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A review by 3mmers
As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
My review of the previous book in the A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder trilogy was that it was more of the same but with more frustrating characters and a less good plot. Well here we go again because As Good as Dead has the same good ideas and great presentation but this time with poor pacing in addition to the characters and plot.
I’ll be candid: I hated this. I hated it so much it made me question why I ever liked the first one at all.
One of the things that had really impressed me about the first book was its excellent pacing. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is a case study plotting that sees protagonist Pippa discovering a new lead or a breakthrough in the case at the exact moment she exhausts the last one. This was still present in the sequel, in spite of a much more challenging premise. By the conclusion it’s like the good pacing never existed at all. This book is way too long. Basically nothing happens in its first half (and the character choice of Pippa fucking losing it has escape the typical quarantine zone of the climax to infest this section too). At the halfway mark we see the midpoint twist , which is, in fairness, pretty good. I enjoyed about a fifth of the book around here.
Unfortunately this improvement lulled me into a false sense of security and As Good as Dead ends with the worst trope out there:the ‘I had to abandon/lie/isolate myself… to protect you!’ Brother EWWWWWWW. It’s a condescending, manipulative, and shitty thing to tell someone, and it never convinces me that it would be more effective than the characters teaming up. The thing I liked about the first two books was the way they subverted the trope of the teen detective going it alone by showing how Pippa’s communication with others was a key part of her personality and her mystery solving technique. Without that element, without the good pacing and interesting character choices, what is there left for me to like?
I’ll be candid: I hated this. I hated it so much it made me question why I ever liked the first one at all.
One of the things that had really impressed me about the first book was its excellent pacing. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is a case study plotting that sees protagonist Pippa discovering a new lead or a breakthrough in the case at the exact moment she exhausts the last one. This was still present in the sequel, in spite of a much more challenging premise. By the conclusion it’s like the good pacing never existed at all. This book is way too long. Basically nothing happens in its first half (and the character choice of Pippa fucking losing it has escape the typical quarantine zone of the climax to infest this section too). At the halfway mark we see the midpoint twist , which is, in fairness, pretty good. I enjoyed about a fifth of the book around here.
Unfortunately this improvement lulled me into a false sense of security and As Good as Dead ends with the worst trope out there:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, and Kidnapping