on how privileged white men have an advantage over everyone when it comes to the criminal justice system. Whereas of Jason or Max were POC, it’s likely the white victims would’ve been believed almost immediately.
And just the conversation of false confessions was really important. Reading that transcript was just so hard cause I’ve heard it so many times in real cases where a false confession was coerced out of poor people, minorities, and those with mental/intellectual disabilities. Honestly, as someone that studied criminology in undergrad, I could see this book getting a lot of young people interested in criminal justice reform, maybe inspire some to pursue a career in changing it.
I also think it did a good job explaining how trauma can affect even the strongest of people. However, I did not like that Pip was yet another female character that is so anti-therapy after an extreme trauma. I just don’t think, especially as a YA, that this trope should continue.
While all the books stand on their own, you definitely can’t read them out of order, and really there are bread crumbs in each one to lead to the next book that I think it’d hard not to be curious. If YA mysteries are your thing, give this series a read. I wish I had it when I was in high school to read!
An interesting conclusion to the AGGGTM trilogy. I have to say it had its ups and downs. It was my least favorite of the three books but it was still good and entertaining.
While it still is on the “unbelievable, this is definitely fiction” side of things, it does deal with a lot of serious, really dark issues of mental illness, PTSD, and self-medicating.
Pip is reeling from witnessing Stanley’s murder from the previous books. She’s experiencing severe PTSD and can’t sleep. Her anxiety is on a whole other level. When he doctor stops prescribing her Xanax so she can learn to cope without them, she begins buying them off of Luke. The first third of the book does lean into this darkness Pip is stuck in and it’s also when she begins to notice strange things around the house. She’s noticed dead pigeons and strange chalk drawings in front of her house. Then she gets another creepy message from what she believed was a troll at first, but now it seems like this troll is connected to the dead birds and drawings, which means she has a stalker.
She attempts to bring this to the attention of the police but classic Detective Hawkins let’s us down again. So Pip takes it into her own hands to investigate with Ravi by her side. And god I love Ravi so much. Too good for this world that kid. On a whim she finds a very flimsy connection to a case 6 years prior. It’s a serial killer case about the DT Killer, who everyone believes is behind bars now. But in a offhand comment made by one of victim’s family members, Pip made a connection to the birds and drawings. Then the prank calls started. Just like the victim’s sister mentioned.
As Pip looks into the DT case, she sees how the police coerced a false confession out of a man, Billy, who is now imprisoned for these murders. She then starts drawing connections between the DT killings and Andie Bell (the murder that started it all). Andie reached out to one of the victim’s sisters using a secret email, one that Pip gained access to and saw that Andie knew who the DT Killer was and that she was doing everything she could to get her and her sister, Becca, out of Fairview. This sheds a new light on Andie (though I thought it was fine having a victim not be perfect or likable but I digress). Pip recognizes that Billy and Daniel de Silva worked for Jason Bell’s company. Pip begins to believe that Daniel is the real DT Killer. And it’s clear, the DT Killer is the one stalking her.
She keeps everything from her family and friends, only Ravi knows everything that’s going on. She’s carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders and at any moment it seems like she’ll crack under the pressure.
And this is when the spoilers come in, so read the book first and come back.
Pip is abducted by DT and it’s revealed that Jason is the killer (just as I predicted back when his company was first mentioned). He takes her to a warehouse, does his whole “villain revealing his plans and past crimes” thing, and he duct tapes her arms, feet, and wraps her head with tape. Then he leaves her there for some good ol’ psychological torture. I’ll admit I was freaking out from the moment she called his number and until she was trapped in this warehouse. Even with 200 pages left in the book, I just assumed she’d be get free and deal with Max Hastings. And I wasn’t wrong. After crying through Pip being utterly terrified, she frees herself, arms herself with a hammer, and escapes. Then she hears Jason return and in a split decision she doubles back. She keeps thinking how the police won’t believe her, Jason is a prominent member of society, a pillar of the community if you will, and they believe the DT Killer is in prison. They’ve never believed Pip before so why would they now? And Pip kills Jason with the hammer. It’s oddly satisfying.
Then she calls Ravi (which the entire time I’m like okay your DNA is all in the warehouse, duct tape, and the trunk of his car even if they don’t believe he’s DT the evidence that he kidnapped you is pretty damning) and together they come up with a plan to erase Pip’s existence from the crime scene. And at this point I’m like “Pip, what are you doing? The cops need a killer regardless. What are you gonna do? Frame Max? Lol.” And a few pages later, Pip chooses Max to frame for the murder.
The rest of the book is pretty much Pip and Ravi manipulating the crime scene to make it appear that Jason died much later, gathering evidence to frame Max (with a vindicating moment where Max gets roofied), and then establishing ironclad alibis. And yes, she recruited her friends to help without telling them anything they didn’t need to know. Then it’s just stress the rest of the book. To be honest, the whole thing was stressful. Waiting with Pip to hear news of the murder and the police investigating Max. There was an “oh shit” moment when it seemed like Pip was about to get caught, but it worked out. Pip decided to cut off her friends, family, and Ravi to protect them until Max if found guilty, on the chance he’s freed again and police continue their investigation that will point to Pip. With Jason’s DNA and fingerprints, as well as trophies he took from his victims, Billy was exonerated, and now people know Jason was the DT Killer.
Pip had her moments, where the decisions she was making seemed wrong and impulsive to the point she second guesses whether there was a better way. Either she’s maturing or learning from her past mistakes or both. Regardless, Pip is only 18, still a kid, and making bad decisions comes with the territory. It makes sense for both her and Ravi to distrust the system and take matters into their own hands.
It’s all quite dramatic and unrealistic in a lot of ways. I know these books are inspired by actually crimes, but it does seem so out there to have the DT Killer be the catalyst for Andie’s death, Sal’s murder, Max raping Becca, Howie going to jail, Stanley being outed and murdered, just to come full circle and end with the DT Killer being murdered himself. A lot of shit happens to Pip, and yeah she inserts herself into these investigations, and at least with this one, it came to her, but can this much coincidental, bad shit happen to one person? Also, very dumb on Jason’s part though. After being careful for years, he chooses a victim he knows, has motive to kill, and is close to home? I mean he could’ve just been spiraling which is what it seemed like when he was talking to Pip, but come on man.
It was the most predictable of the three books, which is unfortunate because I like to be surprised like I was in the first two books, but maybe I just remember too much from the other two books to be taken by surprise? And while I like that we don’t know what happens to Pip and her mental health, her and Ravi, Becca, or Charlie Green, I’m still a little peeved I don’t have the answers. I’m spoiled I guess.
I think the book did well showing what it’s like to be a woman trying to report stalking or sexual assault, especially when the assailant is a rich white man. It gives a little highlight on how privileged white men have an advantage over everyone when it comes to the criminal justice system. Whereas of Jason or Max were POC, it’s likely the white victims would’ve been believed almost immediately.
And just the conversation of false confessions was really important. Reading that transcript was just so hard cause I’ve heard it so many times in real cases where a false confession was coerced out of poor people, minorities, and those with mental/intellectual disabilities. Honestly, as someone that studied criminology in undergrad, I could see this book getting a lot of young people interested in criminal justice reform, maybe inspire some to pursue a career in changing it.
I also think it did a good job explaining how trauma can affect even the strongest of people. However, I did not like that Pip was yet another female character that is so anti-therapy after an extreme trauma. I just don’t think, especially as a YA, that this trope should continue.
While all the books stand on their own, you definitely can’t read them out of order, and really there are bread crumbs in each one to lead to the next book that I think it’d hard not to be curious. If YA mysteries are your thing, give this series a read. I wish I had it when I was in high school to read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Vomit, Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Vomit
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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. .
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:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
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
Almost didn’t finish the series bc I got a little bored in the second book, but this one is fr the best
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Stalking, Murder
Minor: Rape
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
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
I recommend this book if you like:
-the first 2 books (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and Good Girl, Bad Blood)
-an amazing, intricate, well thought out thriller
-YA mystery
This book plot was insanely good! I cannot recommend enough! I actually think this third installment of the trilogy is the best out of the three and they were all fantastic. This has easily made my favourites list.
Pip has a stalker, a potential serial killer. But he's locked up in prison, right? So is she imagining things? Looking for clues that aren't there? Pip isn't the same girl she once was, before the previous two books. She's seen things, heard things, been through events that are tough to forget, impossible to leave in the past.
Pip received messages, who will look for you when you disappear? Pip wasn't sure at first but comes to an answer during the book; her boyfriend Ravi, her family and friends.
She gets abducted by the Duct Tape (DT) Killer. She goes through a horrific experience of being tied up and left in a work garage. Pip manages to escape, climb shelving, break a window and get to the forest before Jason Bell returns to kill her.
Pip makes a choice, she returns to the garage to finish him off, takes a hammer to his head nine times; overkill. But now she's the murderer.
Here comes the mind blowing, detailed plan on how to get away with murder. Slow down rigour mortis, delay the time of death and then get an airtight alibi. All which she achieves with the help of her boyfriend and friends. She uses a cars air con then heater to artificially control the effects of death on the body.
It goes one step further. Implicate and set up Max Hastings, the local drug dealer and rapist. Plant evidence at the scene to make him go down.
It all nearly unravelled due to a stray pair of headphones found in Jason Bell's bedroom. A trophy he had stored to remember his 6th victim to be. But thankfully Ravi stepped in with an explanation which was believed.
Pip moved away from home and went to uni and had to cut contact from all her friends and Ravi. In case the trial didn't go the way they planned, she needed to ensure the ones she loved didn't get into trouble.
After a long wait, the trial ended and Max was found guilty. Ravi immediately messaged Pip. That's where the story ended.
Pip thought right and wrong was so explicit. Black or white. She discovered first hand that there are many shades of grey and that sometimes the truth should stay hidden.
-the first 2 books (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and Good Girl, Bad Blood)
-an amazing, intricate, well thought out thriller
-YA mystery
This book plot was insanely good! I cannot recommend enough! I actually think this third installment of the trilogy is the best out of the three and they were all fantastic. This has easily made my favourites list.
Pip has a stalker, a potential serial killer. But he's locked up in prison, right? So is she imagining things? Looking for clues that aren't there? Pip isn't the same girl she once was, before the previous two books. She's seen things, heard things, been through events that are tough to forget, impossible to leave in the past.
She gets abducted by the Duct Tape (DT) Killer. She goes through a horrific experience of being tied up and left in a work garage. Pip manages to escape, climb shelving, break a window and get to the forest before Jason Bell returns to kill her.
Pip makes a choice, she returns to the garage to finish him off, takes a hammer to his head nine times; overkill. But now she's the murderer.
Here comes the mind blowing, detailed plan on how to get away with murder. Slow down rigour mortis, delay the time of death and then get an airtight alibi. All which she achieves with the help of her boyfriend and friends. She uses a cars air con then heater to artificially control the effects of death on the body.
It goes one step further. Implicate and set up Max Hastings, the local drug dealer and rapist. Plant evidence at the scene to make him go down.
It all nearly unravelled due to a stray pair of headphones found in Jason Bell's bedroom. A trophy he had stored to remember his 6th victim to be. But thankfully Ravi stepped in with an explanation which was believed.
Pip moved away from home and went to uni and had to cut contact from all her friends and Ravi. In case the trial didn't go the way they planned, she needed to ensure the ones she loved didn't get into trouble.
After a long wait, the trial ended and Max was found guilty. Ravi immediately messaged Pip. That's where the story ended.
Pip thought right and wrong was so explicit. Black or white. She discovered first hand that there are many shades of grey and that sometimes the truth should stay hidden.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Damn did I love this freaking book!!! The perfect (really unexpected) way to finish this series!
I enjoyed the new turn in the series in watching Pip struggle with trama and ptsd from what happened because you get to witness the major spiral she's going through while everything goes on. It sounds bad but I like how we actually see the trama all of this has given her. It shows the reality of being I guess a "crime solver" and how tramatic events have effects on a person.
God the twists within the story I love them! Like it keeps pulling the rug from under your feet and then there's like a hundred more underneath it!
It at times towards the final part, it feels a bit unrealistic given the situation. Yet I'm not that upset with it, with the way their world has been setup in the first books, it makes sense what happened within the books' universe. It also helps that the author explains the reasonings/thought process of the characters. It's not just thrown in there and not explained how or why, and we do get the chance to watch it be fleshed out.
Like does everything fit a little too well for it being just a coincidence with everything that happened? Yeah it does, and I can see why people may find that off putting. But honestly it doesn't make it a bad book, cause it fits into the world these characters live in and it still came out as a great final ending to the series.
It made me feel an array of emotions and I loved every second of it!
I enjoyed the new turn in the series in watching Pip struggle with trama and ptsd from what happened because you get to witness the major spiral she's going through while everything goes on. It sounds bad but I like how we actually see the trama all of this has given her. It shows the reality of being I guess a "crime solver" and how tramatic events have effects on a person.
God the twists within the story I love them! Like it keeps pulling the rug from under your feet and then there's like a hundred more underneath it!
It at times towards the final part, it feels a bit unrealistic given the situation. Yet I'm not that upset with it, with the way their world has been setup in the first books, it makes sense what happened within the books' universe. It also helps that the author explains the reasonings/thought process of the characters. It's not just thrown in there and not explained how or why, and we do get the chance to watch it be fleshed out.
Like does everything fit a little too well for it being just a coincidence with everything that happened? Yeah it does, and I can see why people may find that off putting. But honestly it doesn't make it a bad book, cause it fits into the world these characters live in and it still came out as a great final ending to the series.
It made me feel an array of emotions and I loved every second of it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Violence, Blood, Stalking
dark
emotional
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:
Yes
I have a lot of thoughts about this book. First of all, I really did enjoy it on the whole. However, that ending? It was too ambiguous for my liking. Not to mention, there was this huge build-up, and then all of a sudden, there was a time-skip with a super ambiguous ending. Unlike other people, the twist that occurred about halfway through the book didn't shock me or feel out of character for Pip. A major part of this third book was about how the events of the second book changed Pip. Not only has she been dealing with major PTSD, she's also been dealing with harassment, both online and in person from people she used to call friends. It's very understandable that she would murder Jason Bell, when given the opportunity to. The police failed her so many times. If Hawkins had taken her even a little bit seriously, she might never have been kidnapped by Bell in the first place. I don't think it was out of character for her at all, especially given everything that happened to traumatize her in the first place. I also saw in a review that someone interpreted her feelings towards Charlie Green as being some form of affection, where the reviewer said that "Pip still liked Charlie Green, despite his role in all her trauma with Stanley". That isn't a direct quote. However, in my opinion, she didn't still like Charlie. It was more so that he was the only one who could partially understand what she was going through, what she had done or might do in pursuit of taking justice into her own hands, and that kind of camaraderie was something she needed. She needed someone who could understand her and give her advice, like Charlie had before she found out he was hunting Child Brunswick, before everything went sour between them. Anyway, the twist where she murdered Jason and framed Max wasn't out of character at all, since Pip went through a lot of change due to her trauma. I can understand disliking this book, since the first two were less heavy, but personally, I really appreciated the character development and how this book tackled really hard topics.
Though I'm not sure if the book handled them well or not, since I am not an expert on PTSD, nor on what it looks like manifested in people, I did appreciate the portrayal of it. I feel like I would have instantly hated Pip, if she had seen Stanley die in that way and then had carried on with her life as if nothing happened. The repeating motifs of thegunshots always sounding in the beat of her heart or other innocuous noises and of the dead-eyed stare of Stanley greeting her unexpectedly really made it very easy to fall into Pip's head, experiencing her trauma and fear with her. I enjoy being fully immersed into books; it makes for a good escape from my own reality. I also really like all the attention to detail in both parts of the book, as well as how both parts feel like entirely different stories, but are also in a very similar vein. I don't know much about the science of dead bodies, but from an inexperienced point of view, the steps that Pip and Ravi took in order to cover up her involvement in the murder made a lot of logical sense. That brings me to another nitpick I saw other reviewers mention. They said that it didn't make any sense that her friends and family helped her carry out murder and still loved her for it even after she became a literal murderer. These people seem to ignore the fact that to be human is to be irrational. These people loved her even before she murdered Jason Bell. Plus, she murdered him because the police were incompetent, and he was the source of most of her trauma, even if it was indirect. He killed so many other people and harmed many more, so her killing was a lot more justified. The people close to her probably rationalized it in a similar way to how Pip did. It's like how Max's parents didn't believe that he was a serial rapist or a guy who essentially committed vehicular manslaughter. Or how other people close to him didn't want to believe he committed those crimes. In their own minds, they must have rationalized the evidence against him away, believed that everyone who said otherwise was lying, since it didn't fit their ideas of him. In a similar way, those who love Pip almost definitely rationalized things in such a way. It's entirely believable. Plus, most of the other players involved, with the notable exception of Ravi, didn't know entirely that they were helping Pip get away with murder. They just knew that she was scared and hurt and in trouble, and they cared enough to help her get Max Hastings to pay for his crimes. I don't think it's unbelievable that they still loved and helped her after finding out about Jason Bell's murder on the news.
I think, there are definitely flaws in this book, likehow Pip managed to not lose herself completely to panic after being kidnapped and choked until she passed out, as well as how she managed to escape after being duct taped up by Bell. That part seems a little far-fetched, but also not all that far-fetched, since there was also some logical semblance to it. Also, I think it was definitely out of character for Pip to blame Daniel da Silva again, ignore the "practically" in Andie's email, and forget about Jason Bell also being a potential suspect. Like, all the damning evidence could also point to him, and before she was kidnapped, she completely ignored all of that. She had already known that Jason was very controlling and that Andie and Becca and Dawn were not entirely comfortable with him. She knew that something was off about him to some extent. It was even in her talk with Detective Hawkins; Hawkins told her that Bell had complained to him about receiving harassment due to Pip's notes about Jason in her first season of the podcast. She knew that she hadn't painted him in a flattering light because of what she had uncovered. Yet, his name didn't really even occur to her after reading Andie's email. He wasn't at all one of the people who was at the house a lot. Not to mention, Andie's draft email seemed a little bit suspect as well. I get that she didn't have a lot of places to confide much, but writing a whole email in the drafts of her burner email she used for contacting Harriet Hunter, and then not even finishing it, seems too convenient. The rest of Pip's sleuthing from the previous books seemed at least a little less sheer luck. Most of these kinds of investigations tend to be sheer luck, I think, but even so, the Andie email which narrowed down her list of suspects to one person definitely felt way too convenient.
Despite these nitpicks, I did enjoy this book. I do think it was pretty heavy, and if I had been in a more unstable state of mind, it would have destroyed me. However, it was addicting to read to find out what happened, and I don't mind most of the negative aspects that much. I love the scientific and logical approach all three of these books have had. I also really like the general format of these books, with the notable exception beingthe latter half of this book and this book's ending.
I would definitely recommend this, but read all the trigger warnings first, since this book is really heavy.
Though I'm not sure if the book handled them well or not, since I am not an expert on PTSD, nor on what it looks like manifested in people, I did appreciate the portrayal of it. I feel like I would have instantly hated Pip, if she had seen Stanley die in that way and then had carried on with her life as if nothing happened. The repeating motifs of the
I think, there are definitely flaws in this book, like
Despite these nitpicks, I did enjoy this book. I do think it was pretty heavy, and if I had been in a more unstable state of mind, it would have destroyed me. However, it was addicting to read to find out what happened, and I don't mind most of the negative aspects that much. I love the scientific and logical approach all three of these books have had. I also really like the general format of these books, with the notable exception being
I would definitely recommend this, but read all the trigger warnings first, since this book is really heavy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I found the beginning to be long and boring, but the book quickly picks up into something your super involved in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Rape, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Vomit