Escaping A Serial Killer? As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson

clsimpson430
Jun 9, 2023
3 min read

Updated: Jun 9, 2023

My Rating: 4 Stars

Was this storyline absurd? Yes. Did I eat it up? Yeah, mostly.

This series finale definitely makes up for the second book in this series. As Good As Dead brings back a more interesting plot and character development, but still doesn't live up the first book.

[ After solving murder after murder in her town, Pip now has to try to solve her own murder before it happens. Pip finds herself being stalked by a serial killer that the police thought they had locked up years ago. Per use, Pip has to take things into her hands to prevent yet another tragedy: her own death. ]

The serial killer storyline in this book is way more interesting than the plot of Good Girl, Bad Blood. Like any true crime junkie, we all imagine what we do if we were the ones caught by a serial killer. How we would get away or what clues we would purposefully leave behind if we couldn't. This book deep dives into that what if scenario.

In the face of her own death, Pip definitely gets her crap together again and learns to appreciate her family and friends again. And her adorbs boyfriend!!! Something that deeply annoyed me in the last book.

But there's a pretty huge plot twist! Without giving anything away, I will say it's a fun twist...yet still slightly ridiculous. I also think there's too much time spent on it. I believe the story would have been a stronger if it were shorter. While I understand Jackson was trying to make it an immersive experience, the time spent on it as well as Pip's internal dialogue throughout the plot got to be a bit repetitive.

I also can't help but think it's absurd that Fairview has so many murderers and serial killers running about without us ever knowing in the first book? While the characters have stayed consistent, Jackson keeps pulling random crimes out of her hat and assigning them to the characters in the town that we've always hated. It would have been cooler if these notorious Fairview crimes were at least mentioned in the earlier books to show that there was some cohesive planning that went into this series and that they weren't just randomly dreamed up for the next plot.

While some readers are frustrated with Pip's actions in this book, I don't mind it really. Any true crime fanatic can understand Pip's growing frustration throughout the series. I don't necessarily condone such behavior, but in a work of fiction, I can roll with it.

In conclusion: This book isn't amazing, but true crime junkies will definitely enjoy living vicariously through Pip as she tries to outsmart a serial killer.

PLUS THE LAST PAGE >>>

Synopsis:

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...

Purchase As Good As Dead here: