Today I’m reviewing one of my most anticipated reads of the year: Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson. It has such a fantastic concept and I’ve adored Jackson’s previous work, so I was excited to delve into her adult debut.
This review originally appeared on The Nerd Daily.
In seven days Jet Mason will be dead. Jet is the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Woodstock, Vermont. Twenty-seven years old, she’s still waiting for her life to begin. She’ll do it later, she always says. She has time.
Until, on the night of Halloween, Jet is violently attacked by an unseen intruder. She suffers a catastrophic brain injury. The doctor is certain that within a week, she’ll suffer a deadly aneurysm.
Jet never thought of herself as having enemies. But now she looks at everyone in a new light: her family, her ex-best friend turned sister-in-law, her former boyfriend. She only has seven days, and as her condition deteriorates she has only her childhood friend Billy for help. But nevertheless, she’s absolutely determined to finally finish something: Jet is going to solve her own murder.
Publication Date: 17th July
CW: death, murder, grief, gun violence, traumatic injury, fire, hospitalisation
My Thoughts:
Not Quite Dead Yet brings a high-concept and hooky premise into a beautiful celebration of life and love, even as death looms ever closer.
Holly Jackson’s adult debut soars in this wonderfully twisty thriller. From the initial set up, she has you in the palm of her hand. The premise is fascinating leaves you with so many questions, while setting clear stakes. It is a question of life and death after all. Instantly, you are rooting for Jet to overcome the odds and beat her fate. The opening chapter has a wonderfully foreboding atmosphere with this brief glimpse of what could be only for it all to come crumbling down. It is a compelling twist on the trope of the opening kill that lets you know this is going to be something a little different from what you may expect. All of this adds a great sense of pathos and tragedy to the narrative. As a reader, you are rooting for a different ending despite the odds laid out in front of you. In terms of pacing, it adds a clear countdown element that keeps the pages turning and that sense of having to get to the end, even if it may take you into the bright light of the morning.
At the centre of it all is Jet who is a brilliant protagonist. She is snarky, unlikeable at times and willing to break all the rules. Fate has dealt her a cruel hand and understandably, she will go to any lengths to crack the case. You can feel the weight of the ticking clock on her as the chapters flow by. There is the twist of the knife with her knowledge that her condition will deteriorate and thereby she has a limited window to uncover the sequence of events that led to her death. The blow has already been dealt, but it is yet to fell her completely.
I loved Jet’s wonderful sense of dark humour too – there is a glimmer in the bleakness that has to be caught on to. Sometimes it is deflecting and sometimes it is bluntly acknowledging the elephant in the room. Jackson also includes a softer, introspective side where Jet is facing up to the regrets and secrets of her life. This story delves into grief and trauma in depth, especially around the life you thought you would have. Jet’s future has died and the mourning she has through this is nuanced and adds layers to the initial front she presents with.
Woodstock is the perfect setting to reflect this. It is that typical small town all about community and family values, which you can instantly picture the stereotypes associated with this. Jackson nails that subtle paranoia that characterises this place and the people inhabiting it. Beneath the perfect facade, it is full of quiet suburban secrets and fraught relationships. With a little digging beneath the surface the entire foundations are rotten. There is one particular sequence near the final third of the book that speaks to the hidden darkness behind respectable doors that I have not been able to get out of my head since.
This is a fantastically plotted book with great pacing and a continued sense of momentum sustained throughout. Jackson leads you down rabbit holes and misdirects you effortlessly. This feels like a darker and more mature version of her YA thriller, which are themselves masterclasses in tension and plotting. You can tell this is an evolved writer who knows and relishes her craft, producing something extraordinary. The writing is assured and confident in the skills it is demonstrating and this allows you to fully immerse yourself in the story. As usual, the twists are exceptional with some jawdroppers lurking in wait. Jackson does not shed her reputation as a devastating storyteller either with an ending that will leave an impact on you.
Not Quite Dead Yet delivers on its phenomenal premise with a heartbreaking, reflective and enthralling thriller.
A Short Book Lover 
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