Reviews with content warning for Death - As Good As Dead

Reviews tagging 'Death'

As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson

735 reviews

sidbookreviews's review against another edition

5.0

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

This book was an absolutely WILD ride. In the best way possible, of course. I adore this series and the finale did not disappoint. Ravi and Pip were the perfect dynamic duo as always, I love them so much. The first half was a little slow to get going, but in the second half I just could not put it down. I really don't know how to explain how I feel about this book, but what I can say is that the twist is shocking (I am not exaggerating when I say my jaw dropped), it's an absolute rollercoaster of emotions, it has a very perfect ending (at least in my opinion), and even if you think you're mentally prepared-you're not.

Content Warnings

ahaines18's review against another edition

5.0

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

Content Warnings

rayne_1906's review against another edition

5.0

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

3 hours 27 minutes - I really did not expect to love this book so much. Both the previous books have been very good books, but nothing hugely special, but this one was amazing. I've never read a book quite like this. This was a much darker book than the previous two, and the stakes were raised, which made it far more tense and engaging. I don't say 'edge of my seat' very often, but this book truly did keep me on the edge of my seat the whole time. The direction the book took around half way through threw me off at first, but I think this provided the perfect conclusion to the trilogy.

Content Warnings

addiclaire's review against another edition

4.5

mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Content Warnings

rachelizx's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-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: Yes

Content Warnings

genny's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I'm so conflicted about the direction this took. The big twist that happens in the middle, and all the decisions made after that...I don't know. I love Pip as a protagonist and I always rooted for her, but I really thought this would end differently, somehow. There were some gaps in logic that I couldn't ignore, like how Pip missed the clues pointing to that person

when Andie's email made it glaringly obvious

. I totally understand her aversion to putting faith in the justice system that has failed her repeatedly

but man, she made things so much more complicated by killing Jason then covering it up. He was eventually confirmed as the D.T. killer thanks to his DNA, so perhaps he would've been found out if she just escaped and reported him... I get it, she was too angry and scared in the moment. And Max deserved to be put in prison. But just. The framing??? IDK.

It was cool to see her employ the tricks she learned from past cases in her own plans, but my heart is still confused. 🤷‍♀️

Holly Jackson's writing verges on cringy sometimes. Pip kept repeating the same phrases - "save herself to save herself", "black and white", "no gray area", etc. I get it, she's hyperfixated on getting back to a normal life, but we don't have to get bonked on the head over and over with the same quotes. Maybe it was the way the narrator read it (I got the audiobook, American version). I enjoyed the narration otherwise. We had a few interview/podcast segments which are always cool on audio; I only wish we got more of them. I missed Investigator Pip. I also wish we got a more satisfying ending. This series is still a fave of mine, I just need time to process! 😅

P.S. One of the reviews here on Storygraph spoils huge plot points (without spoiler tags) so be careful while scrolling. :/

Content Warnings

readingwithro's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional hopeful 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

Content Warnings

atreyib18's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

emberbeth's review against another edition

4.0

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

Content Warnings

jillkaarlela's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Taylor Swift songs: “Look what you made me do”!!!!!!!

I definitely liked the first two books better than this one. The first time I read it, I hated it, and felt like it wasn’t a logical character choice. However,

after re-reading, I see there’s a lot more nuance than I initially interpreted. The ending of Pip’s character exemplifies the “morally grey” area that Pip has been dealing with this whole series. It highlights the nuance and complexity of morality in real life, which I do think was fitting for Pip’s character development. I honestly think Pip was justified in her actions, but I just hate the turmoil that it has caused in her life. While it still isn’t my favorite of the series, I do like it more the second time reading, when I went into it with an open/empathetic mind.

This book really goes the whole series together, everything is connected, “the end is also the beginning”. (From the book)

Also Ravi is literally a ride or die, I love his and Pip’s relationship. He is such a sweet and caring soul. However, I do wish they were a little closer in age, meeting when she was 17 and he was 20 is a little much. I don’t think they started dating until she was 18, but still.

Age rating: 14-15+ (language, graphic g*re, v*olence, NO s*xual content!)

Content Warnings

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