4.25 stars

I'm a huge fan of Holly Jackson's YA mysteries, so I was so excited to get to read her adult debut!

Not Quite Dead Yet follows the aftermath of the night Jet Mason was almost murdered. She really should be dead, but somehow she survives a brutal attack. Only, there's a bone fragment dislodged in her brain that will cause a fatal aneurysm in a week. Can she solve her own murder before time runs out?

While I was able to mostly guess how this would wrap up (I think I've read too many mystery/thrillers), I still had a really great time reading this book. There were enough threads to keep the mystery propelled forward, plus the deadline (no-pun intended?) kept the stakes high. I think Jackson's characters still feel slightly young, but I would totally read more adult thrillers from her!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Sad to have finished this book—but at least now I can breathe! What an intense, gripping read. The writing was sharp, and the story pulled me in from the very start. Someone comes to kill Jet but doesn’t quite succeed, setting off a relentless and suspenseful hunt for her would-be killer. I was hooked watching Jet navigate this danger, and the plot felt refreshingly unique compared to most mysteries I’ve read.

This was my first book by this author, but it definitely won’t be my last.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine for the ARC.

SYNOPSIS
-Jet Mason is 27, rich, and kind of just… existing.
-On Halloween night, she’s attacked in her family’s mansion and suffers a head injury that’s basically a ticking time bomb.
-Doctors say she has a week to live before a fatal aneurysm takes her out.
-So Jet decides to do something, finally: figure out who tried to kill her before she dies.
-It’s a one-woman murder mystery, with help from her childhood friend Billy.
———
MY THOUGHTS
-The premise is genuinely cool. Someone solving their own murder, with a clock running out? I was in.
-But the execution just didn’t hit. It dragged. I kept waiting for it to click, and it never really did.
-Definitely a slow burn, but not in a satisfying way.
-The ending was kind of a letdown. Felt anticlimactic.
.Still had that YA vibe. I actually like Holly Jackson’s YA stuff a lot, but this didn’t feel like an adult debut. Just a slightly older main character and some extra cursing.
-Also, I know this is petty, but the name Jet? I couldn’t get past it. Every time I read it I cringed a little.
-All characters felt pretty surface level.
———
TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️Loved the idea, didn’t love the follow-through. Definitely readable, just didn’t leave much of a mark.
———
THANKS: Thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine | Bantam and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will be published on July 22, 2025.

This book has such a promising premise, and I had to read it for myself!

Starting out, I didn’t like Jet at all. She grew on me as I got to know her character more deeply and appreciate her wittiness. She’s sarcastic, rough around the edges, grew up in her dead sister’s shadow, and is someone who has always said “I’ll do it later, I have my whole life to live” until she’s left with a week or so before she succumbs to her injuries from her murder. She’s determined to solve who would want to murder her and why. This leads her down multiple paths as she uncovers the secrets of those around her.

I LOVED Billy and his reliability. He was the sweetest. He was my favorite part of the book.

I wish some of the side characters had more depth or we got to know them deeper than their secrets, I especially wish we got to know more about Jet’s mom and dad as individuals. It is very much the Jet and Billy show.

There’s lots of profanity throughout. I didn’t think it was needed to that extent and took away from parts of the story.

I figured out several of the twists, but still enjoyed the journey and would recommend it to those who love mysteries or thrillers and want a different take on solving murder. I’ve never read a murder mystery where the victim is presented with the limited opportunity to figure out whodunnit.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for- Ballantine for providing me with this digital ARC.

“—𝐈’𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐭,” 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐝, 𝐰𝐢𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐯𝐞.
“𝐍𝐨,” 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝.
“𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞.”

6 stars
› ⌕ .ᐟ.ᐟ ˎˊ˗

first and foremost, thank you to Netgalley, Ballantine, and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. all opinions and thoughts here are my own!!

the premise of this story is that you’re following a woman as she tries to solve her own murder. this is her last ditch effort to follow through completely with something in her life. this book takes place around halloween so this is definitely a perfect fall read! overall, i really enjoyed this book. i almost cried at the end… if you’re planning to read this, enjoy, but be prepared for some tearjerker moments. this book was a wild ride, so let’s get into the review shall we?

🕵🏻‍🐾🍂🍟🎤🚔🩸📂💙

⌗⤷ characters
main characters: jet mason & billy finney
i really loved following jet as a main character. and billy was just perfect, he deserves the world. jet is in her late twenties and this book is classified as an adult thriller, but jet read more like a fmc you would find in a young adult book.
i love that billy played the guitar, maybe (definitely) i am biased because i also play guitar, but that just felt like the perfect characteristic for him to have.
the side characters were nearly unbearable, but as that was holly jackson’s goal with most of these characters, i’d say she succeeded in that. jet’s mom was such a jerk. i feel for jet, she is always being compared to other people by her mother and her accomplishments are always downplayed. she really went through some stuff in this book.
also, honorable mention: jet’s dog, reggie. SO CUTEEE!!

⌗⤷ atmosphere
the atmosphere in the book was really good, i felt like i was actually IN the book and living it as i read it. it was super cozy (however, my definition of cozy could be questioned), and creepy, and i definitely want to reread this during fall around the time it actually took place, just to get the full effect ya know???

⌗⤷ writing
the writing style was typical to holly jackson’s other books, and i enjoyed it! the only thing to note is that while this is marked as adult, it reads a bit more like a young adult as i mentioned earlier. someone asked me if i noticed a difference between this and her YA books and that was when i realized it wasn’t a YA so.. i’d say 100% it reads more towards young adult than adult.

⌗⤷ plot
spoiler free!
i had very few issues with the plot, it kept me guessing and kept me interested throughout the whole book. one of the things i did have a slight issue with was the short length of the resolution. i wish we would’ve gotten a little more information and a lot more pages to go with it, but instead it sort of felt like everything was being thrown at us in a rushed attempt to wrap up the story. a longer ending would’ve felt a bit more satisfying in my opinion.
this didn’t affect my enjoyment much though! this book is still definitely one of my favorites and i do recommend it!!

⌗⤷ intrigue & logic
this book was definitely both intriguing and logical. in the acknowledgements, holly says that she worked with a medical professional to make everything in the book as accurate as possible. that was a cool piece of information to learn, and it definitely is evident throughout the book as well!

⌗⤷ other/final thoughts
the letters in this book were such a bittersweet addition i loved seeing them, they felt so real when i was reading them & the letter to the dog ugh🫠🫶🏽
this book is amazing!! READ IT!! but if you want to be completely immersed in the experience, wait until halloween to start reading ;)

Julia Pritzker has become obsessed with horoscopes and astrology following her spiral after watching her husband murdered before her eyes. But she beings to think her luck has changed when she inherits a large sum of money and a house in Italy, from a woman she doesn't know. Intrigued about the inheritance and her potential relationship with this woman, Julia takes a trip to Italy to investigate her biological family she has never met.

She is shocked to learn her benefactor, Emilia Rossi, was seen as a paranoid recluse who believed that she was related to a famous Renaissance ruler. The more time Julia spends at her new home in Italy, the more strange things begin to happen around her and she questions if paranoia is starting to take root in her own mind. Julia embarks on a journey to learn who she is, save her identity, and remain ALIVE!

This book combined a few different things - finding ones identity, supernatural elements, astrology, and a mystery. The astrology component was a bit too much and heavy in the book for me, but the mixing of the other elements were interesting. And I was unable to figure out what was happening before it was spelled out for me at the end - a good ending to a mystery book for me. The book did have some slow parts at times and had some elements of disbelief. But in the end, the story comes together well.

Thank you to Hatchette Audio, Grand Central Publishing, NetGalley and Lisa Scottoline for this eALC in exchange for my honest review.

thank you Netgalley for this arc of holly jackson’s new adult mystery novel, “not quite dead yet!”

overall, i think i would give this a 3.5 — i was leaning towards a 4 for a good 95% of the book, i binged this in two days and thoroughly enjoyed it, but knocking off .5 because i guessed the killer less than halfway through ☹️

this has so many of the same elements i loved of jacksons writing in agggtm and so many of the same aspects i love in a good mystery/thriller — so fast-paced, so layered, so many misdirections + interesting character lore and family secrets, and it all ties together neatly in a bow at the end.

“not quite dead yet” follows twenty-seven year old jet, who after attending her town’s halloween party, endures a fatal brain injury that is sure to kill her but she miraculously wakes up at the hospital. still, the injury is fatal — and jet is given the options between a surgery with a 90% chance of killing her or waiting out the week, knowing with certainty that an aneurysm will kill her, but allows her a little more time to live. jet sets out to solve her own murder within that time, launching this book’s very unique plot in action.

i have loved holly jackson’s young adult mysteries, and was excited to hear about her diversion into writing adult mysteries with this release —- but i have to say, the most “adult” difference in this book is like if you were to imagine a main character like pip that just cusses a lot lol.

not ragging on that, or saying i didn’t enjoy jet’s character — i actually really loved her tenacity, her humor, and her overall values. she was such a strong female lead. i also loved the subplot romance — which brought me close to tears at the end!!!! it definitely was a bit darker too than some of her others, lending to the adult classification, but my fav book of jackson’s previously was the finale to the agggtm series which was definitely the darkest of her books.

like i said, i binged this in 48 hours which i think is the tell of a good mystery. i enjoyed it thoroughly, it kept me engaged the entire time —- but i do wish i didnt guess the killer and felt like there was obvious signs pointing to them, and i just really was hoping to be knocked off my socks and completely wrong. alas, the finale was still great — there were so many deeper layers i couldn’t have guessed and i loved seeing how it all unfolded.

i just loooove how holly jackson writes thrillers. also some of the relationship dynamics, even the dynamics with reggie the dog, reminded me so much of agggtm in the best ways possible. i’ll read whatever she comes out with next and will definitely be recommending this !!!

Out of the three standalones Holly Jackson has written so far, this one is my favorite, but that doesn’t mean it was good.

The synopsis is simple: Jet has seven days to find out who brutally attacked her, before she succumbs to her brain injury. She enlists the help of her childhood best friend, Billy, as she races against the clock to find her killer.

Going into this, I thought she would be solving this while in a hospital room or bedbound, but I couldn’t be more wrong. Despite having a traumatic brain injury, Jet is running around town, driving, and doing Mission Impossible-level stunts. I could not take this seriously, especially the driving part😭 The severity of her brain injury cannot be overstated. Something as simple as concussions can be dangerous and cause all sorts of motor function issues, so why is she just scooby-dooing it? Maybe I’m wrong here. I’m not a doctor, but this felt like a ludicrous inaccuracy.

I’m starting to think Pip and Ravi’s character depth and chemistry were a one-hit wonder for Jackson. Jet and Billy have the same dynamic as Bel and Ash from The Reappearance of Rachel Prince. (Pip, Red, Bel, and now Jet…I’m sensing a one-syllable pattern.) Jet is brash, rude, and mean, and Billy is meek and sweet. The whole time, Billy just reminded me of a dumb sheep following Jet around. Jet wasn’t a terrible character; she just had no depth. She’s twenty-seven, but seventeen-year-old Pip is light-years ahead in maturity. I understand Jet’s past and trauma play a role in her shallowness, but I will not be generous and let it account for no personality.

All the side characters are one big blob to me. Supposedly, her family is devastated that Jet is passing soon, but there is nothing on the page to support that. The family's dynamic felt like when someone says, “I should go,” and you halfheartedly tell them to stay when you don’t mean it. Her parents and brother were sad in the way you are sad when a friend of a friend passes, which is insane. Jet lives with her parents and down the street from her brother, so why do they seem as close as coworkers?

And the townsfolk? Any side-character is a mouthpiece for a plot point or big clue that needs to be revealed for the story to move along. I don’t remember a single name or contribution to the story they provided.

For all my complaining, this was a quick and engaging read. While I wasn’t desperate to reach for this book, anytime I sat down to read it, I was sucked in and flying through chapters. No, the mystery isn’t super strong, and the murderer’s motive felt shallow and half-baked, but it did come together well enough. Personally, I’m a fan of how Holly Jackson always adds dead ends and wrong leads to the investigations in her stories. It makes the mystery feel more grounded. Jet has no clue what she’s doing, so it feels realistic that she’d spend some time bumbling around.

I know the ending is going to be polarizing, but it was the right path. Any other story line would have made the story feel cheap, in my opinion. It took me off guard just how the culprit was exposed, and yeah it was a little cheesy, but I thought it was a satisfying-enough conclusion.

This certainly isn’t Jackson’s best work, but neither is it her worst. If you’re a long standing fan of her other books you’ll likely enjoy this one, but as far as thrillers go, Not Quite Dead Yet is forgettable.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, for the advance copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I really enjoyed this mystery/thriller. A unique plot and a varied cast of characters made for a rewarding and mysterious read.

This was my first Holly Jackson book and I could NOT put it down.

Jet has seven days to solve her own murder. After an attack left her mortally injured, she fights through the pain and goes in search of killer. Helped by her childhood best friend, Billy, they start digging to find that everything is not as they thought and the people they trust are the ones with the most to lose.

I loved Jet. I loved her humor and her courage. I loved how, even when her injury gets debilitating, she never stops fighting. I loved her relationship with Billy and the way they had such a strong connection. I loathed Luke and Sophia, her brother and sister-in-law who were more concerned with

The book kept me guessing. Up until the very end of the novel, I thought I had it figured out, but there were twists and turns in every chapter. My mouth was hanging open at the end and we find out who the killer is.

The ending did me in. No spoilers, but I shed both happy and sad tears.

My only complaint about the book was how impossible the book was in places. A girl with a traumatic brain injury gets out of the hospital, gets into numerous dangerous situations, nearly gets killed again, uses a jackhammer to break up concrete, all while having a "headache". I mean, the book couldn't have happened if she was laid up in the hospital unable to do anything, but there were parts in the book that made it difficult to read, just because they were so far-fetched.

Overall, 4.5 ⭐s rounded down. I'm looking forward to reading more Holly Jackson!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an advanced copy of the novel. It's scheduled to be published on July 22, 2025.

Holly Jackson is moving up from YA and published her first adult novel – and I am SO here for it. I’ve loved everything she has written, even though I am not the target audience, so I was thrilled to see her expanding her repertoire. Spoiler alert: she killed it (literally).

In seven days, Jet Mason will be dead. Someone broke in. Someone hit her over the head three times. And now she has a shard of bone stuck in her brain. And doctors know that a massive aneurysm is impending.

Jet has just seven days to solve her own murder. She needs to know who would do this – why they would do it – and she needs to move faster than the police are willing to. As her body starts to deteriorate, she becomes more desperate for answers, and no one is safe from her pointed finger.

This was such a unique and interesting plot. I could not put this down, because just like Jet, I needed to know what happened! I can’t imagine knowing I had seven days left to live and spending it trying to find justice against the person who wanted me dead. It’s such a crazy thought to put myself in Jet’s shoes, and all I have to say is she is much stronger than I am.

You can definitely feel tiny sprinkles of the leftover YA elements in this plot – with some of the characters being just a touch immature, but overall this was a fantastic read and I am excited to see if Holly will continue down this path!

Definitely a premise that I haven’t read before so that was exciting. I liked Jet, I thought she was funny and going through realistic internal struggles for a 27 year old. Definitely bummed about how it ended though. Was hoping for a Hail Mary.

3.75 rounded up to 4⭐️

Holly Jackson is known for her “Good Girls Guide to Murder” series and “Not Quite Dead Yet” is her first venture into the adult thriller genre.

If you are a fan of her previous books, or if you enjoy twists and turns, and unexpected plot twists then you will definitely enjoy this read!

On Halloween night Jet is violently attacked by an intruder and left for dead. Thankfully she is found by an old friend and immediately taken to the hospital. While there she gets the most devastating news: she only has approximately one week to live.

With the short time she has left she teams up with her friend Billy (he is the one who found her almost dead) to solve her own murder.

——

The writing was incredibly fast paced and i devoured this in less than two days. I was so sure that I knew who her killer was but SURPRISE, I was wrong.

This did feel very similar to the story of GGGTM, in we have the friendship duo (is it more??) working to solve a murder. While the overall plot of the two books was different, it just felt too similar for me.

It was a solid four star read up until the end. I felt like it was almost a little rushed maybe?? I just didn’t really like how it was all revealed in the end after everything we had just went through.

——-

Overall, I still really enjoyed this read and would 100% recommended!

Uhmm, I am definitely dead! WOW. I thought I was emotionally prepared, but by the end? I was absolutely wrecked, in the best way. This story is as hauntingly beautiful as it is heartbreaking. Every page pulled me in deeper, and I loved every single word. A stunning, unforgettable read.

What would you do if you had only seven days to solve your own murder?

A premise like one I've never seen before. When Jet suffers a traumatic head injury, she's diagnosed with seven days to live at most. In that time, she's determined to solve the mystery of who and why someone would want to do this to her. In a race against the clock, Jet has to do everything in her power to get justice for herself.

---

While I really appreciated the new and inventive premise, I have mixed feelings over this one. I was instantly enraptured with the mystery and it was addictive to keep reading. However, I had some issues. The first chapter was so info-dumpy, it was a bit difficult to keep up with all of the characters and their descriptions thrown at you. Thankfully, throughout the book, the characters started falling into place so you eventually figured out who was who. But there were definitely a bunch to keep up with.

Also, I know this is the author's adult debut, but I had to keep reminding myself of this. The way the characters talked and acted, they were immature to the point I kept thinking I was reading about teenagers, not people in their mid-twenties. In that vein, the majority of the characters were a bit unsufferable. The only person I found likeable was Billy, and he deserved so much more in life. Justice for Billy! While I understand you had to have suspicions about people, but there wasn't a need to make every single character annoying as hell and some downright toxic.

Overall, I think the mystery in this one can really hold someone's attention and was a fun ride to go on. I continuously was guessing theories and suspects. I did guess one twist, but there were others that were still surprising. I think this would be a unique story for even the most seasoned thriller reader. Just be aware, you might hate all of the characters by the time it's over.

*Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for my honest review.*

I DNF'd this book fairly early (about 10% in), and then read the ending to see if I made the right choice—I think I did.
While I'm usually a fan of Holly Jackson, I just couldn't connect with these characters, and the themes felt too on-the-nose for what could have been a really moving idea. The reader doesn't need to be repeatedly told that the protagonist is waiting for her life to start or planning to do things tomorrow; there are plenty of more complex ways to show us that. It felt like the writing style didn't evolve from Good Girl's Guide to Murder even though this one is supposed to be "Adult" rather than YA. After reading the last few chapters, this felt like really heavy subject material that just couldn't be supported by the tone of the rest of the novel.

I have not read The Good Girl's Guide to Murder, but I've done many book talks on it with students. When I saw this book was coming (thank you NetGalley) I requested and received it. I liked the premise behind the story and I can see why kids are very enticed by Jackson and her storytelling. Jet's story was complex and twisted up in a lot of details, but it was well written and explored. I liked how Jet wasn't dead, but was going to be dead, and still had the wherewithal to seek out her murderer. It's a unique story that had lots of twists and turns. I didn't see the whole story come together until the end and I think that's the goal with books like these, to keep the reader guessing. If so, well done Holly Jackson.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Black

Not Quite Dead Yet is a sharp and gripping YA mystery from Holly Black, centering on a teen who must solve her own attempted murder before it’s too late. The format alone—following a character piecing together the clues to her own death—is a refreshing twist on the traditional whodunit, and it instantly hooked me.

The novel is filled with red herrings and layered secrets, making it nearly impossible to guess the truth until the very last page. What makes it even more compelling is that the murder isn’t the only crime committed. Throughout the story, the reader is taken through a tangled web of misdeeds—including tax fraud, arson, physical assaults, break-ins, and more. Certain alliances between characters even help cover up these various crimes, adding extra tension and moral complexity to the narrative.

None of the characters are entirely innocent, which heightens the suspense and makes the mystery all the more unpredictable. I love Holly Black’s storytelling, and this book did not disappoint.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. Fans of twisty YA thrillers will find a lot to enjoy in this dark, fast-paced, and satisfyingly messy mystery.

MS JACKSON! Holy cow. I guess I accept your apology in the acknowledgment for ripping my heart out! I just loved Jet and Billy so much. Jet's letters had me want to sob one moment and giggle out loud the next.

I've never read a book about a girl trying to solve her own murder and that alone had me hooked from the very beginning. The character development, emotional maturity, and sheer determination from Jet was a 10/10. Not Quite Dead Yet is a fast-paced mystery that I cannot recommend enough!

Thank you to Holly Jackson, Random House - Ballantine, and NetGalley for the advanced e-copy in exchange of my honest review.

*I got this book from NetGalley for an honest review.*

Having read almost all of Holly Jackson's YA books, when I saw she was releasing an adult book I was SUPER excited. I got right on that looking to see when it would come out and if I might possibly get it early. NetGalley obliged and I couldn't have been happier.

So now that I'm done reading, I'm having a really hard time rating this book. I think I've settled on an even middle of the road 3 stars. The reason this was so hard to land on was this... while the story itself would have earned a 4 star rating from me, it would have done so as a YA book, not an adult book. I'd honestly say that other than being told in the story that the characters were in their later twenties or early thirties, everything in this book read like they were probably teenagers or close to it. Maybe just barely adults... 19, 20, maybe 21. Maybe, if only because some of the characters are married and have a small kid. The main characters, Jet and Billy... if I wasn't told their ages, I would have thought they were probably seniors in high school. They certainly act like it. Look, I like Holly Jackson and her YA books, as I said I've read almost all of them. This is a YA book with adult characters, not an adult book. The story is very Holly Jackson so if you're looking for another of her stories, you won't be disappointed... which is why the story itself gets a higher ranking from me. It was a good story with the usual twists and turns you expect from her (even if you can figure it out before you get there) and it has a unique angle that I found interesting. Jet survives an attempt on her life but due to the medical complications from that is still going to die in a few days and takes those few days to try to solve her own murder. It was great. BUT... if you're looking for a more mature and adult take on a YA murder mystery, this isn't it. If you thought Holly Jackson found a voice for an adult audience and might join the ranks of other adult murder mystery writers, she did not. Which is why the star rating fell.

Overall its an enjoyable story if you are looking for a Holly Jackson YA story with adult characters. However, if you are looking for an actual adult story, maybe check elsewhere.