As Good as Dead: The Finale to A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
By Lucinda Dyer,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Teen detective hunts a serial killer in gripping thriller.
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Based on 1 parent review
Very good book, but dark
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What's the Story?
AS GOOD AS DEAD begins just weeks before Pippa Fitz-Amobi is about to leave for her first year at college. But the violent events of the past year (murders, suicide, rape) have exacted a terrible emotional toll on Pip, and the once fearless crime solving podcaster is now scared of everything and angry about everything. Unrepentant about accusing him on her podcast of being a rapist, Pip is now being sued for libel by Max Hastings, who was found not guilty of that rape at the end of Book 2, Good Girl, Bad Blood. Suffering from PTSD and with blood quite literally on her hands, she's stopped the seeing her therapist and started buying Xanax from a local drug dealer to try to cope with her PTSD. Unwilling to go back into therapy, Pip decides that another season of her podcast is what will put everything right, and she begins to investigate the 9-year-old unsolved case of a Jane Doe found naked and mutilated near the Hudson River. But that investigation is soon put aside as Pip continues to receive anonymous emails that ask, "Who will look for you when you're the one who disappears?" Then she finds decapitated pigeons in her yard and mysterious chalk stick figures with their heads cut off drawn on her driveway. Pip's obvious choice for who could be behind all this is Max Hastings. But when she does a Google search for any crimes committed by someone leaving similar emails, dead pigeons, and chalk figures for his victims, she discovers a serial killer dubbed the Duct Tape Killer. But someone has confessed and is in prison for those murders. As Pip begins to investigate the possibility that an innocent man has been convicted, she becomes certain that not only is the Duct Tape Killer still at large, she's become his next target.
Is It Any Good?
This dark and gripping conclusion to the Good Girl's Guide to Murder series unfolds at breakneck speed and never-saw-that-coming twists. For fans of the series, the Pip they meet in As Good As Dead could be a surprise. The fearless teen detective has been psychologically traumatized and for much of the story operates in a moral gray area. Her storyline offers teens and parents a chance for serious discussions about revenge, how far you'd go to help a friend, and the choices (both good and bad) that can be made when dealing with depression and emotional and physical trauma.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the decisions Pip makes in Part 2 of As Good As Dead. Would you have made different choices? If you'd been one of Pip's friends, would you have agreed to help her?
Do you think murder can ever be justified?
Is it a good idea for podcasts or TV shows to try and solve crimes, or should that be left to the police?
Book Details
- Author: Holly Jackson
- Genre: Mystery
- Topics: Friendship , High School
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Delacorte Press
- Publication date: September 28, 2021
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 14 - 17
- Number of pages: 464
- Available on: Paperback, Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: January 12, 2023
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