This was a bit of a slow burn. Up until about 50% of the book I thought this was a three star book. The second half of the book really took off and kept me engaged. I have read a number of Holly Jackson’s books and I felt that the way Jet was described, her behavior- she felt very much like the YA characters Holly has written in the past. Jet was also quite insufferable for a lot of the book. I found it hard to imagine that this was a grown woman. It did end up being an entertaining read and one that I will share with my friends.

Holy crap. Wtf did I just read. There are no words for the complexity of this one. After the ending to AGGGTM, and Holly Jackson's work since then, I've been apprehensive. Rachel Price was excellent. This one was amazing. I literally guessed who did it until the last page.

Jett comes home from a town Halloween event, heard her dog barking like mad, and then the next thing she knows, she's woken up in the hospital. Someone tried to murder her, and she somehow survived. There's a catch: A piece of her skull is lodged into her brain, forming an aneurysm. If the doctors can operate, she will be fine. However, thanks to a preexisting condition she has, there's a 90% chance she will die in the surgery. If she doesn't have the operation, the aneurysm will form and rupture within a week, killing her.

So Jett sets out to do the impossible: Solve her own murder before she's actually murdered.

PSA: The dog is not harmed.

HOLY. TWIST. This book hooked me from the first line: “In seven days, Jet Mason will be dead.” Like… how do you not keep reading after that??

This is Holly Jackson’s first adult novel and she absolutely kills it—pun 100% intended. Jet is such a compelling character: sarcastic, stubborn, and totally relatable in that “I’ll deal with life later” kind of way. But when later becomes a literal deadline? Game on.

The concept is so clever—Jet has one week to figure out who tried to kill her before her injury finishes the job. As her health declines, the suspense ramps up, and everyone becomes suspicious: her family, her ex, even her best friend. The paranoia is real, and the twists? Chef’s kiss.

If you loved A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, imagine that—but darker, edgier, and with even more emotional weight. This isn’t just a murder mystery—it’s about unfinished dreams, fractured friendships, and the things we put off until it’s too late.

Absolutely unputdownable. Jet’s countdown might be ticking, but trust me—you’ll finish this in one sitting.

Thank you, Netgalley, for this ARC!

Marget, Jet, is a 27-year-old woman who recently moved home after another failed endeavor. She has all the time in the world and plans to leave her mark. Unfortunately, someone tries to kill her and succeeds. Well, almost. The injuries she received mean that she has a week left to live before her brain shuts down. Jet plans to use that time to solve her murder. A+ for creative plot!

I love Holly Jackson and have read all of her books. This was another twisty thriller that had you guessing until the end. Lots of family drama and secrets! Is anyone truly innocent? How do past events relate to Jet's murder? Or do they not? This novel also does a lovely job of weaving in Big Ideas, like the meaning of life, into a thriller format.

*****SPOILERS BELOW*****










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Okay, why is it always the dad in Holly Jackson's books?? Jason Bell, Charlie Price, and now Billy's dad??? There is some psychoanalysis that can happen here. I did guess who the murderer was about halfway through, but all of the other twists and turns were worth the read.

3.75 out of 5 stars ⭐️

I’ve read almost all of Holly Jackson’s YA books and loved them, so I was thrilled to get to read this one early! Jet is a 27-year-old law school dropout living at home with her parents who is known for saying she’ll finish things “later.” On Halloween, she is brutally attacked but survives- however, her injuries will prove to be fatal within 1 week. Jet decides to use her last week to finally finish something and solve her own murder.

First, the good stuff: I enjoyed the quick pace and the family drama. I like Billy’s character a lot. Good twists, although I saw some of them coming. The ending crushed me- I was so hoping it went a different way (trying not to include spoilers here!). The writing was very much like the author’s YA books, so if you enjoyed those, this will work for you, with the addition of more foul language. Honestly, the main character is still young and the writing matches YA in my opinion, so that was a bit of a complaint in that this was billed as an adult debut. No worries, I still enjoyed it. The only other issue I had is that I didn’t love the main character. I wanted to, but found it hard to connect. She was kind of snarky and immature, which just didn’t work as well for me personally. Otherwise, this is a quick fun read that I will recommend!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Ballantine for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! I was hooked from the beginning and couldn't put it down. It's packed with twists and turns. I think this is a great addition to anyone's shelf.

I just wanted to say how much I absolutely loved Not Quite Dead Yet! From the very first chapter, I was hooked. I kept telling myself "just one more chapter"—and before I knew it, I was halfway through the book at 2am. Totally worth it.

Holly Jackson never misses. I’ve read everything she’s written and this one just reminded me again why she’s an auto-buy author for me. The suspense, the twists, the pacing—everything was spot on. I didn’t want to put it down!

Can’t wait to see what she writes next. Please pass along my thanks to Holly for another amazing read!

This book hit all the boxes and I loved every minute. The premise about a woman who is attacked and has a week to live needing to find her attacker is so unique. The humor from the main character about her impending death is refreshing. This book destroyed my soul and left me traumatized.

It definitely wasn’t a perfect book. You have to suspend belief a bit and it’s not realistic at all, but it’s such a fun book especially given the subject matter. I did not anticipate any of the twists. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to receive this arc. The book is action packed and definitely a page turner. The beginning was slow but I encourage you to stick with it. This is a great thriller!

This was a DNF for me, from the start the tone felt very juvenile and I was not at all interested in the FMC, she seemed like a mess and extremely immature.

Holly Jackson, I will never forgive you.

This book is about Jet, a young woman who is brutally attacked on Halloween night and given only 7 days to live. Jet decides to use her final time on Earth to solve her own murder. With her childhood best friend by her side, Jet begins racing against the clock to unearth her town's darkest secrets before her time runs out.

I'm going to begin my review by saying that this is tied with Death of the Author for my favorite read of 2025 thus far. This review will be glowing.

Of all of Holly Jackson's characters, I think Jet is my favorite. Yes, Pippa is also wonderful, but she's a child. I can only relate so much to a 16-year-old girl. Jet, though, is in her late 20s (27? 28?) like I am. She's back at home with big dreams and little motivation until one day her hourglass runs down to its last few grains oof sand. I gotta say that if I was given the choice, I, too, would spend my last days tracking down the fucker that took my life away from me. Jet feels alive and real in a way that takes most authors whole series to achieve. Holly Jackson did it in under 400 pages.

The mystery of Jet's attack is plotted well. There's just enough suspects and motives to keep the reader guessing without feeling overwhelming and the final reveal comes together so beautifully you would think that a real life FBI agent wrote out a crime to solve, then plotted it backwards. At the final reveal of the killer's identity, I found my mind spooling backwards through all the signs. They were there. You just have to put them together.

The best part of this book, though, is not the mystery or the investigation - it's the relationship between Jet and Billy. This book, despite being a thriller, is profoundly human at its core. It showcases the moments and decisions that make up a life and that, sometimes, the best of those moments happen without planning or forethought. There are several scenes in this book where Jet, confronted with her own mortality, reflects on what really counts in life and whether she has led a good one. The quiet moments between Jet and Billy were beautiful and I loved watching them reconnect after what clearly had been many years apart.

This book really has it all. The story is excellent - much deeper and more profound than a popcorn thriller, but with the same fast pace and major beats that thriller afficionados will recognize and love. Jet comes out of the book and sits down beside you to tell her story and, man, she will take you through the full gauntlet of emotions. I laughed out loud numerous times while reading and put the book down in tears. Congratulations to Miss Holly Jackson for being the first author to make me cry since I read the ending of the Divergent series in high school. Go to hell, Holly.

In case I wasn't clear, I strongly recommend this book with no reservations. I think both veteran readers and casual ones will enjoy this immensely and I truly cannot wait for release day so I can share Jet and her story with anyone who asks, "So, what's the best book you've read lately?"

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a DRC of this title.

4.5 STARS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Secrets, betrayals, and tears! Get your coffee because you won’t want to put it down!

Oh boy, where do I start?

As the eldest daughter, I could sympathize with her. She struggled to find purpose and she felt like her actions were never enough. She constantly compared herself to others and their achievements. Even though she is not the eldest daughter, what she went through made her shutdown and behave the way she did.

…We never got a reason why she wanted to be called Jet when her name is Margaret Mason… which would’ve been helpful so get more insight to her past.

There were secrets and lots of things happening and so I highlighted bunch of paragraphs! However, I still missed the key points and going back, it made sense.

Romance? Oh, poor and sweet Billy. He’s so innocent and romantic! You’ll love him!
Betrayals? I can just say… Yes.
Secrets? Oof, GET READY because lots of things are happening throughout the book!
Tears? Why Holly? 😭

*thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I CANNOT BELIEVE I WAS APPROVED FOR THIS ARC. CANNOT BELIEVE. AND THIS NEW HOLLY JACKSON THRILLER HAS THE MOST INSANE PREMISE. A girl who was attacked, suffers a brain aneurysm from it, only has 7 days to live and has 7 days to figure out who tried to kill her? As a longtime YA thriller reader THIS is a concept I have never seen anyone else come up with! Someone solving their own murder is the coolest premise ever!

So, I had a lot of admiration for Holly but I’ve had mixed reviews with her past books. I didn’t like A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and have never understood the hype, but I absolutely LOVED the Reappearance of Rachel Price, which had one of the most memorable thrillers I’ve ever read because of that absolutely WILD ending (if you haven’t read that one, HIGHLY recommend). That book was the one that won me over and I’ve had Holly Jackson on my radar ever since. I am beyond thrilled and honored to get to read a copy of her adult thriller debut!

This by far is Holly’s darkest book. Shit. That ending. It somehow felt satisfying and unsatisfying at the same time because while it wasn’t open ended, it wasn’t all tied up in a perfect little bow either, yet somehow, I can’t think of a better way this book could’ve ended. The ending is where this book truly shines because the last 10% is insane. It’s kind of depressing, dark, yet realistic. Let’s just say things don’t end so well for quite a few characters.

Second, Holly Jackson was born to write thrillers. Some of it felt too convenient and easy (it took them 2 seconds to steal someone’s keys super easily to break into their place, it took them 2 seconds to figure out the identity of a sketchy person on a video, they break in somewhere and what they’re looking for is found easily, etc). In real life it’s not that easy or convenient when investigating lol. But still, this was so well plotted out, so well planned, so well paced.

Definitely the darkest read of hers yet, I closed this book feeling very uncomfy rather than satisfied, which I’ve never felt from a Holly Jackson thriller before, and that was definitely done on purpose. I appreciate that she tried to do something a bit different with this one, went darker, and came up with one of the coolest premises out there. I liked this a lot more than the good girl’s guide to murder books but not quite as much Rachel Price, so this would rank solidly as my second favorite book of hers! 10000% recommend, pick this book up. It doesn’t disappoint!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bantam for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam and NetGalley for allowing me to read this e-arc.Like other works by Holly, this is fast paced, has intricate and interwoven storylines, and keeps your eager to solve the mystery. This one is a total page-turner.

The description of this book made me get it, but as I started reading it, I wasn’t into it. The first pages felt confusing and not interesting, and I almost skipped this book, but I decided to give it a chance (I started reading it while being sick, so I thought that might be clouding my judging). A few more pages and I was into the book. It’s not a complete wow for me and I felt that there were too many parts where it felt almost unrealistic/too whatever. It also felt weird that the main character didn’t want to spend more time with her family or didn’t want to make it into more quality time. I was also a little confused my family dynamics, because at times it felt like nobody cares about anyone, but at other times, it felt like they’ve been a nice family, so the hostility from the main character felt a little out of place. However, the story is pretty unique, and it was a nice change for my recent reading, so I did enjoy it.

don’t let the fact that i binged this fool you. it was severely disappointing.

the concept is interesting, the potential is RIGHT THERE. but the execution? fell sooo flat. like i said, i loved agggtm, but this one felt like holly jackson didn’t really know what she wanted the book to be exactly. the stakes were high, but it didn’t read like they were. the characters were toeing the line of immature and insufferable. i didn’t get excited for any twists or reveals.

i saw another review say that this felt too YA to be an adult novel, which i absolutely agree with. i wish this would’ve just been fully YA because it felt like it couldn’t really fully commit to being adult. that pretty much sums up everything about the book tbh.

anyways, i can see this finding the right audience, and it wasn’t all bad, but i just wasn’t into it unfortunately. better luck next time ig.

Suing Holly Jackson for emotional damage immediately. Five stars.

This book. THIS BOOK. It has everything I love about Holly's books: it has wit and charm, it's smart, it's fast paced, it has characters that leap off the page and into your heart, it has funny moments, it has twists and turns, and most importantly it has a lot of emotion right at its center. I don't think there's a single thing I disliked about this book to be honest. I did guess the plot twist pretty early on but that in no way detracted from my enjoyment of the book. At all.

Honestly I'm too far in my emotions to form coherent thoughts so just, like, read it. Okay? Okay.

PS a minor spoiler but one I'm sure most people are looking for: there is a dog, and he is fine. He is a good boy.

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I've been back and forth with this author – some books were great, others not so much. The last one wasn't my favorite, but this new one was a total win! I was completely hooked on solving Jet's murder, even though I guessed the killer, it didn't spoil my enjoyment at all.

Hands down best book I’ve read in 2025 and I don’t see any other book beating it. Holly Jackson’s absolute best work yet. I have loved every single one of her YA books but her debut adult thriller Not Quite Dead Yet is one of the best books I’ve ever read and I feel so fortunate to have received an ARC. 30% in and I was already preordering a physical copy for it’s July 22nd release!

Jet was murdered on Halloween night, except she wasn’t exactly murdered… well not just yet. She survived but due to her injuries from her unknown attacker she will be dead 7 days from now when the aneurysm in her brain bursts. So instead of putting life off for later, like always - Jet teams up with Billy, her ex-best friend and childhood neighbor to figure out who murdered her.

I have never laughed so much while reading a book about fictional murder but I also have never cried so much while reading a thriller either. This book unexpectedly broke me multiple times and not in the way you’d think.

I have a couple of complaints, but I did mostly enjoy this.

First, what kind of town, on a residential street with what seem to be very nice houses (but this stands for any houses) has parking meters!? This didn’t sound like it was right downtown, it sounds like a quiet neighborhood. Whyyyy are there parking meters?

This concrete scene was absolutely absurd and I vowed to not give this more than three stars because of this scene alone but I liked everything else more so u couldn’t.

I’m supposed to believe tiny little 5’3” Jet (that’s my other complaint, constant reminders of how tiny she is), even with the help of Billy, was able to break up three foot wide and THREE FOOT DEEP CONCRETE (probably more wide because the first section was three feet then they kept going) with JUST sledgehammers in LESS THAN AN HOUR? Absolutely not. I even asked someone who knows construction before I complained about this to make sure it was a fair complaint. For three foot deep concrete he said a jackhammer would even be tough.

All that aside, I enjoyed this. I LOVE the concept of it and it was very readable. I was hooked and looked forward to it every night.

The twists were good and not insanely outlandish but still kept me on the edge of my seat. I liked this one and am so glad I got to read this one early!