I got the ARC off of Netgalley, these opinions are my own. I have loved each of the A Good Girls Guide to Murder books! I was really excited when I found out Holly Jackson was coming out with another one this year, though sad that it was the last of Pip’s story! Holly did not disappoint with this story, it comes full circle when, as a reader, you didn’t even realize that it needed to! That’s one of the things I like best about these books all the clues that connect them to one another that you don’t fully pay attention to until Pip realizes them! Makes you really feel like you’re part of the story! As Good As Dead is just like the others with the mystery but with a twist… a twist I didn’t see coming and at first I wasn’t sure how I felt about it but it actually adds a really interesting component to the book! The books wouldn’t be complete without Ravi and the gang, though they aren’t in this book as much. I did miss them but I also think it was necessary to really tell Pip’s story! And Pip goes through so much in this book and the ending is so wrenching! I finished it at night and it took me awhile to go to sleep because I couldn’t stop thinking about all she’d had to endure. I can’t wait for this one to come out!

In the final installment of AGGGTM, Pip is looking for one last case to end her sleuthing career. When Pip finds strange chalk drawings and dead birds in her drive after someone keeps messaging her "Who will look for you when you’re the one who disappears?" she is convinced she's being stalked. She sees this as the perfect crime to investigate, one that will only affect her. Will she be able to uncover the identity of the perpetrator, or will they get her first?

I was VERY excited to read this book because I've loved the series so far and recommend it to my murder mystery lovers all the time. Unfortunately, this finale was a huge disappointment. The conclusion itself was fine, but I found the book to be too meticulously written and honestly, kind of boring. Pip is suffering from PTSD, which makes sense after what happened in the last book, but if you cut out the flashbacks, the book would likely be 100 pages shorter. The first half of the novel is fast paced and follows the same set up as the first two books, but you hit the climax of action before you're 50% through the book and the rest is really dragged out. It was a miss for me, but I will continue recommending the first two books. Maybe we don't need to know what happens to Pip in the end after all.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my opinion.

As Good As Dead is the last book in the the A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series by Holly Jackson. Pip has already become a town legend after solving a murder and kidnapping but she is having a hard time coping with those events and is starting to feel that she is finding patterns in things that could be nothing. She believes she is being stalked, and she believes that its by a serial killer. Unfortunately everyone else thinks that the real serial killer has been caught and sitting in prison. Desperate for sleep and concerned for her own safety Pip takes matters into her own hands.

I loved the first two books of this series and I like part 1 of this book. However it was when I read part 2 that this book quickly spirals downhill for me. I am all about not doing the typical ya ending to a teen mystery book so bravo for that. However I think this ending has completely missed the mark. It felt unbelievable considering how many people Pip had to convince to do something without knowing why they were doing it and why none of these people who supposedly cared for her never went to the police...

I am disappointed. After reading books 1 and 2 in this series I was thrilled to read the 3rd book. Another mystery, and lovable characters, what else could you ask for? Earlier on Pip was portrayed as an intelligent, kind girl ,and I feel this book didn't do her justice. Although her PTSD affected her mentally and physically all aspects of the story seemed forced from her point of view. I will give it to Holly Jackson though, for beautifully crafting once again another mystery. Clues, Characters, and secrets again made this book a page turner. Over all I think this book can be skipped as an installment to the series. Thank you Netgalley for sending me a copy!

The perfect ending for this series… Posed a lot of questions of right and wrong. I laughed and cried (mostly cried) and tried to guess the plot twists (without success, per usual). Holly Jackson is masterful with her plot lines and word choice, and I enjoy her writing so much!

This was the perfect end to Pip's journey. This book was nothing that expected it to be, but it was absolutely genius. I will very much miss the world of this series. The entire trilogy is worth reading over and over!

I was looking forward to reading this book having loved the other two in this series. But, what on earth happened? When I got halfway through, and saw that I was only halfway through, I thought, What else can happen in this book? And then it took a turn for the crazy and unbelievable. I have to say that I did not like this Pip. In the beginning, it was a struggle to read because of all the pain she was going through, but then in the second half.... it just didn't ring true. The last 20% of the book was rough to try to get through, but I just wanted to see how it ended. I'm very mixed because it is a well written book, but it just doesn't make sense or fit with the other two in the series.

“Save herself to save herself.” This is Pip’s mantra throughout As Good As Dead, Holly Jackson’s latest thrill ride installment of the AGGGTM trilogy. Pip isn’t dealing well with the post-traumatic stress left over from her brush with death in Good Girl, Bad Blood, so she attempts to solve one last case, one that will restore her faith in good vs evil and help her get past the anger, fear, and anxiety that Stanley Forbes, Charlie Green, and Max Hastings have left in their wake. However, saving herself gets a bit more complicated when a serial killer becomes preoccupied with her; soon, she’s racing not only to save her faith in humanity but her life as well.

For the first third of this book, I was mesmerized; I read far later into the night than I ever intended (and even had to get up to check the locks once or twice). Jackson weaves in such creepy details, such as the slowly-inching chalk figures, and succeeds at resurrecting facts from Pip’s previous two cases to make readers suspect everyone. However, once Pip’s journey took its sharp left turn, I found myself slogging through the details instead of turning the pages as fast as I could. I liked Pip best when I was putting the pieces together beside her, trying to make my brain run as quickly as hers and solve the case; while there was definitely plenty of suspense in the second third of the novel, it lacked that just-around-the-bend mystery element that had captivated me in the last two installments. The final third of the novel also didn’t fully click for me; while I understood Pip’s choices, her brand of vigilante justice felt like a departure from the character I had grown to love, and I honestly left the book worried how she would fare in the future.

In the end, the smart dialogue, attention to detail, and true crime feel make this a must-purchase for school libraries; while readers might agree that this wasn’t the strongest installment in the AGGGTM series, they will appreciate Pip’s strength in tying up so many loose ends. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well that was unexpected. I hurried through this book because I couldn’t wait to finish it. I really enjoyed it and kept looking for opportunities to pick it up. I figured it would be a fun mystery to close out the series but now think it was the best of the three. It ties in bits from the first two books but takes a really unexpected turn- it makes the book feel different than the others.. Definitely worth the read! I think everyone who read the first two should consider this one a requirement.

Thanks to NetGalley for the early copy! So excited to get this book!

I don’t think I liked this book at all. In fact, I’m pretty confused by it and very disappointed in it.

To start, I really enjoyed A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. Pip, while flawed, was intelligent, resourceful, strong, and developed a good support system. I easily gave Book 1 five stars. I had high expectations for Good Girl, Bad Blood. It didn’t quite meet the level of the first, but I have it a solid four stars. What stood out in both of these was Pip’s character, her adherence to finding the truth and providing closure for whomever needed it.

This book, though? What the heck. As Good as Dead took all that had been built and tore it down. And I get where it’s coming from, which might be the most difficult part to accept. The things Pip has gone through in books 1 and 2… they mess people up. But this book had the opportunity to take a character known for strength, intelligence, perseverance, bravery, and a diligent search for the truth and make her even more - it could have shown the struggle and successful climb out of that hellish mental and emotional hole Pip was in. Instead, it took the cheap way out and made her a monster. Instead of showing a character getting help, using her support system, and finishing this journey in the right way, Pip lost herself and became someone else. The book discussed coming full circle, with all the events Pip had gone through tied together in this finale. While it did tue everything together, I’m just so incredibly disappointed in the way it chose to go about it. Pip could have saved herself in a different way, and the author had made me think that this girl she’d created was capable of that.

Here’s a little more on various other aspects, in my opinion. In terms of the story, it’s okay. The loose endings are all tied up. The pacing was ridiculously slow through the first 3/4 of the book. I would not market it for 14+, as it’s much more appropriate for an older audience. The cast of charters that had shown in previous books weren’t really highlighted here, except for Ravi, who was great until his completely out of character second half of the book. The conclusion was okay, I guess, considering everything else. This was much more a psychological thriller than anything else. On that, it did deliver, even if it got a little repetitive.

Overall, my rating is 2 stars. Those are really just for the writing itself and the overall connection as part of the trilogy. If you enjoyed books 1 and 2, maybe skip this and let the story end there. I read that advice in another review and wish I’d followed it, to be honest. I don’t think many people will enjoy where this book goes, and especially what Pip becomes.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

This book…wow. I enjoyed the first two books in this series immensely, and was very curious to see where number three would bring us. Ravi and Pip’s relationship—their steadfastness and trust, devotion—was my favorite part of the entire series. Pip’s friendships, too, with Cara and Connor and his brother, I really enjoyed that dynamic.

This book. Where to begin? It was twisty, dramatic and gave me claustrophobia. No spoilers, but I had to pause reading about halfway through to collect myself. The depictions of the “action scenes” were so vivid. I was there, in the room, it was happening to me. I had a feeling about the case in the story—who it would lead us to, the clues were all there even from book one—but the WAY the story unfolded was such a twist.

Highly recommend!

As sad as I am to see this trilogy end, this was a wonderful conclusion. Holly Jackson has knocked it out of the park.

3.7, rounded. My feelings are mixed here. In many ways this is the direction the series was probably always headed, it's darker and it's not satisfied with the criminal justice system in general (which I can get down with), but it's also...there were several times, especially in the first half, I just wanted to shake Pip and her general disregard for her own personal safety. Also her parents were exceptionally oblivious, to the extent that it was distracting.

I don't even know where to start. It's been a long time since I've been this disappointed by a book.

A friend sent me a link the other day about how YA lit isn't really meant for young adults anymore and I feel like this book is a perfect example of that. I ended up tagging this as new adult because I would very much hesitate to hand this to one of my students or recommend this book to a young adult.

Over the last two books, Pip has gone through some shit and this book spends a lot of time examining that. And, in my opinion, it's too much time. This book drags on; to be honest, I ended up skipping/skimming a lot of this book because I just couldn't take it anymore. This book spends a lot of time spinning its wheels. Which, on one hand, mirrors Pip's emotional and mental state very well. But it also gets boring really quickly.

In addition to that, Pip never really deals with anything. She whines and fusses and does some other shady ass shit, but she never picks any healthy coping mechanisms. I totally get it: Pip has been though horrors and she clearly has PTSD. I just hope that the young readers who pick this book up realize that Pip's making very poor choices. And I'm not one of those people who believe that media needs to be policed and sanitized, but I would have appreciated trigger warnings before I started this read.

I don't want to get into too much because of spoilers, but I can't help but feel like Jackson could have written this book 500 other ways and all of those ways would have been better than the book we ended up with. I hated every decision that Pip made in this book. I just feel like so much in this book was unnecessary. I went into this book expecting danger and a mystery to solve. The book I got instead was some psychological thriller that really didn't match the first two novels in the series.

To be honest, I walked away more impressed with the quality of the media inserts (I was reading a digital ARC) then I was with the plot. And that right there tells you everything.

LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. I couldn't put this book down. The ending was fantastic. It was a great character arc and I loved how she grew as a protagonist in this novel. I would recommend this series to everyone!

Holly Jackson does it again with this third book in the series! A fun and quick read for YA readers alike! The mystery and story seemed to be well rounded out and characters are written amazingly!

Wow. This book went places I really didn't expect it to go. At the start of the book, I thought I figured out what was going to be a "twist" at the end, and by the time we got to where the twist should have been, it was clear I was very very wrong. It took a little bit for the action to pick up in this one, but overall, it was a solid read.

Man I don’t know if I loved for hated this book but I do know that I flew through it in one sitting. I think there were other ways to get to the ending with our jumping the shark. Over all I’d recommend the series to folks but this one wasn’t my favorite.

Wow! Clever and well-crafted. Tough to read when you’ve invested so much time and emotion with Pip and Ravi after three books. I think it is an honest recounting of how someone who has been wronged by the system over and over would react and I appreciate that the ending wasn’t “easy.” It was a white knuckle page turner the whole way through.

Well, shit. I am really in disbelief about the way this series ended up going.

So, after the events of book 2, Pip has PTSD. Majorly. It’s hard to watch a character we love go through that. She hears gunshots, feels blood on her hands, can’t sleep… just is dealing with tons of physical and mental effects of everything she experienced. She’s attempting to handle it herself and hiding her struggles from her loved ones. It’s really difficult to watch, because she is very loved and everyone would be more than willing to help. The way she’s acting and coping is realistic, but it’s just sad.

Essentially, someone has been harassing Pip on Twitter, via email, and it starts happening in person - things drawn on her sidewalk in chalk, dead pigeons left in her yard… she finds out that the one doing it is likely a serial killer who has been inactive - because someone is in jail for it, but it’s likely the wrong guy… and things escalate from there.

I just can’t believe the changes in Pip, fundamentally. I know she went through a lot and has valid massive distrust in the justice system after trying and failing to get their help in her past cases. But I don’t read the final book in a series that I love, usually, in order to see a beloved character go through pure hell. The END of this book literally made me cry of disappointment - like physically cry, I read the last page of this story and I physically cried. I just can’t believe the Pippa Fitz-Amobi that I’ve read about up to this point could sabotage herself to these points. This series is about a smart and inquisitive kid who keeps a decent attitude about things and doesn’t take no for an answer and book 3 takes all those traits about her, twists them, and uses them in such an odd way. I guess her actions are in character, but just character that has been pushed past a breaking point.

Ravi remains my one true light in this series, but even the stuff he does is just like… ? He and Pip have a really beautiful and strong relationship and it has never been a source of stress in the series. That does not change in this book. But it almost is too fixed of a trait in their relationship? Ravi is just down for anything Pip is down for and when Pip is going off the rails it pulls Ravi off the rails with her and it just… it isn’t really toxic because it’s from a place of love but it’s also kind of toxic just in the literal sense.

I don’t disagree with anything Pip did, is another confusing thing. The outcomes are rewarding to see. But just the fact that she had to do them is part of what’s so upsetting about this book. I just wanted better for her in this installment after book 2 and instead I ended up getting a whole lot worse for her. I’m trying so hard to avoid spoilers here, y’all, and I bet you’re so confused reading this.

I genuinely do not know that I would recommend this installment to fans of the series. That’s how wrong this story made me feel. I had a pit in my stomach after finishing. Ravi provides a little comic relief, as does Pip’s family, but mostly this is just a really dark and pretty graphic novel. I say go for it if you’re really interested, but just know that I personally would have been happier thinking the story ended with book 2.