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.

I love a good holly Jackson book. Who doesn't? The plot was so well done and so well fleshed out. I was gasping at every turn, and if that wasn't enough already I was so enamored with the characters. Jackson's writing has never done me wrong and I honestly don't think it ever will.

3.75 stars! I loved this concept and could not put Not Quite Dead Yet down. I found Jet to be an incredible FMC whom I was rooting for until the very end, and appreciated how the book managed to keep things lighthearted and fun for the reader through Jet’s charm, despite knowing she would be dead by the end of the book. My heart was broken at the ending, even though we were told it was coming from the first chapter. Holly Jackson’s voice is ever-present, and I know I’ll keep reading whatever she puts out. My one small qualm is that I wish we had seen more of Jet’s family dynamic through scenes with them, rather than it just being spelled out for us, especially given their relevance to the ending. If you love Jackson’s previous works, or are just looking for a thriller you won’t be able to pry yourself away from, Not Quite Dead Yet is 100 percent worth the read.

"In seven days Jet Mason will be dead." Talk about grabbing a readers attention! This book had me from the very first page and never let go! Secrets and lies are the name of the game in this book! My first book by Holly Jackson was a hit! Jet is horrifically attacked and the outlook is grim. Her doctor has diagnosed her with an injury caused deadly aneurysm and she does not have much time left to live. With only a few remaining days, she enlists her childhood friend, Billy to help her find her killer!

Yes, this was a new one. Knowing that your horrific head injury would result in your death in a few days! In all of my reading, I have not seen this before! Intrigued, I dove in and along with Jet and Billy, tried my best to figure out whodunit! Man, this one sucked me in. I was rooting for both Jet and Billy to find the individual who attacked Jet.

Jet could have easily fallen apart but she has grit and determination and wants to know who attacked her and why. She is one tough cookie but is also human and I loved the scene where she is vulnerable with her friend and expressed her feelings. She is resourceful and dedicated to not let anything stop her including her failing body in search of her killer. Billy is her loyal and sweet friend who is by her side, doing his best to be supportive and throws himself into helping her figure out who attacked her.

As the book progressed, I could feel the tension, dread and sense of time jumping off the pages! The clock is ticking and my anxiety was piqued as the sand slipped through the hourglass so to speak. I felt the sense of urgency to solve the case before it was to late.

This book kept me guessing and fully engaged in the plot. I loved the twists and turns that this book took. I kept thinking 'how much can one person take' but also kept turning the pages and overlooking the fact that Jet survived massive head trauma and was able to get around and investigate what happened to her. Her family also seemed a little laissez faire to me about her remaining days. I would be glued to her side trying to do whatever it took to spend as much time with her as I could if I was her family member.

As the book got closer to the end, I had whittled down my suspect list as minor bread crumbs began to fall into place. There were many possible suspects and even though I did guess whodunit before it is revealed in the book, I marveled at how Holly Jackson brought everything together. This was my first Holly Jackson book and I look forward to reading more of her books!

Wonderfully written, well thought out, gripping, and hard to put down

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

5 stars

I really really really loved this! I’m not sure I could love Jet any more than I do. I went into this blind and was glad I did. This had me HOOKED from the beginning. I love Jet and Billy’s story, I love Jet’s humor (especially in her circumstances).

This is NOT an adult book. Sorry!! Adding a bunch of F bombs does not make you an adult writer. The writing is extremely chaotic and all over the place — I would have DNF’d after the first chapter if it wasn’t an ARC.

This book is going to get a lot of hype because it’s Holly Jackson, but it is going to be just a bunch of stans. I’m a huge fan of Good Girls Guide, but this was tragically bad. Jackson seems to be a one trick pony, and this branch out to adult from YA did not compute.

Jet is a twenty something, college drop out who had to move back home because her life didn’t pan out the way she wanted. She gets attacked right from the start and finds herself solving her own murder with a timeline. Sound interesting? Well, it could have been.

However, the characters, plot, and voice are flat out immature and stuck in YA land. The whole time I was reading this I had to remind myself that it was an adult novel. It didn’t help that Jet was stuck living at home with her parents and caught up in family drama. And don’t get me started on the far fetched (bottom of the barrel) “romance” reach. The whole thing was extremely juvenile. There was no complexity to the writing. No depth. It was surface level and so much tell and not show.

At best this novel is new adult, but quite frankly, it should have never been published. This is coming from someone who reads a lot of YA and adult thriller/mystery novels — finishing this was absolute torture. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.

⭐️4.5 Stars ⭐️
Not Quite Dead Yet marks a sharp and satisfying departure from Holly Jackson’s YA roots, delivering a darker, more mature thriller that blends grim humor with gripping suspense. Jackson wastes no time pulling you into a story packed with unexpected twists, morally grey characters, and a tone that’s both sinister and slyly funny.

The pacing is a real strength. It’s fast enough to keep the tension high, but never so rushed that it loses emotional impact. The main character is flawed, sharp-witted, and thoroughly engaging. Given just days to live, she sets out to accomplish one last thing: uncover the truth behind her own attempted murder. The central question—will she run out of time before finding her killer?—drives the plot forward with determined momentum.

Jackson proves she’s just as capable in the adult thriller space as she is in YA.
Highly recommended for fans of dark comedies with a thriller edge.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine - Bantam for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley.

If you could have 7 mores days to live or a surgery, now, that you only had 10% chance of surviving....which would you choose?

Jet Mason isn’t going down without a fight—or at least not without a fabulously chaotic investigation first. Not Quite Dead Yet is a ticking clock and a heroine who is spicy, sharp, and absolutely done with everyone’s secrets. Jet has seven days to solve her own murder, and trust me, she makes every minute count. Everyone is shady, everyone’s got something to hide, and Jet? She’s here to burn it all down before her aneurysm does. Holly Jackson has done it again—this was twisty, clever, and totally unputdownable.

Thank you Holly Jackson, Random House, and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

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