I'm still a little in shock over quite literally everything that happened in this book. If you love a twisted thriller then this is definitely a book that you need to pick up immediately.

It's one of those books where everyone is pretty awful and throughout the story, you're just finding out the extent of their awfulness... and there's a lot to unpack.

I will say, the mystery aside, I loved our MCs. Jet wasn't perfect and that was kind of the entire point. She's a young woman who has spent her life relying on tomorrows and laters but when she finds out that the number of them she has left is limited she's faced with the reality of how short life is and how she wants to spend the time she does have left to finally start living.

And together with her childhood best friend, she tries to finally "do something" to make herself and her family proud. And for an amateur detective, she did the damn thing. She never gave up and Billy was right there to help her as her body started to fail her, never giving up right alongside her until the very end.

I'm still so sad that she'll never know the ending of her story that she tried so hard for. However, our man Billy figured it out in the end and my heart is still completely broken for him.

The ending was absolutely insane. I'm still reeling over how many open ends we have!!!! There's so much that happened and so many consequences that need to be given but the book just ends. But that's also kind of perfect in the way that Jet's life just ended without all the answers so I guess it's fitting.

This was Jackson's best work since AGGTM. Absolutely incredible. Would highly recommend.

This book was amazing. I loved the Good Girl Guide to Murder books but her adult debut is even better! When Jet is attacked, she has a traumatic brain injury that doctors are certain will kill her in 7 days. She has that amount of time to solve the mystery of who attacked her so they can be brought to justice. This book was action packed and kept you on the edge of your seat the entire time.

My heart is shattered! I’m crying my eyes out! 😭💔
I knew it wasn’t wise to get attached to a protagonist with a literal ticking time bomb in her head—but I couldn’t help it! I got so deeply attached to Jet… and sweet, loyal Billy! How could I not?! This is, without a doubt, one of the smartest and most emotionally devastating concepts Holly Black has ever crafted. “Not Quite Dead Yet” is a thriller that hurts—and I mean that in the best way possible.

The final chapters completely wrecked me. I won’t spoil anything, but let’s just say my tears were flowing harder than during that soul-crushing Joel Miller episode of The Last of Us. Honestly, I need hugs, a Disney movie marathon, a strong drink, and about three pounds of chocolate to recover. 😭🍫🎥 Holly Black, what have you done to me?!

The premise alone is pure brilliance: Jet Mason is attacked—brutally—and miraculously survives three head blows, suffering a subdural hematoma and cardiac arrest. But her fractured skull has a grim expiration date: in just seven days, a bone fragment will rupture an artery in her brain. That gives her one terrifying, pressure-cooker week to solve her own attempted murder. The suspense! The stakes! The EMOTION!

Jet returns to her wealthy, dysfunctional family in Woodstock, Vermont—a family that, quite frankly, does not deserve her. Everyone’s caught up in their own drama while she’s walking around with a death sentence. Even the cops seem more interested in easy answers than actual justice. And because the Masons run a powerful construction empire that’s bulldozed lives for profit, Jet’s attack might be tied to one of the many enemies her family’s made.

Let’s talk about these unforgettable characters:

💔 Jet – 27, brilliant, sarcastic, a little messy, and completely relatable. A law school grad who gave up everything to come home and live in the shadow of her perfect, deceased sister. She’s been trying so hard to prove she’s not useless… and now all she wants is to uncover the truth before she runs out of time. Even as her body fails her—headaches, memory issues, cognitive fatigue—she never stops fighting. She’s fierce, crude (when necessary), and absolutely unforgettable.

🎸 Billy – Her estranged childhood friend turned roommate (after she flees her family home). He’s the one who found her after the attack, called 911, and now he’s her rock. A kind, selfless musician with a soft spot for Jet—he’s the only one who really sees her. And I just want to wrap them both in bubble wrap forever. Protect Billy at all costs!

👔 Luke – Jet’s older brother, corporate shark, all ambition and secrecy. Could he be hiding something darker?

😇 Sophie – Luke’s wife and Jet’s former best friend. Suspiciously angelic. Possibly sinister. Definitely shady.

👩‍👧 Elaine – Jet’s hypercritical mother. Emotionally cold. So much tension. Meanwhile, Jet’s father fades into the background, suffering from kidney disease—the same condition that may be contributing to Jet’s fatal prognosis.

💔 JJ – Jet’s ex who proposed, got rejected, and then vanished after the attack. Guilty conscience, or something worse?

Some of the action scenes push the boundaries of realism—yes, a cardiac-arrested, brain-trauma survivor solving her own attempted murder in a week is a stretch—but I didn’t care. I stopped questioning it and fully surrendered to the ride. The plot is twisty, sharp, and so well-executed that I was hooked from page one.

I adored the emotional family dynamics, the slow-burn tenderness between Jet and Billy, and the themes of mortality, regret, and resilience. The ending? Heartbreaking but inevitable. I didn’t want to let Jet go.

⭐ 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 because Jet Mason deserves to live forever in my heart.
📢 This is the kind of book that makes you want to scream about it from rooftops.

THANK YOU to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine – Bantam for the digital ARC of one of the most anticipated thrillers of the year in exchange for my honest thoughts. I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time. 🖤

I was thoroughly impressed with Holly Jackson's first venture into adult fiction. While "Not Quite Dead Yet" did sometimes read like a YA novel, or a little bit cheesy and kitschy, the story was well thought out and had some good twists and turns. I was surprised at just how emotional this book was—especially since Jet was notoriously sarcastic—but it made me like the book (and Jet) even more. Jet was a well-rounded character, not without her flaws, as was every other character in the book. I will say the ending was a bit too old-school movie for me, but I enjoyed the book as a whole nonetheless.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine, and Bantam for an ARC of Not Quite Dead Yet in exchange for an honest review.

"A fast crack to the back of her head, the wet splitting of skin, crunch of skull."

Not Quite Dead Yet follows Margaret Mason, better known as Jet to her family and friends, who is violently attacked on Halloween night by an unseen intruder. Doctors are positive that within a week, Jet will suffer a fatal aneurysm. So for the week, Jet decides she has one goal: to solve her own murder after a lifetime of saying "I'll do it later." With her childhood best friend, Billy, by her side, she will uncover secrets within her family long since buried (hopefully before she dies).

I absolutely loved this book from beginning to end. I am a huge fan of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder so I had very high expectations and hopes for this book and man, did Ms. Jackson deliver as always. This book had all of the elements I had come to know and love from AGGTM but in a more adult setting and of course, an adult situation. Jet was such a fun character who didn't let the ticking clock of her life stop her. I loved Billy as well. He just wanted to do whatever it would take to help his friend. The twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat to the very last page. You can't really talk about it in a review because of spoilers, but that ending will keep me thinking about this book and what could possibly come after for a very long time.

If you are a fan of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder or just thrillers in general, pick up this book! I guarantee you are in for the ride of your life! 5/5 stars!

4.5 ⭐️
I really enjoyed this book and it was an interesting concept. Jet was attacked one Halloween night and because of previous medical history, she is told that an aneurism is inevitable and she probably only has roughly a week to live. She spends that time trying to solve her own “murder”. With it, comes many twists and turns, family drama, and a little romance. Thank you to NetGalley & Random House Publishing for the ARC of this book!

5🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟


the way this book made me feel, is crazy I have cried and laughed and had jaw dropping moments this will be my top 2025 book and nothing can beat it Holly really did great with this book i got so much deju vu and idk why Holly always make letters that make me cry but I love them but I know I will Definitely be yapping about this for awhile and jet a Billy's relationship reminded me so much of pip and Ravi but Billy is better Then Ravi to me just till book is not a very special book for me I didn't know I would need this read but thanks for reading my yap review

Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC of this book!

Not Quite Dead Yet is a gripping, fast-paced thriller that hooks you from the very first chapter and doesn’t let go. The twists are clever and the pacing was on point.

The characters, especially the protagonist, are layered and compelling. I loved Jet’s personality, her no nonsense attitude and quick wit/sarcasm. I found myself genuinely laughing out loud at her commentary. Holly keeps you constantly guessing who you can trust which is what I love about a good thriller.

I rated this 4.5 ⭐️’s. As much as I hated her character, I wish we would have learned what happened with Sophia towards the end. I don’t think her character was throughly flushed out as much as it could have been. Did her and Luke stay together? I wonder what Dianne’s reaction would have been after reading Jet’s letter.

A solid thriller from one of the best! Highly recommend!

Not Quite Dead Yet is Holly Jackson's adult thriller debut and I flew threw it! I liked the unique premise of the main character having to investigate her own murder. There were so many twists and turns in this one that led to quite an ending!

The cover synopsis is enough to make any reader say, "How would I solve this"? So, of course, I had to find out how Jet handles it. Jet has been attacked, suffering a severe head trauma that the doctors say will kill her in a week. Does she sit down and cry? No. Our girl sets out to catch the SOB who attacked her. As she investigates, she's racing the clock and not afraid to step on toes. A close look at every one of her friends and family reveals numerous clues, making it difficult to determine who did it and why. However, Holly Jackson provides readers with a compelling story, culminating in an ending I certainly didn't predict.

This was intense. It was heartbreaking.
All I have to say is poor billy. They deserved more time together.
Everyone else in this book were horrible people.
Despite that gut wrenching ending I would say to read this book now.
4 stars ⭐️
Foul language ( a lot F words )
No spice

Holly Holly…. The plot of this book was so amazing. FMC has to solve her OWN murder before her times runs out? Count me in. I’ll admit that I figured out the ‘who did it’ pretty early on but the story was so good that it kept me holding on. I’ll read anything Holly writes!

I really enjoyed the main character’s voice and her self deprecating tone. I loved the friendship she had with her guy friend. I liked that there was no romance but he cared for her and genuinely liked her as a person. The pacing was really good and the red herrings were done well.

My only issue was that I wished she had have reflected on her life so far and how it was going to end soon. She did talk about having time to do stuff with her life and how she was wrong because it could all be over quickly but I wish there was more reflection.

I also wish there were more clues so that I could solve it like she did with GGGTM but that’s a me problem.

I’m glad Jackson is branching out to adult fiction but I hope she doesn’t totally abandon YA. I’m a teen librarian and she’s gotten lots of teen reading again.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I was thinking I had solved the “who dunnit” from the very get go until the very last pages of the books with the story trying to throw me off the entire time and then me jumping back to my theories only for my theory to be supplied at the end and to be WRONG! (Of course lol) but this book made you wondering whose secrets were the reason and why do this. You will love Jet and her story for all she is and I think she lets you learn to remember not everything is about that big goal at the end of life, not your career, not love, nothing but to remember to live in the moment cause you don’t know what will be your last week.

My reviews were published on StoryGraph May 26th, Tome June 1st, and Amazon July 25th. Links are below

4.25 stars

I have yet to read a slow Holly Jackson book. I love her fast paced mysteries. Without spoiling it, this one has one of the most unique story lines of any thriller I’ve ever read.
I really had fun with this one and I think you will too. FYI, there are A LOT of f-bombs which doesn’t bother me one bit. But don’t read if you are a goody two shoes. I don’t give a f**k!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

This book completely took me by surprise! The concept alone is wild - in the best way. Jet has a week to live after a violent attack, and instead of waiting around to die, she decides she’s going to solve her own murder. Like… how could I not pick this up?

From the very beginning, I was hooked. Jet is honestly one of the funniest, most refreshingly blunt main characters I’ve read in a while. I loved her immediately. And Billy… oh, Billy. Sweet, steady, absolutely golden-hearted Billy. The way he sticks by Jet, even when things get weird and scary and heartbreaking? I was not emotionally prepared for how much I would care about him.

This book had me flipping pages like a maniac. Holly Jackson has this amazing way of feeding you just enough clues to keep you guessing, but never in a way that feels predictable. Every reveal hit hard, and every twist actually made sense in hindsight - which I love. It’s so satisfying when a mystery is that well thought-out.

But what really got me was the emotional weight behind the story. It’s twisty and suspenseful, yes, but also deeply human. There were moments that made me laugh, moments that made me tear up, and moments that genuinely made me stop and think. Jet's reflections about time, family, and regret hit so close to home.

This story broke my heart in a lot of little ways - but it also left me with this quiet sense of hope. It’s not just a thriller; it’s about finally choosing to live, even when you know you're running out of time.

If you love a good mystery with emotional punch, unforgettable characters, and a premise that grabs you and doesn’t let go, you need to read this!

My copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and Ballantine Books for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to @netgalley and @randomhouse for the advance Kindle copy of this book. All opinions are my own. I didn’t start it until release day, so it’s already out!
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5 for this crazy, twisty, unique thriller. Jet is murdered in her kitchen one night, but wakes up and is told that she is going to die in a week due to an aneurysm that will certainly form in her brain. So, she decides that she’s going to use that week to solve her murder. But who would want her dead? There are a ton of twists, and this is one that you won’t want to put down. The only thing that bugged me was that Jet is 27, but her character read more like a 22-23 year old. Perhaps that was to illustrate her immaturity, but it still didn’t read true to me. At any rate, this author’s debut adult book is a keeper.

This is hands down one of my favorite reads this year. Jet is so infuriatingly persistent, and when everyone around her is telling her to take it easy, she is pushing harder on the gas. Love her and love this book.

The plot behind this book is just incredible. As an avid Greys Anatomy fan, I was hooked immediately. As someone who also loved Dexter, One Tree Hill, and Its A Wonderful Life (just trust me on these!!) this just spoke to me in ways I cannot explain. The mystery, the drama, the tension, all of it is just incredible. This was my first Holly Jackson but I can confidently say it will not be my last.

Even having the ability to predict some of the twists, it still was not at all predictable. The ending…. THE ENDING!!! *shakes fist at the sky in anguish*

Overall, this was a 5 star read. I ate it up and would recommend this to ANYONE! Go grab it now.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC for review.

Holly Jackson’s Not Quite Dead Yet is a bold and compelling debut in adult suspense fiction; dark, witty, with a blistering pace and a narrative style that works well enough to captivate a wide array of possible audiences, young and old alike.

One thing that Holly Jackson will likely never be criticized for is the premises of her novels, and Not Quite Dead Yet quite easily continues that streak, the premise here being our main character Margaret “Jet” Mason learning she has one week before a fatal aneurysm may take her life, all after surviving a brutal Halloween assault. With the hand she’s been dealt, she opts to spend her remaining time chasing down her nemesis. Now, anyone who has read Jackson before (I with the Good Girl’s Guide books) knows of her writing style and tone: snark, dark humor, and an uncanny ability to wrap readers into the emotions of the situation, and in the case of this adult novel, the language is more varied, more realistic, a bit more vitriolic due to the adult nature of the novel (though let’s be real, all her books are). Jet is an actual human being and we feel that, making her plight even more distressfully captivating.

At no point in this novel is someone going to forget that this is a Holly Jackson novel, her pacing here on full display: momentum is rarely, if ever, stopped, and boy does she like to throw in a twist or five, the way with which it’s written making the story end on an altogether more satisfying note.

If there is anything that could be said about Not Quite Dead Yet that one could nitpick, it’s the occasional lack of maturation from Jet: sure, the stuff she’s going through is dark and stressful as heck, there are sometimes Jet doesn’t sound like a nearly-30 year old, although in hindsight, that was probably purposeful, because if any adult were in her position, they’d likely devolve into more basic phrases, what they know the first thing exiting their mouth while their brain tries grasping everything else.

As a big fan of her Good Girl’s Guide novels, and a fan of a creepy thriller, this one hit. Jackson’s talent is undeniable and if she starts focusing more on adult fiction than YA fiction, we’re looking at the beginning of an absolute superstar in thriller/horror.

You have to suspend reality to get into this one and I just couldn’t. The main character is pretty insufferable as is her family. I just couldn’t.