If you're trying to get into the mystery genre, then this book is for you! It has a great whodunnit theme and the gore level is pretty low. I wasn't sure who the killer was for a while because Jackson was throwing me for a loop but I'm proud to say I figured it out before Jet. One of the things I've noticed in Jackson's books that I don't particularly like is that all her characters seem to be copy and paste to each other. The female leads have all blurred in my mind and are basically the same exact person at this point. Another thing I didn't like in this book is that it tries to include too many major plot points. Solving a murder and running out of time left to live mixed with romance didn't do it for me. There was so much going on yet nothing seemed to happen in the whole murder mystery side of things. It was an unfortunately boring mystery book compared to others I have read. It lacked the suspense I need. Overall it was a chill read and I'm excited to see what Jackson has planned next! Side note, Jet's letter to Reggie broke me. I cried. I almost never cry while reading but wow that hurt. A big thank you to Netgalley for the arc.

As someone who absolutely loved A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, I was beyond excited to see that Holly Jackson was coming out with an adult thriller. I was even more excited to be offered the opportunity to arc read this title!

Jackson is an expert at writing stubborn, but determined women. Jet was no exception. Many times throughout this novel, she reminded me of our beloved Pip. Both are headstrong, unafraid to take risks, and willing to do whatever it takes to solve the mystery at hand. The only downfall to this was where these characteristics made Pip seem mature, they managed to make Jet rather immature at times. In truth, I found her character to be a bit unlikable. By the end, I had grown fond of her and her quirks, but we certainly had a rocky beginning.

Now for the plot itself - I really enjoyed the aspect of Jet solving her own murder. It was original and added an exciting unique layer to this novel. However, I found nearly all of the twists to unsurprising and predictable. I think if you are not yet familiar with Holly Jackson’s writing, you may not have the same outcome, but simply due to my having read agggtm previously, the tells were very clear for me.

***SPOILERS***

As mentioned, this book is being sold as an “adult” thriller. The only difference between this book and the rest of Holly Jackson’s young adult novels was an increase in swearing. I feel that this was a road left unexplored, and it hurt the novel a bit. You mean to tell me that Jet had one week left to live, was living with a man she found attractive and was falling for, and she proceeded to not get laid? Girl…

I don’t believe that every “adult” novel needs spice, but this story absolutely would have benefited from even a closed door scene. It would have made the relationship between Jet and Billy less juvenile because for them being in their late 20s, it was exactly that.

Perhaps the most upsetting aspect of this novel was that Jet’s dying wish was to solve her own murder and then she proceeded to die minutes before they would have figured it out. Her death was unavoidable, but to not have her achieve the one thing she set out to do was extremely disappointing. I would have much rather preferred her and Billy figure it out together and Jet tell Billy he needed to avenge her in some way. The current ending is sadly a let down.

I firmly believe that many readers will adore this story and I’m saddened that I did not happen to be one of them. I think if the characters were aged down, I would have enjoyed it a bit more, as the writing remained too close to young adult.

Jet was just murdered. After coming home from a Halloween fair, her skull is bashed in by an unknow asailant--but she's not quite dead yet. With only days left to live after the brutal assualt fractured her skull, Jet is determined to find who killed her. Alongside her childhood best friend, Billy, she searches for answers about who would want her dead--and why. There are plenty of people who hate her family, it turns out. Some of her closest family even have motives. But as Jet and Billy race against time--and Jet's worsening symptoms of a brain aneurism just waiting to rupture--it becomes clear that there's no one they can trust, maybe not even each other.

This was a wild ride of a book. The premise is so unique and works so well to heighten suspense. Knowing that Jet only has days to live and that her murderer could be anyone around her makes every scene taut with tension. It took me a minute to warm up to Jet, who can be a bit of a privileged asshole, but I also realized eventually that I was only seeing Jet as her dying self, someone who didn't need to worry about consequences. And asshole or not, I was sobbing my eyes out over her by the end. Not Quite Dead Yet sets up a truly unique premise and then delivers on it beautifully.

The second half of this book is incredibly propulsive-i HAD to know what happened and couldn’t stop until i did!!

However it lands at 3 stars for me for a few reasons:
1-this is not an adult book. It reads as YA, there’s nothing distinguishing it as an adult book. It’s very surface level and for a thriller very little “darkness”.
2-everything unfolds like a high school drama with so much suspension of disbelief and too much ease in unraveling the secrets. A woman with an impending aneurysm sledgehammers an entire concrete driveway enough to find a hammer and a phone? There’s so many convenient notes and laptops and clues? It all felt too easy

I have read all of Holly Jackson’s YA books and her first adult novel knocked it out of the park! What a great and interesting concept of having the main character solve their own murder! I will be recommending this book to everyone!

Can we talk about that cover first? Brilliant design that relates to the plot without being a giveaway! I love it very much, and kudos to the artist!

Onto the actual contents of the book:

This is an insane premise. I can’t say I’ve ever read anything like this, or even heard of it. I’ve seen books where characters “solve” their murders prior to the murder, but never one where the character is in two states like Schrödinger's cat, genuinely a dead woman walking. Holly Jackson gave us an insane plotline and I’ve got to say that she delivered. I loved this.

Jet is such a heartbreaking character. She’s a twenty-seven-year-old law school dropout who’s never really finished anything, but who relies on the idea that she has the whole rest of her life to accomplish something. She reads as a much younger character in some ways. Still, I completely understood why, as it seemed that her immaturity and dark humor were both results of her dysfunctional family life and circumstances. Jet is truly struggling with a situation behind comprehension, and she definitely reads like it. Her impatience, her desperation, her grief, all of it was devastating and fitting.

And Billy. Poor, sweet Billy. I adored him. Everyone else was a delight to hate and dislike. Jet’s familial dysfunction was practically a character on its own.

I actually liked the ending, and found it fitting for Jet’s character and the overall themes of regret, mortality, and a life cut short.

Many thanks to Random House Ballantine, Holly Jackson, and NetGalley for the ARC of Not Quite Dead Yet in exchange for an honest and fair review.

5/5 stars

Thank you netgalley and random house for the earc, all opinions are my own.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this one at 46% due to some anxieties it was causing me. I wish there were trigger warnings beforehand just for the medical stuff.

What I did read though I was liking. My only gripe is Jet’s character. There were times when I liked her and times I could not stand her. I’m glad I gave this one a try though, it has a really interested premise. I just wish I could have gotten past the medical stuff.

I loved this book! Holly Jackson had me guessing throughout the book. I could not read fast enough, when I wasn’t reading I was thinking about the book and how I wanted to be reading it. The main character Jet was great and I loved that she found humor in her situation.

Not Quite Dead Yet was an entertaining thriller that I devoured in less than 24 hours. While I found most of the characters to be immature and irritating, I did enjoy the complicated family dynamics in this novel and it was one of my favorite parts. I also liked the relationship between Jet and Billy and thought it added a nice layer to the story.

I also appreciated Jet’s dark humor and laughed out loud quite a few times. Overall, I had fun reading this story but it’s not a new all time favorite. I’d recommend it to fans of Holly Jackson’s young adult novels for sure!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review posted to Goodreads 7/7/25.

Review to be posted to Instagram on release week.

Holly Jackson's adult debut is BREATHTAKING. The concept sounded right up my alley, and even though I had a rocky relationship with her works after AGGGTM, I can confirm that she's back to being my favorite thriller author! I truly adored everything about this book: the tension, the plot twists, the spiraling... and I cannot wait to read more by Holly Jackson.

Fans of Holly Jackson are sure to devour this newest book!

Personally, I've found her books to be hit and miss. I was expecting to give this book 3 stars--up until the 60% mark. Holly isn't American, and unfortunately, it shows, though she tries to write like one.

Still, the ending of this book BROUGHT 'ER HOME. Something I'll keep thinking about long after "The End." I enjoyed it. and appreciated the artistic twist at the end.

Review also published on Goodreads.com: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7717460753

4.5 stars!

Holly Jackson does it again!! I’m not a huge mystery/thriller person but HJ is one of the few authors in this genre that I’ll read any book they write. When I heard she was coming out with an adult book I was so excited! Right away this story gripped me, it was such a unique concept of someone solving their own murder. I always had a hunch of who was involved (not the actual killer), and that’s what I love about her books; I never know who it is. I like that we didn’t really get a romance and that it was focused on the murder. But Billy was such a sweetheart and I loved that he was in a majority of the book. Jet was a great main character too, she had some very realistic problems that made her relatable. Everyone else kinda sucked though lol. Overall another great read from Holly Jackson and I can’t wait to read what she writes next!

Jet Mason was murdered. Well, attempted murder (for now): the killer didn’t manage to bash her brains in as well as they thought. Jet survived her murder, but her brain injury is too dangerous to operate on & there is nothing more to be done…she is given one week to live. With this last week, she makes a promise to herself to do the unthinkable - she has to solve her own murder.

The twists in this book were GOOD. Just when you’d think you had it figured out, there’d be a new piece of the puzzle. There were a lot of characters which I’ve seen some people say was too confusing, but I personally enjoyed that because it kept the suspect list long!
Also ‼️soft spoiler‼️ but I didn’t expect to feel so sad at the end!! Another great one from Holly Jackson 👏🏻

I was excited to read this book. I enjoy books by this author and the synopsis captivated me. The book started out super slow for me. It did pick up towards the end, but you have to get through the first part. The ending was wonderful and worth not DNF the book. Although not my favorite holly jackson book, it’s definitely worth reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really really loved this book and devoured it in one day! This had me HOOKED from the beginning. I love Jet and Billy’s story, and the character development throughout was perfect to me.

I went back and forth throughout with what I thought had happened and never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed the ending!

Spoiler free review of Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson

As someone who has read all of Holly's previous books, I was excited to jump in to a new book of hers! My expectations were fairly high, and I'd say they were mostly met. I really enjoyed how much of a page turner this book was, the pacing stayed consistently good throughout the book, which is something I appreciate in a thriller. Something else that I really liked about this book and Holly's other titles, is how almost everyone is a suspect. It's very hard to pin point who you think did it, or what the twist will be. That element being so prevalent in "Not Quite Dead Yet", kept me on the edge of my seat.

As for the reveal, it wasn't one that shocked me. I wasn't able to guess it, but it didn't have that "wow" factor that some of Holly's other books have had. But with our mc's circumstance, I understand why this one was a bit different.

And for our main character, Jet. She had some great development, and I grew to really like her towards the end!

I loved the plot and idea for this book, and I'll read anything Holly writes! She is one of the few thriller authors who's books I consistently read and enjoy!

Not Quite Dead Yet releases on July 22nd, 2025
Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for providing a free eARC in exchange for an honest review

Not Quite Dead Yet follows Jet Mason, a 27-year-old who feels like "I'll do it later" has become her life mantra. Directionless and feeling like she has no real purpose in life, Jet attends her town's annual Halloween festival. Later that night while home alone, Jet is brutally attacked and left unconscious, bleeding out on her family's living room rug. When she wakes from her coma 36 hours later, Jet is grateful to be alive and have a second chance at life … that is, until her doctor tells her that she has one week to live before a severe, irreversible brain aneurysm takes her life. Determined to actually do something with the little life she has left, Jet sets out to solve her own murder before it's too late.

Holly! Jackson! I was SO excited to receive an early copy of this -- it is one of my most anticipated releases of the summer -- and Not Quite Dead Yet did not disappoint! I always love a good murder mystery, but the way this one was set up made me feel like there was so much more at stake, and the murder "victim" felt like more than just a victim -- we could see inside Jet's thoughts and understand her motivations, how she's coming to terms with her impending death and see how she's piecing together who may have wanted her dead and why. Unlike other murder mysteries I've read, I actually CARED about our murder victim. You see her come to terms with her short timeline and grapple with what she's leaving behind. I cried multiple times! While reading you realize how quickly your life can change and how precious the little things in life really are -- which is something that RARELY happens when I hop into a mystery/thriller.

Overall, I would highly recommend whether or not you've read Holly Jackson's YA thriller novels. I had so much fun following Jet and Billy track down their town's grab bag of characters and try to solve Jet's murder before it's too late. The final reveal was so satisfying to read -- I felt like I was solving the mystery alongside Jet. Each chapter kept me guessing and left me wanting more!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC! It was a quick read, but got a little bogged down with excess characters.

Margaret “Jet” is on a mission to solve her own murder after an attack leaves her with a severe head injury. Who can she trust?! Why does every character in this book have a shady past?!

5/5 stars.

As a Holly Jackson fan I might be biased throughout this whole review, but that' s okay.

The plot was a great new concept that Holly explored great in a book that felt quick-paced and gave the sensation that it had to, running out of time, which ties in well with our main character's philosophy of "I'll do it later." Well Jett, there's sometimes no later. It takes hold of you and does not let you go until the last page, on which you will inevitably willl be giving some kind of emotional response (i.e. screaming or crying), personally I creied while I silently screamed at a screen.

3.75 rounded up — full review in the morning after I can sleep on this.

Okay! This was a highly anticipated read for me. I loved the Good Girl's Guide to Murder series, and Jackson's two other standalone YAs. Not an exaggeration in the slightest when I say that I EAT her books up. It has typically taken me 48hr or less to get through an HJ book, but this one took me just over two weeks to finish. The storyline was super interesting. I was so into the idea of Jet solving her own murder, but I just wasn't as hooked as I expected to be and I think a large part of that was the writing style. At points in the beginning, I kept on forgetting if I was reading a first or third person narrator and the sentences/thoughts were so fragmented (even before the murder) that I kept on feeling distracted by it. I don't remember it being that way in the other books either. I think it works in pieces, but not as a primary writing style.

As an intro to adult fiction, I also expected a bit more separating this from her YA work. Aside from that the dialogue included cursing, there wasn't much that made this obviously adult fiction. I feel like there could have been more graphic depictions and riskier story telling. The ending though is pretty risky! I both wanted and didn't want it to end the way it did and still haven't decided how I feel about it. In the end, the motive behind the crime also felt a little weak for me. I just wasn't sure it was enough.

All that to say I would still recommend this book to others! Just maybe with less expectations than I had walking into it.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for a DRC in exchange for my honest review.