Not Quite Dead Yet
Not Quite Dead Yet has quickly risen to the top of both the Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller lists, solidifying its place as one of the most gripping thrillers of the year. Tense, inventive, and packed with emotional depth, this is the kind of novel readers devour in a single sitting and the perfect thriller to gift or escape into during the holiday season.
Freida McFadden describes it as “a roller coaster of relentless suspense and jaw-dropping twists,” while Chris Whitaker calls it “a thrilling, twisting heartbreaker.” Claire Douglas praises its originality, and the Sunday Times labels it “a dazzling blend of wit, emotion, humour, and razor-sharp plotting,” likening it to Holly Jackson’s iconic A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.
At the centre of this electrifying story is Jet Mason, the privileged daughter of an extremely wealthy family in Woodstock, Vermont. Despite her comfortable upbringing, Jet feels as though her life has never truly begun. She is twenty-seven, drifting, always insisting she’ll chase her dreams “later.” She believes there will always be more time until the night everything changes.
On Halloween, Jet is brutally attacked by an unknown assailant. The savagery of the assault leaves her with a severe brain injury. When doctors examine her condition, the prognosis is devastating: she is expected to die within a week, likely from an inevitable aneurysm caused by the trauma. Suddenly, Jet’s future once endless, blurry, and distant collapses into a sharply defined countdown of seven days.
As fear and shock settle in, Jet realizes something else: someone wanted her dead. Someone close enough to get inside, someone who believed they could kill her without leaving a trace. And now, with time slipping away, Jet begins to feel suspicion creeping into every relationship she once trusted. Her wealthy, complicated family; her former best friend now her sister-in-law; her ex-boyfriend who still lingers in her life. Any one of them could be hiding a secret. Any one of them could be the person who attacked her.
But Jet refuses to spend her last days waiting for her fate. If she truly has only one week to live, she will use every minute with purpose. With her health deteriorating, her memory faltering, and her time running out, she teams up with the one person who has always stood by her her childhood friend Billy. Together, they attempt the unthinkable: unravel the mystery behind the attack and uncover the identity of the would-be killer.
Jet is determined to do something she never imagined she’d be forced to do: solve her own murder before it happens.
Critics and readers alike have praised Holly Jackson for crafting a thriller that is as emotional as it is suspenseful. Alex Michaelides describes the novel as “propulsive, deeply moving, and a masterclass in thriller writing,” while Gillian McAllister applauds its edgy voice and signature style. The Guardian calls it “perfect holiday reading a fast-paced page-turner fueled by genuine emotion,” and the Daily Mail highlights how Jackson’s writing pulls readers so close to Jet that the final twist feels both shocking and heartbreaking.
Amy McCulloch hails it as “a strikingly clever concept and an instant classic,” and Andrea Bartz calls it “fiercely original and wickedly smart, full of humour, tension, and gasp-worthy moments.”
In Not Quite Dead Yet, Holly Jackson pushes the boundaries of the thriller genre, delivering a novel that is not only gripping and suspense-packed but also profoundly human. Jet’s journey a desperate race against time, trust, and betrayal makes this book impossible to forget. With its sharp storytelling, emotional punch, and stunning finale, it stands as one of Jackson’s strongest works and one of the most memorable thrillers of recent years.
