By Sooooo….. I have a lot of thoughts. So many thoughts that I wrote a 1,600+ word Goodreads review immediately upon finishing this book, and that’s why today is my first-ever SPOILER REVIEW.
Yes, this review contains major spoilers for this book as well as the previous two books in the series. If you haven’t read them and you intend to, this is your final warning!
(If this is you, though, maybe check out my other reviews for the first two books?)
(2025 update: Since this review is one of the most popular ones on my site, I’ve returned to it four years later to add that as the years pass I have more of an understanding of what Jackson intended with Pip’s arc here. I think part of the point of this story was that her trauma shaped her and led her to make less clear-cut moral choices, and how the Max situation led to her loss of faith in the justice system–after all, rapists notoriously get off easy. However, this review is my 16-year-old self’s reaction after reading the book, with any of the naivete with regard to criminal justice that came with my age at the time. I’d have to re-read the book to re-assess whether I still think it was out of character for Pip or not!)
About the Book
Title: As Good As Dead (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder #3)
Author: Holly Jackson
Published: 2021
Genre: contemporary, mystery/thriller
Rating: 3.5/5
My Thoughts
If you read my blog at any time during 2020 you’ve probably stumbled across at least one post in which I raved about this series. I absolutely loved the first two books, and I believe I ranked the first book in my top three books of 2020. So of course I’d been waiting to read this one for about a year and a half, and although I was a bit nervous that my 10th-grade judgement was no longer to be trusted, I finally bought the third installment from B&N and devoured it in a few hours.
Was it as gripping as I remember the other two books being? Yes! Was it as good? Well, I have a lot to say so get ready for a long spoiler analysis. I really enjoyed reading this book, but it is definitely my least favorite of the series and man, did it go in a different direction from the other two.
So, AGAD starts off with Pip in not a very good place. She’s still reeling from Stanley’s death at the end of the second book, she isn’t sleeping and she’s secretly buying sleeping pills from what’s-his-name Luke the drug dealer from the other two books. To make matters worse, she’s being stalked. Someone’s been leaving dead birds and headless chalk figures on her driveway, and messages on Twitter and in her email: “Who will look for you when you’re the one who disappears?”
She goes to the police and they don’t believe her, because this is a YA thriller. She and Ravi continue to investigate, and Pip makes her first mistake. Here’s where my spoiler review is going to start.
So, Pip and Ravi realize that yes, someone is stalking her and they have been right outside her house. They’ve connected to her Bluetooth speakers because they’re so close. They’ve printed through her printer because they’re so close. Yet they decide not to update the police with this information, despite having proof? Yeah, Pip thinks the police won’t believe her because she’s seemingly unstable, but Ravi can corroborate. And when Pip’s whole family was woken up by the metal coming through her speakers… she should have told them what happened.
Not to mention when Pip and Ravi realize that the stalker is probably the DT Killer (don’t ask me why this town has so many serial killers just hanging out in there) who left the same sorts of messages and prank calls for his previous victims. GO. TO. THE. POLICE. WITH. THIS. NEW. SUSPICION. I don’t know about you, but I would rather have that police chief think I’m paranoid than try to sleep at night knowing a killer is watching my house. They know Pip has solved two major mysteries before! They probably somewhat trust her judgement! I can’t imagine they would just brush it off if she presented that article in which it mentioned that the DT Killer had been leaving dead birds and chalk figures for one of his previous victims!
And then the whole Jason Bell thing. I don’t buy it. I just don’t. It very much felt shoe-horned in, and the second they read the Andie Bell email I knew it was him and Pip thinking it was Dan da Silva was just dumb. The Pip we know is smarter than that. But I just don’t buy Jason Bell being the killer… yes it was supposed to be a plot twist, but really there was no indication before that Jason was off. I read the first book a while back, so there might have been something planted, but in the third book there wasn’t. Maybe it’s just the improbability of this town having so many killers in it… but it’s a thriller, I’ll stop.
So Jason Bell is the killer and he’s stalking Pip. Why though? Why her specifically? Why right now? Why did he stop killing people for six years and then start again? Well, I don’t know, but let’s just go with it.
So Pip has very strong circumstantial evidence based off Andie’s email that it was him. Now comes her second huge mistake: not presenting THIS to the police. Yes, the whole point is that she no longer trusts the justice system due to Max Hastings and Billy Karras and Sal Singh yada yada yada but still. Still. Where is your sense of self-preservation, Pip? Show the police the email. Let them at least consider the possibility that she is being stalked by a serial killer. Get a plainclothes policeman to watch her house. Anything logical. But of course, this is still in-character for Pip. She did stuff like this in the previous books.
In a not-very-surprising turn of events, Pip gets kidnapped by Jason and left in the building where he killed the five other women six years ago. He does his villain monologue and confesses to killing Pip’s dog way back in the first book (mwahahahhahaa!) but then he leaves her in there by herself, giving her adequate time to break free and escape.
But then. Here is where things get crazy. Pip is about to leave and go home when she sees Jason come back to the building. So she runs back and kills him. Pip kills someone. Pippa Fitz-Amobi. Okay, okay. So violent murder is a bit out-of-character for Pip, but we know she’s just experienced a very traumatic event and was almost murdered by him, so it is sort of? understandable because we’ve also seen her slowly becoming more and more violent/unstable with the graffiti on Max’s house in the second book, her violent fantasies about him, etc. etc. This has been building up for a while. But then, here is where she makes the worst mistake of all (Well besides killing him) She decides to try to cover it up and involve all her friends in her nefarious plan.
She thinks it won’t be ruled as self-defense because she turned around and came back for him. But the thing is, she was almost murdered and I’m not a lawyer but there could be a self-defense case there. Even if it wouldn’t change the fact that she will face consequences for literally killing someone (again wow, how did she become so morally grey so fast) she’d have a better chance than with what she decided to actually do. Not to mention how much she throws morals out the window despite being such a principled character for the entire rest of the series.
So Pip calls Ravi and asks him to help her cover up the crime scene, and he HAPPILY OBLIGES? What? “Oh of course, my dear sweet girlfriend, you were almost murdered just now and now you need me to help you clean up the crime scene where you just killed this guy? I’ll be right over.”
And then they decide to frame Max Hastings for the whole thing. Which makes no sense. First of all, Ravi. Why would Ravi ever, ever go along with this? Pip I can somewhat rationalize, as we can see how deeply she’s been affected by her previous experiences and how unhinged she has become. She’s already lashed out twice with regard to Max and while first-book Pip probably wouldn’t have, I can see how in the stress of the moment Pip might have the idea to frame Max. But Ravi?
Sal died because he was framed for a murder he didn’t commit. For years the Singhs were ostracized and Ravi was told his brother was a cold-blooded murderer. Only when Pip exposed the truth did they learn Sal’s death wasn’t a suicide, it was the tragic result of someone ELSE framing him.
With this experience, why on earth would Ravi agree to help Pip frame Max? Why would he assist her in becoming just like Elliott Ward, the man who murdered his brother and disgraced his name? I just don’t buy it. It goes against his whole character and backstory.
And of course Pip goes through an entire elaborate plan to cover up her involvement in the crime and incriminate Max Hastings for something he didn’t do, which is just so against everything Pip and Ravi used to stand for, and it just doesn’t make logical sense. Yes Max is a piece of shit, and I’m not exactly feeling bad for him, but I don’t think the Pip of the first book would support this course of action. Now Pip’s ensnared in this web of lies she created for herself and of course now if one strand breaks she’ll be convicted of something way worse than self-defense. But okay Pip… so you’ve turned into the total anti-hero of your story and made your situation 10x worse in one go.
And how is getting “justice” to Max worth all of this risk? I know the theme is Pip seeking justice outside the legal system and how this has destroyed her, but really. I do not think the audience is supposed to sympathize with Pip, but I’m not sure what the point of the book was overall besides totally destroying these characters we’ve grown to love.
The whole aftermath with Pip covering up the story and turning into her evil alter ego was jarring but actually pretty interesting to read. It was disturbing to see the juxtaposition between starry-eyed first book Pip and the podcast she made to expose the truth and now this different Pip and the podcast she made to obfuscate the truth. Thematically it worked, really well. But character-wise, I wasn’t completely on board.
But wow, what a depressing ending. This series really turned around, and I’m still kind of processing it. I miss the Pip I knew and loved from books 1 and 2, but I didn’t ABSOLUTELY hate the direction this book went. I don’t know. Hm. Giving it 3.5-4 for readability because I flew through it in a few hours.
Well, that’s it for my long spoiler rant/analysis. I love this series and these characters, so of course I had a lot to say and I think it warranted a spoiler review.
What did you think of As Good As Dead? What’s your favorite book in the AGGGTM series? Let me know in the comment section!
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Ah, I couldn’t read the entire review because of spoilers, but loved the rant, lol!
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Thanks haha, I’m excited to hear your thoughts on the book when you get to read it!
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The fact that I devoured every single word of this review, when I’ve only read the first book in the trilogy is just–
Ooh I never would have dreamt of Pip suddenly becoming an anti-hero, i can understand how that would have been frustrating. And Jason Bell finally turned out to be the killer? Yes there was a lot against him in the first book for the Andie bell case but you’re right, it’s like the town is just full of serial killers.
Loved the review!! (I am not even sorry that I spoiled myself for the next two books, I wasn’t really planning to read them anyway)
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Lol, this is definitely something I would do… well at least you aren’t planning to read the books haha. Yes, the whole Pip-becomes-an-anti-hero was an interesting idea and I could see what Holly Jackson was trying to do but for me the character motivations didn’t line up and for the third book in a trilogy after we’ve gotten to know and love this character for her strong sense of justice and right and wrong, it just didn’t seem right– that’s why this book was definitely my least favorite out of the series (Book #1 was definitely the best. Such an amazing book!) but Holly Jackson is still one of my favorite authors and I am definitely pre-ordering any future new releases from her. Sometimes you just need to take a few hours to fly through a semi-unrealistic but brilliantly plotted and suspenseful thriller
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What a rant. I’m sorry the ending didn’t work for you. I don’t read this genre much, and since I haven’t read the first two books I went ahead and read the spoilers. You did a great job of warning us about them.
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Thanks for reading!
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Pippa freking Fitz amobi is a killer sheeesh
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I knowwwww
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I totally agree with this review- it’s exactly how I thought about the book when I finished it…many conflicting thoughts!
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Definitely!
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*SPOILERS*
See the thing is, I completely agree with everything you’ve said except for Pip’s character. We know in the first book she’s already let Naomi and co. go free from a drunk driving incident where they literally ruined someone’s life by making him a paraplegic(?) If she’s willing to cover things up from the cops for a friend in the first book, what’s going to stop her from doing it to save her own skin after she’s gone through all that trauma? Ravi is a bit harder to justify, but if you look at all the trauma he went through when his brother was falsely accused, it’s not hard to see where the distrust in cops comes from. This sudden change in character, I feel, was already there, tearing at the seams.
I’m not gonna lie though, I was still screaming at Pip in my head when she decided to cover it up instead of just going to the cops.
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ooh that’s a good point– I read AGAD almost two years after reading the first book so I forgot all about that part. I still think there’s a line between covering something up for a friend vs. actively framing someone else for a crime though. I found it possible to buy Pip killing him in the moment but not everything she did afterwards especially with Ravi because it seems very ironic that Ravi would help Pip the exact thing that killed Sal, essentially
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Thank you for speaking my own experience reading this into words. I’ve never been more frustrated and confused by a character’s about face. Her entire “The cops won’t believe this even though I just made sure my dna was in his trunk and there is loads of phayical evidence here and on me that I was trapped and also I just connected all the dots on him being the DT killer in three days flat but there’s ~no way~ the police would believe me.” Literally wtf? I can believe she’s have a psychotic break that dumb but then for Ravi to not immediately call the cops? W. T. F.
It’s also weird she never really addressed how the cops *did* find out he was the DT killer pretty immediately and at that point she should have like yeeted herself right to the police station to say sorry my b. But she felt guiltier over the HEADPHONES than realizing everything she did was a total disaster.
And are we meant to feel bad when she continues her self s destruction to breaking up with Ravi? Like you started this girl! What on earth was your long term plan??
You’re right that it’s disturbing to have Ravi of all people frame a guy. But everyone in this became unliekable the second they decided “yes let’s put justice in the hands of teenagers cuz framing a guy for murder is fixing a moral right”
Yuck yuck yuck.
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Yup, it’s really too bad that that was the ending to the series, which in all other respects was SO good! I find it very weird that so many reviewers are applauding Pip and saying the ending was great, when the characters all made such stupid choices and literally did the very thing that the first book exposed as reprehensible (framing someone for a murder they didn’t commit!), yet now we’re supposed to be happy because it was the main characters? Not sure what message that’s supposed to be sending. Anyway, I was quite disappointed in how this book ended but if Holly Jackson writes another series I’ll still be excited to read it
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I mean can you blame them? She did say that she would do anything to make Max pay. Rape is much worse than muder according to me. You have to live with the gross feeling of being touched and assaulted, it’s like being dead and alive at the same time. Isn’t dying much better? He deserved to rot in prison. It was clever a d personally I would do the exact same thing because her actions were wrong not the intentions.
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you do have a point. It becomes a question of whether the ends (getting Max in prison where he belongs) justify the means. When I wrote this review, I had a much higher level of trust in the justice/legal system than I do now
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I just finished the second book, and even though i havent read the third book, i read this review anyway lol.
Heres my thoughts:
I LOVED the first and second books. May even reread them before reading three to see if i notice anything else ties back to them.
On the subject of Pip’s murder however: at first, i was REALLY pissed off when i read what she did. Like, just go to the police?
But then i thought about it for a bit. (BTW- NOT GONNA SAY SHE WAS RIGHT IN THIS!! she was definitely in the wrong here and i honestly think that killing someone who tried to kill you and was coming back, probably to kill you, WOULD be considered self defense?? So covering that up was NOT ok, but i think if she went to the police then maybe id feel better about it)
After thinking and reading comments about how its the opposite of their morals in the first book (basically about how sal was framed and Ravi’s reputation crumbled severely from it), i still dont love it, BUT i have a new perspective on it.
It ties back to the first book. Think about it. The first thing that happened and the last thing that happened, the same thing- but in a different light. Yes, it was kinda out of character (ESPECIALLY FOR RAVI) BUT i think it KINDA works. In a dark, twisted way. I dont agree with the people that praise her for her actions. No. But i do think that it gave a nice tie back to the events of the first book, and it shows that even people that seem like they would do one thing can do drastically different things when under pressure.
I hate max but also kind of feel bad for him. Like dude, just go to jail?? You admitted to it.
AND HOW THE HECK DID HE STILL NOT GO TO JAIL, EVEN WHEN SHE LITERALLY HAS AN AUDIO RECORDING OF HIM CONFESSING. I dont remember exactly what happened with this, but it just felt weird to me?
I think he definitely deserved something. But not being framed for murder.
Anyway, i loved reading your review! As mad as i am at a lot of the characters, i think ill still read the book.
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thanks for reading my review!
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I actually loved the dark direction this book went for, I guess it doesn’t really make sense, but I loved seeing pip elaborate her plan. And I think the reason Ravi helped pip was 1- He loved her 2- He wanted to get revenge on max for lying to the police in agggtm and getting away with what he did. Also in agggtm Sal was a good person, so I guess framing him was worst than framing a bad person? Honestly it didn’t really made sense because at the end he lost all of his morals for pip, but I mean, he loves her.
While reading this book I didn’t actually cared that the characters turned evil and it ruined them. I think it was a good representation of what fear and love can do to a person. but I loved your point of view on this book.
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I agree with your review on so many levels. the ending (or, well, second half) completely threw me. I didn’t expect Pip to resort to that, and I REALLY didn’t expect Ravi to dive head-first into assisting her with her cover-up. After EVERYTHING he and his family went through, it did not seem like him at all. i finished the book a couple of days ago and still just feel unhappy with how it all turned out. While i liked the series overall, this is definitely my least favorite in the series and, again… it just felt like a complete 180. I understand how Pip has changed through the course of her journey and struggles but did not expect this from her.
Also, the minuscule part of me that is still somewhat romantic wishes there was a bit more after that last text from Ravi. Just a bit more closure or something between them lol.
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THANK GOD! Thank God. There’s someone else in this freaking club. I thought that the first half of this book was the most interesting, exciting, page turning, writing of the entire series. And I forgave the minor mistakes like, uh- why 5 burner phones? Why are all of these awful people who’ve done bad things considered “morally grey?” Why are you having weekly chats with a person who intentionally fatally rufied you, and intended to kill you- but you apparently HATE the date rapist more than the “morally grey” man who murdered your boyfriends brother? It was all stuff I could look past…. But the second half of the book [the decision to not call the police immediately, followed by the cover up, and then FRAMING of an innocent (of murder) person]… What?! That is seriously the entire point of the first book in this series!!! This character would have died a hero, she could have also killed Jason Bell then called the cops sobbing “please help me”- I don’t care how many times you hit him with a hammer, you were in DISTRESS- and still been a hero, but no, she chose to live long enough to see herself become the villain. The thing her character abhorred only one year ago. She may have lost faith in the justice system, that I could understand… but this girl changed to the point of losing herself. I can’t even describe my disappointment with this finale. The end of a series I can never read again, because I know the evil person the character I rooted for throughout two books becomes. What’s next? What other crimes can you justify? What is off limits? There’s nothing this stupid character would no longer be willing to refrain from doing out of selfishness, maliciousness, and hate. I was nervous about the book when she was sympathetic and pining for a conversation with the man who murdered someone in front of her, and caused the ptsd trauma she loudly suffered from. And oh my gosh, I had a right to be. This girls moral compass is all effed up. She’s illogical, immoral, and also frighteningly narcissistic/selfish/self righteous. That’s a scary combination.
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YES!! not me screaming at the book like a crazy woman!
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I absolutely agree with so much of what’s been said in this review.
*Spoiler alert*
It absolutely didn’t make sense to me either how Ravi decided to help Pip with her scheme, he was supposed to be the voice of reason ! The fact that Max was a heartless r*pist does not give them the right to frame him for something he didn’t do, the whole this was just so WRONG! I actually was rooting for DI Hawkings to find out the truth and even was excited for a sec when he found out about the headphones!
The end was very disappointing as well, I don’t know what kind of love is that but love shouldn’t be built over someone else’s misery. Even if that someone was Max Hastings !
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I totally agree! I think that you definitely could write a novel with this kind of dark, anti-hero plot, but it DID NOT WORK with the characters Holly Jackson had already built
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I read your review and I totally agree on everything. I’m currently reading the book and I can’t stop thinking about one thing. Does Pip stop buying drugs in the end? If anyone can give me an answer, I would appreciate it.
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I just stumbled across your review after finishing book three yesterday…please let me just say to a giant THANK YOU. I thought I was the only one to think about all of those things that you said! I was so mad reading thru the whole staging of the body scenes that I skipped it…I was messaging my daughter to let her know how frustrated I was that Pip just didn’t go to the Police rather than selfishly involving her friends….all of whom will have to remain silent for the rest of their lives!!! I just can’t with this book! I have never screamed at a book before!!!! Thank you for a great review.
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Hey I read through your whole review while I understand and do agree on a few points you put forward but there is a lot of things I don’t agree to. You are obviously entitled to your own opinion but I think otherwise about a few points. Now a rational person would definitely go and try to report the police about incidents of stalking but in Pips case like you said she didn’t believe that justice would be served to her within law. The threat through her printer and the blootooth connecting to her speaker would have been easily ruled out as a prank or paranoia. Especially since she was consuming Xanax she was risk of being not taken seriously if the police did a search of her room to investigate on the electronics. Even with her good judgement, since Stanley Forbes murder her mental health had taken a toll , the police , the judge, the higher authorities in general wouldn’t have considered her statement. This would also have come across of her trying to gain public attention for a new season of her podcast since Maria Karass had contacted her and Pip trying to victimize herself. Secondly If you remember since the first book Jason Bell was a huge suspect for Pip in the murder of Andie Bell due to his suspicious behaviour. The first book did have obvious hints of Jason hiding himself behind a mask, the security alarm also being a mystery unsolved in the first book that finally came into clear.The brush was one of the first thing that made it clear who DT was and yes it felt a bit stupid for Pip to not realise that, but one would argue your judgement isn’t always right during times of crisis.And yes you can debate that framing someone isn’t the way to serve justice but then Max not getting what he deserved was much worse. He surely did deserve to be behind bars and him killing Jason Bell made sense.
It did feel wrong to see Pip involve everyone into this but it was completing of a circle like she kept saying. It came back to where it all started. The same way the mysterious of the first two cases unraveled, the third and the final case to complete the circle.She got inspired from Elliot Ward and created her alibi from her experience in the first case because she knew Hawkins knew better now.And I agree it felt morally wrong how Ravi supported Pip into this but he had a choice and Holly Jackson probably saw the strong built relationship of the couple and decided it was best that Ravi played his part in this. It did make sense because people who go through trauma together end up connecting so much that the thin line between wrong and right gets blurred.( We have a live example of Gypsy Rose and her bf, couples do crazy things for eachother)And why wouldn’t Ravi not want to blame Max? Max had taken away Sal’s alibi, he was supposed to be his best friend, he lead Sal into the hands of death and indirectly lived years knowing that Sal wasn’t the murderer. It was the right thing to do for him even if Sal wouldn’t have wanted that, but just like Charlie Green killed Stanley to give justice to his sister, Ravi did what was needed to give himself and others who had been wronged by Max justice and peace. Pips character evolved. A 17 year old and an 18 year old may seem to stand at a similar maturity level to the society but the truth is that a whole year and numerous incidents in a short period can change you who are. Even one single night, your morals and your priorities can change, all it takes is one altering moment. A murder was out of character but rage is blind. What didn’t sit right for me was the whole headphones scenario. How did no one question that fact that Ravi met Jason on the 12th? It was clearly a working day and if he was at work how could he be at Jason’s home? Why didn’t Hawkins cross check that? Was there a part of Hawkins that suspected Jason long before Pip or anyone else and thus being friendly with him? Did he just want the truth from Pip for his inner peace, so he would know what Jason actually deserved and that is why he paid a blind eye towards Ravi owning up for the headphones? Also just like Pip said the case looked all too clumsy and easy. The duct tape over the CCTV. If Max didn’t go to intentionally Kill Jason , why would he cover them? If he meant to kill Jason then wouldn’t he think through and not leave a trace behind? Especially the shoes. I know this was how Pip wanted Max to be caught but it did look a bit clumsy fir someone who left his house to Kill Jason Bell, but if he left the house to pick a fight or something else why would he feel the need to cover the cameras? It would also make sense somehow if Max’s blood testing was done and the roofies were found in his possession and his blood. As he would have convicted murder under the effect of drugs but in a completely different scenario don’t roofies make you sleepy? The fact that there was no mention of drug testing didn’t sit right to me. Otherwise everything else fit the narrative very well and personally I would give it a 4.5/5. Absolutely a thrilling read. Also sry for such a huge comment.
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THIS REVIEW IS SO REAL I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING !!!! i literally read this entire book in 4 hours because the start had me HOOKED but I was literally so bamboozled towards the end like I has so many questions WHY WAS JASON BELL STALKING HER ??? this bit was never cleared up and he didn’t even talk about it when he kidnapped pippa. It just didn’t make sense it was never explained why. I wholeheartedly agree with the ravi character situation the way he was almost so chill with the fact pippa had killed someone . like it just didn’t make sense.im so upset. The way pippas character has deteriorated throughout the books is clever and I liked the idea but the ending still just feels wrong to me.
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When I first read AGAS, I laughed, and then I was like, oh shit…Holly Jackson did my girl dirty. Like, PIP FITZ-AMOBI, killing someone????? And my guy Ravi being like, “sure, dawg, imma help you cover it up” my good girl Pip, who never took drugs in the first book, was like, you know, A GOOD GIRL, never stopped until she solved the case, CAUSED ONE. That book just ruined the characters for me, it was still a good book, gotta hand it to Holly Jackson with her work, but if anyone asks for other books in the series, I only tell them GGBB, not AGAD……..
also, loved the rant, I fully agree!
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I’m probably commenting wayyy to late but I have to because I just finished the book and I was looking for this review! I absolutely agree with everything you said. I know Max Hastings is a monster but framing him for murder??
Thing that annoyed me from the very beginning is how Pip did not see that Jason Bell was the DT Killer. There was just so much evidence. The Pip I know is very clever and wouldn’t have missed that.
But ok, let’s say that she is not thinking straight after what happened to her. How on earth can Ravi help her with that. This is just unrealistic, not gonna lie. We are talking about carrying a dead man, even if he just looked at her doing it. This plot seemed really evil.
Also, Pip went to Hawkins with all the evidence about Jason Bell being the DT Killer so that Billy could be free and he BELIEVED her, why wouldn’t he have right after she killed him ? With all the evidence on her body and in the car ? That makes no sense, the police would have belived her.
Sorry for ranting after so long lol but it had to come out haha
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I agree with the review overall but I want to add another perspective to pip’s character that is if someone with rage issues as well as darker impulses. I think Holly Jackson in this book wanted to highlight how her ptsd which had disconnected her from her support group: her parents and her friends caused her to give into those impulses all the while feeling helpless. And DI Hawkins added to that when he didn’t believe her and basically called her crazy when she tried to do right thing i.e. Calling the police for once. I think more than a mystery it was about the mental space pip was in.
As for her not going to the police with her evidence, would you: after she had seen max go free despite being a known rapist just because of legal finagling and having enough money to afford a decent lawyer when on the other side was billy who because he could not afford the same things was strong-armed into confessing to a crime he didn’t commit using coercing tactics by the police, her belief in the justice system is justifiably shaken so yeah!
It was a bit out of character for ravi but then you have to see that it’s his girlfriend who he loves madly we are talking about her and as he has said multiple times over the series he believes that pip can do no wrong and she’s always annoyingly right, so when you see these two facts you get a glimpse of why he would have agreed to this scheme.
And far as revenge against max goes, it was not just sal that he harmed, he is currently harming pip as well as half the reason for pip’s current mental status is his gloating on going free.
I have a gripe with the author about something else instead: why did the drug thing never got it’s limelight, why did no one other than ravi (and he too did not get the complete picture) see pip’s struggle with ptsd she was not even hiding it that well, this just does not fit with her parents’ character as shown in the other two books, and then what about the burner phones, why did that never come to light… That could have done so much to bring pip’s struggle to attention as well as making her an even more unreliable witness so that her subsequent actions of framing max made more sense because if she was known to be taking strong hallucinogens then her entire testimony would be subject to question and put her and her closed ones in danger…. At least that’s how I would have written it. But otherwise very gripping story.
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I js can’t type bcs I’m so depressed bcs I js finished the book and I didn’t know where to start w how unsatisfying it was but u managed to put it all into words for me ty for the therapy
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