As Good as Dead

By: Holly Jackson

If you haven’t read my previous review about the second book, Good Girl, Bad Blood, you should probably read that first so you understand this review. Read it here!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Holly Jackson grew up in Buckinghamshire, England and wrote her first novel when she was 15 years old. Later, she attended the University of Nottingham, where she first studied literary linguistics and creative writing, graduating with a first class degree, then graduating with a master’s degree in English.

BOOK SUMMARY:

Pip is about to head to college, but she is still haunted by the way her last investigation ended. She’s used to online death threats for her true-crime podcast (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder), but she notices an anonymous person who keeps asking her: Who will look for you when you’re the one who disappears? The anonymous person asks her the same question, constantly, all the time. Pip first assumes it is a stalker, but begins to realize that the threat is moving closer and closer towards her home. The police won’t look into it, and this time, the case might not be something she’s investigating to save others. This time it’s to save herself, maybe from a dangerous serial killer. By the end, you’ll never think of good girls the same way. Pip’s starting to find connections between her ‘stalker’ and the serial killer (Duct Tape Killer) who was arrested. But what if he isn’t the real Duct Tape Killer. What if the wrong man is behind bars. Pip has to investigate– or she’s the next victim. Pip realizes that every crime–everything, really– is coming into a full circle now. She’s starting to connect the dots. And if it’s too late– she’s going to disappear.

MY THOUGHTS: 

This is better than the first book. It was so good! This is the best of the trilogy.

WARNING! HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD!

YAY!! I’m cheering because… Max Hastings goes to jail!!! Anyways, I’ve got to admit, Pip’s has memories of some pretty bad stuff and she’s going through a lot. Of course she has PTSD (Post-Traumatic stress disorder). I mean she’s seen a person getting shot. That’s pretty traumatizing. But her ways to cope with that stress aren’t the best. But I can’t believe that Max was suing her in the beginning of the book. And Jason Bell (aka Andie Bell’s dad) is the DT Killer! DT Killer is short for Duct Tape Killer. But what the DT Killer does is pretty disturbing. I’m going to type exactly what it says in the book.

 “The DT Killer–short for the Duct Tape Killer–is so called because of his distinctive MO: not only does he bind the wrists and the ankles of his victims in duct tape to restrain them, but their faces too. Each woman was found with her head fully wrapped in standard gray duct tape, covering her eyes and mouth, ‘almost like a mummy,’ commented one police officer who wished to remain anonymous. The duct tape itself is not the murder weapon in these horrific crimes; in fact, it appears the DT Killer intentionally leaves the nostrils of his victims free so they do not suffocate that way. The cause of death in each case has been strangulation by ligature, and the police theorize that the killer leaves his victims bound in duct tape for a while before killing them, and then dumps their body in a different location.”

 That was written in an article in the book while Pip and Ravi were researching. Isn’t it just horrifying? At the end of the first half of the book, Pip was kidnapped by Jason (aka The DT Killer) and then when he was coming back, she smashed his head in, with a hammer. I know, it sounds like a lovely book. The second half is basically a guide to how to get away with murder. And it’s so sad when Pip breaks up with Ravi, but she just wants him to stay safe. And then the last page is so, so, nice. “1 year, 7 months, and 28 days later. Day 694. 3 minutes after the verdict was read in State of Connecticut vs. Max Hastings: Hey Sarge, remember me?” The text is obviously from Ravi. I mean, ‘Sarge’ is his nickname for Pip. And Pip had said that they could get back together as soon as Max was found guilty. And I have to guess Mas was found guilty. So it’s technically a happy ending. I recommend this book to people who like mystery, thriller, and suspense. I just realized that during all of the 3 books of the A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series I have been ranting about Max Hastings. But he deserved it. 

Happy Reading!