Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson
What would you do if you found out you only have seven days to live? In this page-turning mystery thriller, Jet Mason chooses to spend her final week on earth solving her own murder. Not Quite Dead Yet is the latest novel by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (turned Netflix series), Holly Jackson.
Twenty-seven-year-old Margaret “Jet” Mason has always believed she had time to figure life out. She drifts from one job to another and walks away from anything that bores her. Her relationships with her former best friend, Sophia (now sister-in-law), her brother Luke and her mother are strained. Jet’s life has zero direction, but she’s still young and has time to fix everything.
That illusion is shattered on Halloween night when someone breaks into her home and violently attacks her, leaving her for dead. She wakes up from a coma 36 hours later to devastating news: Her brain has suffered severe trauma. She has two choices: undergo a risky surgery with less than a 10% success rate or die within seven days from a fatal brain aneurysm.
A Dying Woman’s Hunt for Justice
Despite her mother’s heartbreaking disappointment, Jet decides to decline the surgery. Does she put her life together or repair all her strained relationships before she dies? Absolutely not. Instead, she sets out to solve the mystery of her own attempted murder, with the help of her childhood best friend, Billy Finney
The duo begins their investigation, which quickly leads them to her ex-boyfriend, JJ, and to a man who blames the Mason family for ruining his life. Although JJ becomes the police’s prime suspect, Jet isn’t fully convinced he’s guilty and continues her hunt. The deeper she digs, the more buried secrets she finds, some even linked to a tragedy from 17 years earlier.
As the suspect list grows, Jet’s trust in the people she has known her whole life continues to fade. Meanwhile, her health deteriorates rapidly, making her investigation more difficult. Does she stop her hunt? Not even a little. She’s going to die anyway. She has nothing to lose. Right?
Intense Themes and Gut-Wrenching Twists
Wow! What a remarkable story Not Quite Dead Yet is! I am utterly enamored with Holly Jackson’s extraordinary talent for weaving such emotionally wrecking, yet believable twists and turns. And the ending, just … wow! It kept me up way past midnight, just thinking about it.
I also loved the author’s writing style. This narrative is visually rich with a sense of symbolism, and woven with imagery that echoes themes of death, decay (the cemetery scene) and unresolved trauma. Emotionally intense scenes are written with just the right level of dark humor, and interpersonal frictions between characters are not spelt out flatly; they bubble up naturally through subtext, change in tone, and interrupted exchanges. Through the protagonist’s deteriorating health, her grief over the life she’s about to lose, and her quest for answers, Jackson explores themes of mortality, grief, identity, family dysfunction and the consequences of secrets.
An Incredible Thriller You Won’t Soon Forget
The characters in this book are just as remarkable, especially Jet. She is strong-willed, direct and assertive. She confronts people bluntly, sometimes even harshly. She’s the kind of person who does not allow herself to wallow in self-pity (even in the face of her own death). She pushes forward even when she’s in pain, emotionally drained, or afraid. Despite her sarcasm and cool exterior, Jet feels deeply. She isn’t just looking for her killer; she is reckoning with everything she is never going to be.
I also loved Luke, Jet’s hardworking, responsible and family-oriented brother. He’s protective of Jet but struggles with a short temper that clouds his judgment. And then there is his wife, Sophia. She appears sweet and caring but is also cunning and will do whatever it takes to ensure her husband’s success.
I have so much to gush about this book, but I’m afraid I might end up spitting out spoilers — if I haven’t already. So let me just say, if you love mystery thrillers with fierce female protagonists and surprise twist endings or are a fan of Megan Miranda’s The Last House Guest, then you would want Not Quite Dead Yet on your Wishlist.
About Holly Jackson:
Holly Jackson started writing stories from a young age, completing her first (poor) attempt at a novel aged fifteen. She lives in London and aside from reading and writing, she enjoys playing video games and watching true crime documentaries so she can pretend to be a detective. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is her first novel. You can follow Holly on Twitter and Instagram @HoJay92
