A review by amimamii
As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

had to actually force myself to continue this book because wtf. 

insert long LONG list of grievances here:

1) Not once in this whole book did they mention ever putting up cameras. You think someone is drawing weird figures and putting dead pigeons on your property and you never once think about getting some cameras? Honestly, why doesn't anyone in this town have any cameras, especially after 3+ murders in the area. like clearly weird shit is happening in this ‘small’ town. The only ones mentioned were the Hastings cameras. 

2) She continuously goes on runs ALONE while believing a serial killer is targeting her??? like I understand it helps her clear her head but at least find a running buddy. and her boyfriend shows zero concern for this though he’s extremely worried about everything else. 

3) I'm sorry but the killer was so obvious, I don't understand how Pip didn’t figure it out sooner, especially for a ‘seasoned detective’. She saw the brush and Andie’s email and STILL focused on Daniel da Silva. and with all the stuff about hating women, honestly, he was the first person that came to mind 

4) She literally manages to escape this serial killer, who has killed 5 girls before her. Let me repeat that. He has killed FIVE WOMEN already. And 18-year-old Pip manages to escape him all within what, like an hour. Sure okay. 

5) She then kills this guy. Why? Could not fucking tell you. You manage to miraculously get away from this guy only to go back to kill him??? 

6) Then somehow she convinces herself that no one would ever believe he’s the DT Killer. I’m sorry, BUT THE REACH. It’s not like she hasn't been collecting evidence this whole time. She literally mentioned the hairbrush earlier WHICH IS EVIDENCE. But she just completely forgets about everything she found in the first half of the book.

7) Not only does she convince herself of this, but she also thinks that the only other option is to frame someone else for his murder. And convinces all of her friends to help her. wtf. 

8) Not only do Ravi and her friends instantly agree, but they literally don’t care. I'm most surprised at Ravi considering his brother was literally framed but sure. And how does Pip repay Ravi and co.?? She breaks up with him and ghosts all her friends. MIND YOU, they just helped her frame someone else for a murder that SHE committed. 

9) And to top it all off… she’s fine. Absolutely fine. Not like she spent the first half of this book dealing with the trauma of seeing someone die right in front of her. But it's all fixed when someone else gets framed for the murder of someone she ACTUALLY killed. Yup, and she’s great. Hasn’t lost any sleep over murdering someone. Even if he did deserve it, killing someone in ANY capacity is bounds for some degree of trauma or maybe even PTSD. But nope, her only issue is eventually being caught for murder. 

Ridiculous.
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