Not Quite Dead Yet

In the book Not Quite Dead Yet Jet Mason is such a refreshing protagonist because she's not some perfect, hyper-competent detective; she's actually kind of a prickly law school dropout who has spent her life procrastinating But then she's put in this insane position where she has a one-week deadline to solve her own attempted murder. It's dark, it's sarcastic, and it's heart-wrenching watching her realize that she's finally found the motivation to do something with her life just as it's being taken away.

The secondary characters really round it out, too, especially Billy. He's that classic "childhood friend" who is just a total green flag, and their dynamic gives the story so much heart amidst all the chaos, It's really a study on family dysfunction-watching Jet look at her parents and her brother through this new, desperate lens while her physical condition is literally ticking down is just gripping. It's less of a "who-done-it" and more of an emotional race against time that'll definitely stay with you.

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 and back home, she's still waiting for her life to begin. I'll do it later, she always says. She has time.

Until Halloween night, when she is violently attacked by an unseen intruder, suffering a catastrophic head injury. Doctors are certain that within a week, the injury will trigger a fatal aneurysm. To her parents' dismay, Jet rejects an extremely risky operation in order to guarantee herself at least a few more days.

Jet never thought of herself as having enemies. But now, in the one week she has left, she looks at everyone in a new light: her family, her former best friend turned sister-in-law, her ex-boyfriend.

As her condition deteriorates, she reconnects with her childhood friend Billy, the only one willing to help her. With Billy at her side, she's absolutely determined to finally finish something:

Jet is going to solve her own murder.

GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder-now a hit Netflix series-returns with her first novel for adults: an "irresistible" (The Washington Post) thriller about a young woman trying to solve her own murder, "full of the writer's signature twists and turns" (People).

From the publisher

Penguin Random House/ Bantum | July 22, 2025 | 400 pages | ISBN:9780593977057

"[Holly Jackson's] new book, about a woman who has to solve her own murder, is full of the writer's signature twists and turns."-People

"[A] page-turning thriller."-Southern Living

"The adult debut from megapopular YA thriller author Holly Jackson, . . . Not Quite Dead Yet has one of the most intriguing hooks of the year."-Paste

"Holly Jackson's adult debut is a countdown thriller with teeth."-Crime Reads

"I absolutely loved it: twisty, edgy, and with her Jackson's trademark voice. It deserves to fly."-Gillian McAllister, author of Wrong Place Wrong Time

"A thrilling, twisting, heartbreaker,. Holly Jackson's adult debut is fresh, fun, and impossible to put down."-Chris Whitaker, author of All the Colors of the Dark

"I felt all the emotions while reading Not Quite Dead Yet. It's funny, touching, heartbreaking, thrilling, and totally addictive, a. An original and unique thriller that I'll be thinking about for a long time."-Claire Douglas, author of The Wrong Sister

"Not Quite Dead Yet is everything I love about Holly Jackson's novels dialled up to eleven-a searingly clever premise, of course absolutely unputdownable, interspersed with her trademark humour, and with a protagonist in Jet that you can't help rooting for. An instant classic."-Amy McCulloch, author of Breathless and Runner 13

"This truly unique premise snowballs into a roller coaster ride of page-turning suspense and knock-out twists!"-Freida McFadden, author of The Housemaid

"Propulsive, unputdownable and unexpectedly heart wrenching, Not Quite Dead Yet is a masterclass in thriller writing and an example of storytelling at its finest."-Alex Michaelides, author of The Silent Patient