As Good As Dead: Holly Jackson

We meet again!

When I first picked up A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, I had no idea that it wasn’t a standalone and that two successors were coming behind it. I didn’t expect to really enjoy Pip, her hardheadedness, and her ability to succeed despite literally every circumstance working against her. I also didn’t expect to be rooting for her and Ravi so hard. This review means that I’ve concluded the series and have read As Good As Dead. This BOOK, though. Here we go :)

Brief synopsis:

I would genuinely hope that anyone that is looking to read this book knows exactly who Pippa Fitz-Amobi is by now. Pippa has made quite a name for herself in the world of true crime. What began as a school project turned into her solving a case that all had believed was solved years before, clearing innocent names and condemning others. When Pip began her true crime podcast, it opened up even more doors and dug up other graves while she helped to find a missing person – a case close to home.

Now, in the aftermath, Pip is trying her best to put all of this behind her while also dealing with a lawsuit against her by the slimeball Max Hastings for outing him as the dirtbag that he is. Pippa should have known she wasn’t that lucky, though. The past just won’t stay in the past. She can’t sleep and constantly hallucinates having actual blood on her hands. She’s turned to medicinal help, even though nobody but her dealer knows it, and she just needs one more case.

If she can just solve one more case, she’ll be okay. Right?

Pip gets exactly what she asked for, a chance to solve a case. In fact, the chance is delivered right to her doorstep when she discovers that someone else that all believed to have been put behind bars is more than likely actually free, with someone totally innocent in their place, and this killer is now focusing on Pip, leaving grisly messages.

It starts with dead pigeons in her driveway. Then she begins finding chalk renderings of figures without their heads. With Ravi’s help, Pip connects these messages with the DT killer. Upon speaking with the mother of the man that was convicted of DT’s crimes, Pip is surer than ever that Billy is innocent and the real killer is not only still on the loose, but targeting Pip as his next kill.

The farther that Pippa digs into this case, the more and more that she realizes that it’s connected to everything that she’s investigated before. Jason Bell, Andie Bell, Fairview in general. Pippa dug up more worms than she had ever thought and someone is finally tired of all of her meddling.

When Pippa is taken by the DT killer, she is almost certain that it’s the end for her. Duck-taped and left in a secluded location, she’s not sure that she can work her way out of this one. With Ravi in her head, guiding her along the way that she believes he would, Pip once again maneuvers her way out of harms way. However, she’s done running to the cops and decides that it’s finally time to do things the Pippa Fitz-Amobi way.

The second half of this concluding tale is very fast-paced, in my opinion. Pippa and Ravi are joined by many faces that have been affected by the nasty goings-on in Fairview before. The true-crime-couple (my dubbing, thank you) do their best to ensure that even those that they’re pulling into this tangled web have a quick way out, Pip the most of all. She wants to ensure that even Ravi has a clear way out should things not go the way they plan.

The plan is genius. To them. A way to get rid of a murderer and a rapist all in one fell swoop. Who the hell wouldn’t root for that? However, no matter how much Pippa has investigated murders and looked into true crime, there’s always that one slight mess up, isn’t there? One thing that’s left behind that messes up the rest.

Pip and Ravi try. They try so hard to make everything work out for the best. To keep their relationship alive, to literally keep themselves alive. But sometimes things aren’t as simple as they seem.

My rating:

10/10. Easy easy easy for me to say that. I absolutely loved this conclusion; I didn’t realize how much I needed it. It. tied together the entire story so well I couldn’t absorb it fast enough.

Favorite Quote(s):

“He was her best thing, and now she would always be the worst thing that had happened to him. A pain in his chest he’d never forget.”

My take on the series overall:

LOVED it. I honestly didn’t even expect a series out of the first book but it was everything that I never knew that I needed. This is one of the best suspense/thriller/killer series that I’ve read to date, usually because most of these stories are a standalone, but Pip’s story, Andie’s, Ravi’s, all of Fairview’s… damn.

Check out my Goodreads (Traci Bishop) to see what I’m currently reading and to see a good chunk of the books I have already read. My Instagram can be found on the home page and I will share whenever a new post is up as well!

Until next time <3