Holly Jackson's debut adult novel has been receiving lots of mixed reviews from her readers. Some say that she should stick to young adult thrillers, while others gave it high praise, saying it was easily one of her better novels. After a careful reading, I am happily a part of the latter group.
Not Quite Dead Yet, published in July 2025, is Jackson’s first stab at an adult thriller after having consistent success with her young adult thrillers, like Five Survive and The Good Girls Guide to Murder series. Being a fan of her novels, I went into Not Quite Dead Yet excited but skeptical about it being an adult thriller. Not all authors can routinely go back and forth between young adult and adult fiction so easily.
Not Quite Dead Yet follows Jet, a law-school dropout who is back living at home with her parents. While she is striving to make a meaningful impact in society, she is consistently known for being the one who says, “I will do it later.” She doesn’t know what she is doing or why she is doing it; she just knows if she can push it off another day, she will.
One night Jet goes home after a couple of rather dreary encounters at a Halloween fest, and she is attacked. She is hit three times on the back of the head, sending her into a coma.
Though Jet happens to wake up, she has a ticking time bomb in her head, a near-inoperable aneurysm that is set to burst in a week.
While her parents want her to try to have the doctors fix it, or even just stay home with them for the remainder of her life, Jet takes the attack as a calling. She can no longer wait around for later to make her life meaningful; she has to do it now.
Jet recruits her childhood best friend, and they launch into an investigation. Jet is going to solve her own murder, and she only has a week to do it.
From a first impression, this novel seemed like it was going to be a dark thriller that had plot twists coming out of left field. While this is an accurate description, the book encompassed so much more. It is emotional, heartwarming, thrill-inducing and even hilarious. I somehow found myself both laughing out loud and shedding a few tears. I can’t think of many other thrillers that put you on a roller coaster of emotions like that.
Jet continues to deteriorate throughout the length of the book, making readers' heart rates go up with hers. The stakes are high, and I promise you will find yourself rooting for Jet the whole time. Not only is she likeable and funny, but she is also perfectly relatable. She is just another woman trying to find her path in life while forcing herself to fit the mold others made for her.
Since this book is set in late fall during peak thriller season, I have to recommend you read it then. But if you are anything like me and enjoy a ‘summerween’ book more, I would recommend you pick it up as soon as possible. You should have read it yesterday.
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