Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - As Good As Dead

As Good As Dead felt a lot darker and more intense than the previous books.

I don’t think it’s my favorite out of the trilogy, but I thought the ending was a decent conclusion.

Spoiler

The text message at the end…. Ahhhhhh. I think it was a clever way to end the book

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mythxcally's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This was such a good book- I couldn't put it down and read it in 2 days!! It usually takes me about a week to read a book so I was very surprised.

I loved the mystery side of it and the links back to the first book were extremely clever, things you wouldn't notice on a first read.

However I can't give it a full 5 stars because of the ending... I did love that

Spoiler

Ravi texted Pip and it was implied they got back together again. But it felt unfinished. I wish we'd been able to see their reunion and them being able to be happy together and have a normal life again.

Other than that this series has been so captivating and incredible to read. I'd definetely read the whole series again!

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serendipity421's review

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challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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ashleysager's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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lozzo_bozo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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kitty_reads_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Spoiler

anyone who read this knows that the first half and second half of this book are COMPLETELY different. this one was definitely heavier than the others and for good reason. I struggled to listen to pip deal with her ptsd, but I think it was a good decision for the story. When the DT killer got into the mix I really started getting invested!

Initially I was unhappy that pip sympathized with Charlie BUT… I think her feelings towards him and all the previous cases she worked on highlights how *justice* isn’t what it is made out to be.. most cases rest in this grey area where people who commit crimes are pushed into doing them by external sources… whether thats their upbringing, traumatic events, poverty, etc.

Then the direction of the book completely changed. I like the direction this series ultimately took because it really highlighted some of the flaws of the justice system. It’s often wrong, but if we take it a step further we can see how even when it’s “right” it doesn’t fix anything and can make things much worse. Pips obsession with justice led her down a spiral, endangered her, poisoned her life, made her do terrible things, and ultimately made us see the complexities of *justice* and how right and wrong are relative and exist in a grey area.

Was this book unrealistic? probably. BUT it had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It turned the story on it’s head— from pip being an investigator who sought justice in black and white terms, to pip being put in a situation where black and white no longer existed and she turned into a killer. And we as an audience rooted for her. Now i’m not saying Jason didn’t “deserve” that ending (especially in a fictional setting, I was 100% rooting for pip), but even pip admits she did a awful thing. But the point is crime is complicated and the way we currently deal with it (and view it) isn’t productive. Our current justice system ultimately ends up being wrong and pushing people to commit more crimes.

That is my abolitionist spiel lol. Idk if this was the authors point, but in many ways I think she was ultimately showing how flawed the justice system is. But wow I do look forward to the show that is going to come out!!!

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