The epic ending to the A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series, As Good As Dead is not a read you want to miss out on.
As Good As Dead is the third and final part to the A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (AGGGTM) series written by Holly Jackson.
The last investigation has scarred Pippa Fitz-Amobi. She has anxiety, and gets flashbacks and nightmares of what happened on that fateful night. She desperately needs a new case to get her mind over her past mistakes and move on from that trauma.
Before you know it, Pip has found a new case to take on and this time it's all about her. A stalker has appeared on her doorstep, leaving cryptic drawings and messages both in real life and online. The police won't do anything about it so it's up to Pippa to fend for herself.
In her investigation, Pip soon discovers a connection between her stalker and a local serial killer. As the dangerous game plays out, it's clear that if Pip doesn't find the answers, she's as good as dead.
Hey Sarge, remember me?
Wow. Holly Jackson must've put her whole Holly-ussy into this because wow. As Good As Dead is by far my favourite out of the three novels in the AGGGTM series.
The story was so interesting and it kept me engaged throughout my whole read. It was dark, mysterious and wonderful. The story starts with Pip's experience of an average day, but it's laced with the trauma she had to face in Good Girl, Bad Blood. It was quite repetitive which I found annoying but I understand the writing motive behind that. It's rare to see fictional characters face their trauma in a realistic way and this one checks all the boxes for how PTSD should be written.
Like AGGGTM, it starts off slow and suddenly becomes fast-paced. However, unlike AGGGTM where the change in pacing was sudden and unwaranted, this one was done beautifully. While I am not a fan of slow-paced books, I can appreciate the change since it was executed perfectly to match the vibe and tone of the storyline.
It's obvious from the superb writing that Jackson has developed into a better writer from the time she wrote AGGGTM.
This is also where the story took an unexpected turn (in a good way). That behaviour was unlike Pip's usual goody two-shoes personality and I lived for that. It's nice to see her grow to become a multifaceted girl who displays strength, humility and compassion even in the most difficult circumstances. She's definitely developed some street sense from her past experiences.
Also, can we talk about that ending? I thought what Pip did was a bit extreme and would only cause more suspicion and attention to her. She was already unhinged in this one though so to be honest, I wasn't expecting any less of her. But Ravi? Saving the day as always.
If you read the first two AGGGTM books, you MUST read this one. This is hands down the best book in the series. It was dark, creepy and chilling. You definitely need the context from the first two books before you dive into this one so I wouldn't recommend reading this if you haven't read the other two. This one also has a lot more mature themes so it's more suitable for older teens.
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Genre: Mystery
Series: A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder #3
Number of pages: 455
Year published: 2021
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