As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson (GGGTM Book 3)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 459
Start Date: May 25, 2023
End Date: May 29, 2023
My Ratings
Overall: ★★★
Character Development: ★★★
Ending: ★★
Spice Level:
Suspense Level:
Tear Jerk-ability:
Pace: Medium
Recommend: Sure, see note below.
Triggers: Drug Use, Mental Health.
Summary - Good Reads
The finale to A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series. By the end of this mystery series, you'll never think of good girls the same way again... 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 in the wake of her viral true-crime podcast, but she can't help noticing an anonymous person who keeps asking her: Who will look for you when you're the one who disappears? Soon the threats escalate and Pip realizes that someone is following her in real life.
When she starts to find connections between her stalker and a local serial killer caught six years ago, she wonders if maybe the wrong man is behind bars. Police refuse to act, so Pip has only one choice: find the suspect herself-or be the next victim. As the deadly game plays out, Pip discovers that everything in her small town is coming full circle... and if she doesn't find the answers, this time she will be the one who disappears...
My Thoughts - Contains Spoilers, Continue at Your Own Risk
So, let's get one thing straight, first and foremost: This is not realistic. Period. Yes, I know.... It's fiction, but there really is no way this would work. Also, there is zero suspense in this book. All the "twists" were predictable, whether you read the other books or not. I'll get into that more later, though.
Ok, now that we have all that out of the way, I actually enjoyed the first half of the book. The book isn't deep and it is easy to read. I will say, I feel like you need to make sure you read all three of these very close together. I felt like I had to really sit and try to remember who the DT Killer was, wait, who was Tara again, what did Pip think HH was in the first book again? I feel like this book really spoke to little details from the first book, which I, personally, didn't bank to begin with.
Jason Bell as the serial killer? OBVIOUS! Again, we've already established this book isn't that deep, so I'll let that slide. I just felt like the entire reasoning for Jason having stopped killing was weak. Plus, wouldn't his daughter being murdered send him more into a spiral? Making him more likely to keep going? Sketch. Plus, if he did set Billy Karras to take the fall for the murders, why would you try to kill Pip with the same M.O.? Seems like that would only draw more attention to maybe Billy not actually being the DT Killer.
The second half of the book was S-L-O-W. I was actually intrigued as to what the second have of the book was going to be about, since Pip's abduction seemed to happen pretty quick within the story. When it was revealed that Pip and Ravi were going to frame Max Hastings, who was found not guilty for serial rape in the previous book, I thought it was a fun way to come "full circle" in the story. With that said, a few too many details in regards to how Pip was going to frame Max. On top of that, it just wasn't plausible AT ALL! Just seemed like too many people got involved, too many things could go wrong, and too much was left to chance.
I guess to conclude, overall I did find the series as a whole fun enough. It's definitely young adult, not realistic, but the last book did make me enjoy the series in its entirety more than I thought I would have after reading the first two books. My only stipulations if you want to read them are: 1) read all three close together. (2) Don't expect to be "wowed". I have more things to say about this, but I'll get to those below.
Ashley did read this book as well, so here are her questions:
What were your thoughts about Pip in this book? She changed so drastically from Book 1 & 2. I actually wasn't that suprised to read she was addicted to Xanax. Book 1 someone tried to kill her. Book 2, someone was murdered in front of her. I don't have experiences with either but I can see how it could mess with someone. Plus, I really don't think a doctor would just say "figure it out". Was there no one else who could help? She coudn't admit to her parents that she was still struggling? I understand she is used to having everything figured out and put together, but this is different territory. I guess I wasn't surprised by the changes given what she went through....
Ravi seemed like a smart guy, why do you think he didn't notice the changes in Pip? If you are referencing Pip's evolution throughout the series, I'm not sure Ravi would agree Pip changed. In book two he mentions to Pip that he knew exactly who she was when he first met her. I believe that was after Pip sort of spiraled after Child Brunswick died. So, I guess in my opinion, he felt like this was always who she was. Now, if you are going towards her spiraling and struggling to cope, I think sometimes we can get too distracted by our own lives to notice someone struggling.... especially if they are good at hiding it. To me, Ravi had a new career path that was taking his time, and Pip probably did seem better for a while when she was on prescription medication and talking to a therapist.
Murder seems like a huge jump for a teen, but even so - do you think it's plausible that she'd get away with it? Absolutely not. The entire heating and cooling the body was way too far of a stretch. Come on! If it was that easy, why wouldn't everyone do it? Also, why wouldn't you just burn the body in the fire? Seems like that would've helped ease some of the stress of it all.
If your significant other or friend killed someone, would you help them? Loaded Question, ha ha. My answer is yes, but not in the way Ravi helped Pip. Pip should've gone to the police. I understand why she didn't, given how many times she had been let down by them, but she had enough to prove her innocence. Also, I feel like a good attorney would've been able to ensure she wouldn't have gotten jail time. I can see why she would panick in the moment, but her dad's a lawyer for goodness sake!
I'm Curious
Do you feel like you could've helped Pip with the tasks she asked of her friends with no questions asked? I feel like I would be SO curious to never be able to talk about it!
How did you feel when Pip broke up with Ravi? I understand her reasoning, but why couldn't they just use burner phones to keep in touch? If it was too big of a risk why did she use them to communicate with people during the murder cover up?
Did you find it odd that Pip was able to hide her struggles from EVERYONE? I feel like at the very least her mother should have known something was up.
How did you feel about the evolution of Andie Bell in this book? She's made out to be such a villain in book one, yet is revealed to be almost a hero by the end of book three.
If you were Ravi, do you think you could just let Pip go like he did? I feel like Ravi had lost so much in his life that he would've tried to find a way to at least still talk to Pip. Like Ashley said, Ravi is a smart guy, and they got away with murder.....
Next Book: Did You Hear About Kitty Karr by Crystal Smith Paul
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