Going into this book I had a theory as to how it would turn out and end up going, considering the ending of Good Girl, Bad Blood.

Trigger warning: As Good As Dead mentions substance use, substance abuse, mentions of rape, PTSD, and violence.

After her last case and Stanley’s death, Pip is left dealing with some heavy PTSD and anxiety relating to said events. She turns to not exactly the best things to cope with her struggles.

As if that isn’t enough, someone begins stalking her and trolling her online.

Instead of someone being in trouble and Pip solving a case to save them, it’s her turn to be the one saved. Now she has to solve this case to save her own life.

Save her life to save her life.

See, throughout the two previous cases, Pip has lost a part of herself. To the point that she doesn’t even recognize herself and she sees that her past self is slowly going away. There is only a sliver of her left.

And she needs to solve one more case. One more case to save that last sliver of herself.

But it’s not the case she thought it was going to be.

This book ended up going in a way that I didn’t think it would end up going, but as it progressed, it all made sense.

There came a point where I didn’t know what to think or feel.

Everything seemed to had been going right, until it didn’t.

And then we get to the last page…

And it broke me.

One thing that this book did is showcase and Pip’s mental state of mind when dealing with the PTSD and the anxiety left from her previous cases. Usually in novels, the author tends to skip through the healing process and makes the protagonist get over what happened to them.

This book was more devastating and heart-wrenching than either the first or second book. And I must say that it was a satisfying conclusion to A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder series. No dragging it out, no for sure end, just room left for reader’s interpretation.

Authors tend to give a book series it’s “happy ending” and satisfying, concrete ending, yet I commend Holly Jackson on giving this book a happy yet non-concrete ending, allowing for reader’s imaginations to run wild. And also for not leaving the characters being perfect characters with no mistakes, but being these characters who deal with real-life issues such as PTSD and anxiety, something that many readers can relate to.

Age Range

I personally DO NOT recommend this book or book series to elementary or middle school readers. This is me personally, but not even a 9th grader. Perhaps a 10th grader. But no younger. This book deals with foul language not suitable for young people, heavy mentions of drug use, drug abuse, mentions of rape, serial killers, extreme violence, and gore.