Wow! I won’t name the things I put off to finish this book. They are many. I dare you to get 6 chapters in (short, brief, telling chapters) and put it down. I couldn’t do it & don’t recall reading another book recently that let me so enthralled.

What a fun thriller!

Holly's husband is killed in front of her by a hit and run driver. While she is recovering at the hospital, her teenaged daughter makes a deal with a "fixer" - $5M for life, house paid for in exchange for not pursuing the hit and run driver.

Holly has a hard time adjusting to her new life and managing the guilt of this payout. Her daughter somewhat thrives and attracts a new boyfriend. Her fixer and neighbors intertwine with her new life in unexpected ways.

That's all i'm going to say because this was a fun ride and I don't want to give away any spoilers!

I received this book for free in return for an honest review via NetGalley.

I must say I really enjoyed this book, especially the last half. The chapters are written from various characters perspectives which gives you a well rounded view on the story. Each chapter is relatively short and fast paced, usually being 2 chapters per character before moving onto the next one. One chapter happening in the past and one in the current time. I think this gave you a great idea of the who the characters were and their personalities as well as how they have changed.

There were a couple of twists that I really wasn't expecting which always makes for a great read.

The only thing that confused me to start off with is that the first chapter that is from a different character has their name at the top, but the following chapter doesn't. This made it a bit confusing to start off with as there were 5 lead characters. But after a while, I understood that the chapter following it with no name was the same character as before.

I would highly recommend this book if you enjoy books that flit between time lines and have multiple leads for you to get to know.

WOW!!! This book was wonderful from the first page right up until the last word. The way the story was told from all different perspectives kept it going.

“What is a human life worth.” To find out read this book. It is such a quick read and really keeps you on your toes the whole time.

“I wish I had been the one behind the wheel.” Definitely didn’t expect that turn of events. Piecing together all the events in this book was amazing.

Shocking from page one!! I absolutely loved how Susan Walter organized the chapters of this story. Reliving each characters POV through the eyes of each character gave readers a heart pounding, nail biting experience. Susan Walters unraveled this mind blowing story with just enough detail between chapters to keep you guessing the role that Evan (lawyer and middleman) really played in the disastrous hit and run that killed Savannah’s father and her mother Holly’s High school sweetheart husband. So many suspicious characters with layers of secrets were embedded into a story that will have your heart racing until the last page! Highly recommend!

What is a life worth? This is the intriguing central question of this fast-paced suspense novel centered around a woman who has been given a picture-perfect new house and bottomless bank account in exchange for her silence about the deadly hit-and-run that killed her husband.
The mystery unfolds at at terrific clip. It is propulsive and thought-provoking with characters you really root for. As the perspective switches between the victims and the perpetrators, we quickly discover they all have secrets, and nothing is what it seems.
I hope they make this into a movie, it has all the elements - characters that are easy to root for, surprising plot twists, and an explosive Hollywood ending that left me stunned.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

"Good as Dead" is a terrific read! A masterful, superbly constructed thriller with lots of tension and twists, but also a heart and soul. Its characters are relatable, credible and well drawn and its six different POVs makes for especially intriguing storytelling. This absorbing, fast-paced look at what happens when good people do bad things is extra impressive given that Walter has never written a thriller before. What a great debut!.

#GoodasDead Thank you to #NetGalley for allowing me to read this book early in exchange for an honest review!

I can't remember the last time I read something with this much suspense and tension. Each chapter reveals more as we piece together the events that happened leading up to and on the day of the accident and I enjoyed discovering how everything links together.

Good as Dead is a thrilling page-turner, that is so so hard to put down. The constant changes of perspective make it so enjoyable to keep reading without feeling like it's slowing down or the excitement is fading. I was so gripped I finished it in a day!

Really enjoyed this, will be recommending to people!

After Holly is a witness to the hit-and-run that caused the demise of her husband she’s offered a want for nothing life in beautiful Calabasas, California. Will she do it for her daughter? Will it be worth it? Will it truly ensure safely? Multiple points of view guide you through this page-turner, a quick, engaging read.

What an absolutely thrilling fast paced read! The layers were perfectly placed and the intrigue was high on this one. It comes down to ethics and what you would do for another person when life gets hard and you come across THAT life changing fork in the road. Do you do what you should do as the right thing or do you do what you should do as the necessary thing?!

This is told in multiple point of views. You have Holly who has just lost her husband in a hit and run. Her teenage daughter Savannah who assists in their life changing decision. Evan the lawyer of a powerful celebrity. Jack the powerful celebrity. And Andy and Libby the couple who live across the street from Holly and Savannah’s new Calabasas home. It sounds like a lot but it was written so well and transitioned smoothly from each character. The less you know the better going into it. Holly and Savannah get a new house and bottomless bank account for hush money to not find who the hit and run person is. But secrets start leaking out and questions start being asked and people link in surprising ways and it all makes it an exciting read!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

As mentioned by someone, After being a witness to the murder of her husband, Holly accepts an offer that may be too good to be true. People aren’t who they seem to be and her new neighbors are suspicious of her sudden good fortune.
Good as Dead is a fast paced thriller written in multiple perspectives with time jumps. It was easy to follow the time jumps and I didn’t want to put it down. I loved the twists and seeing the perspectives of the other characters. Overall, Good as Dead was a quick, good thriller that I would recommend.

A good solid thriller telling the story of women forced to cooperate during the course of a major cover up.

•A R C•B O O K•R E V I E W•
2021 Book #43 out of 80
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GOOD AS DEAD by SUSAN WALTER
Publication date September 14, 2021
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5 stars
.
QUICK SYNOPSIS: This book is the epitome of the saying that “people aren’t always who they seem to be”. Holly Kendrick’s life changes within a matter of seconds when she witnesses her husband dying from a hit-and-run. Both Holly and her daughter, Savannah, have to now face the world with more secrets than just their own.

TW: Rape, domestic abuse, hit-and-run

STORYLINE & THOUGHTS:
~ A quick read, even though it was about 300+ pages.
~ POV alternated between the various characters in the book.
~ Each chapter revealed some type of secret or some sort of plot twist that kept me wanting to read more.
~I highly recommend reading this book, especially if you’re into thrillers and suspense.
.
Thank you to @netgalley and @lakeunionpublishing
for this ARC Ebook. All reviews are fair and honest reviews. All opinions are my own.
.
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In literal seconds, Holly's life changes. That in and of itself is hard to grasp. But you add in watching your husband die and dealing with the guilty party? Geez.. talk about needing therapy. I loved this book. I love the idea of a fixer and making deals. This was great and I will definitely read more from Susan Walter.

A deadly hit and run accident starts the story rolling along asking us can love and lives be rebuilt after such a trauma, especially when you take the law into your own hands? Every searing character is affected a single, bad decision as Susan Walters deftly moves between perspective and time in this nail-biting delight of a mystery novel. Her sharp eyes on the little details of mind and place make it a rich telling of the lifestyles and morality of the privileged, particularly those in Hollywood, and the disastrous illusions that lie underneath the lies.

The story has great momentum that grabs you from the opening chapter and keeps you turning the page -- pacing that mystery aficionados will applaud. The story is layered with rich details that land you solidly in this world, describing the struggles that we all have even while putting a brave front to the outside world. It has a seamless plot that unfolds to an unexpected pitch and brings all the characters stories together in a perfect, unexpected ending.

Great, complex characters grab you and get you further invested in their stories, in particular Holly, Savannah and Evan – lovely how many of the characters get to become heroes of their own stories. The theme of family and children, what you wouldn’t do for them even in the depths of grief, allows belonging, strength and love rise to the forefront of the book’s pages. The writing is beautiful, the story exceptionally satisfying, a great debut novel that will make Walters stand out from the crowd.

After being a witness to the murder of her husband, Holly accepts an offer that may be too good to be true. People aren’t who they seem to be and her new neighbors are suspicious of her sudden good fortune. Good as Dead is a fast paced thriller written in multiple perspectives with time jumps. It was easy to follow the time jumps and I didn’t want to put it down. I loved the twists and seeing the perspectives of the other characters. Overall, Good as Dead was a quick, good thriller that I would recommend.

This fast paced thriller follows Holly Kendrick and her daughter Savannah as their life is turned upside down after Holly’s husband (Savannah’s father) is killed in a hit and run accident. Holland Savannah make a deal with a wealthy individual and suddenly find themselves in a lavish house in Calabasas with neighbours who suspect that things with Holly and Savannah aren’t normal.

How will things turn out when people start uncovering parts of the buried truth? What would you do if you were in the same position as Holly? This is a great read and once I started I couldn’t put it down.

It all starts with a promise from a stranger: We’ll take care of everything.

Holly Kendrick’s husband is dead. Holly saw it all. In one violent moment, a hit-and-run accident turns Holly’s life upside down. Then a fixer for the high-powered guilty party approaches Holly with an offer she is in no position to refuse. Holly and her daughter, Savannah, will want for nothing, beginning with a luxury dream house—all for the price of their silence. But when their sudden appearance in privileged Calabasas, California, piques
the curiosity of neighbors, the price becomes greater than they imagined. Because Holly and Savannah aren’t the
only ones in the neighborhood with
something to hide

Told from alternating points of view, Good as Dead draws together an unlikely group of people bound to one another by a crime, a cover-up, and compounding deceptions. As carefully constructed lives begin to crumble, how far will everyone be willing to go to bury the truth and protect the people they love?
At what price are you willing to
Pay to have a life of luxury?
This book was very good! I really enjoyed it. I savored every page not wanting it to end. I loved the alternating points of view. I loved the excitement that each chapter brought. I loved how fast paced it was. And I adored the ending. This Author did not disappoint. Although she is new to me I will definitely be reading more work from this author. Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion 📚📚📚📚

What is the value of a life? Susan Walter’s thriller Good As Dead delivers with dubious characters, flashbacks, and a surprising ending. Readers will enjoy this quick read that answers that question.

The story unfolds as Holly wakes up to discover she’s now living in a wealthy Calabasas neighborhood. But at what price? Just keep quiet about the hit-and-run driver that put her in the hospital and killed her beloved husband. Holly and her daughter Samantha play into this coverup and lies for the perfect life.

But it all unravels when the neighbors become suspicious, and there’s a dashcam video that recorded everything. I recommend this thriller, except the ending came too soon, and every character’s story seems to wrap up too easily. I thank NetGalley for allowing me to review this compelling novel. I just reviewed Good as Dead by Susan Walter. #GoodasDead #NetGalley #thrillers #mysterythrillers

Wow this is a fast paced psycho thriller! In a matter of seconds, Holly Kendrick’s life changes - first she witnessed her husband Evan die in a hit and run accident then she accepts an offer for silence from the guilty party! Wishing for a glamorous life & a better life for her daughter, Savannah, they move into a McMansion in Calabasas, CA. Ultimately this also comes with a price. Her neighbors see right through because they have their own secrets! Good as a Dead is thought provoking, placed in Holly’s shoes which would you choose? This is suspenseful & twisty, a quick read! Thank you to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and the author for a gifted copy. This is my honest review. Reviews on Goodreads and Instagram.