AS GOOD AS DEAD

AS GOOD AS DEAD by Holly Jackson

Well, I did it. I completed the series, and I have to say that reading them made me incredibly sad. The plot thickens. The twists and turns abound. Jackson keeps you guessing until she gives the big reveal. So what makes me so sad about these books? It is because so much of the content is believable. Don't get me wrong. Teenagers aren't out murdering each other. BUT the partying, the raping, the sexting, the destruction of one person by another to make themselves feel powerful, the broken families, the drugs to cope, etc just tear my insides out. Obviously, this series is a concentrated amount of destructive behavior at once, but still, it's dark and rough.

As Good As Dead opens with a PTSD-suffering Pip. The cases, the places justice fell through, the parts Pip played, the guilt, it's all coming back to haunt her. So she reaches out to a past enemy, the area drug supplier, because she can't cope with it all. Then weird symbols start showing up on her sidewalk, headless pigeons are on the front lawn, messages start appearing asking, "Who's gone to find you when you're gone?" Pip has caught the attention of a serial killer, and she's the next target. Oh, let me throw in here that anything you thought was wrapped up in the first two books wasn't!

There's not a lot more that I can say here, so I don't spoil the book. I'm going to speak in broad strokes.. There is a lot more attention and detail given to the murder in As Good As Dead. The police are absolute idiots, and you can't trust the justice system. Some friendships are forever. We'll leave it there.

If you read the acknowledgements in the back of the book, Jackson closes with a paragraph about her frustration with the criminal justice system and it's failings. She especially highlights the areas of rape and sexual assault and the anger she has felt when not believed.

HEADS UP- Language continues to be an issue including F-bombs. Drug use is more prevalent. Abduction occurs. Murder is more detailed.