Although the good old British public transport system conspired against me and prevented me from being able to attend a recent Holly Jackson event, it did not prevent me from getting my copy of her new book, ‘Not Quite Dead Yet’. Holly Jackson is an autobuy author for me, and as we all know, I do not read blurb, so I had all I knew about this story from the title (very apt) and the cover, but that was enough for me.
I absolutely devoured this book from the moment I picked it up. Holly Jackson writes some really incredible crime/thriller books, and this one did not disappoint. For a first adult fiction book, it was brilliant and did not lose any of the great storytelling that Holly Jackson has given us in YA fiction. It is not a spoiler that this book is about Jet Mason having seven days to solve her own murder (which adds a whole other level of peril to the usual peril you find in these books), and that is exactly what she aims to do.
Jet is a great strong female lead character, who does not let anyone else try to decide her destiny for her, as all she wants is to ensure that the person responsible for her murder is brought to justice. As she does this, it opens a Pandora’s Box of secret and lies about her family and the town she has grown up in. That is about as much as I can give you, as this is a spoiler-free blog. But you will want to read it to find out exactly what it is Jet uncovers as she searches for her murderer.
What I will say about this book is that I am not sure all the secrets were a complete surprise. I was suspicious of one character fairly early on, however, not quite for the right reason. And I love that about a whodunnit: you can make your predictions, you can follow the clues, and you can make your decisions, which may not always be right, but it does all make you reflect on how you got there.
In my humble opinion, Holly Jackson has made the transition from YA to adult fiction successfully, and hopefully this has brought her books to a whole new audience. Although, to be honest, I think many of us adults had read the YA too, but there may be some of you out there who haven’t, so can I suggest you read ‘Not Quite Dead Yet’, because it is definitely worth it.