Not Quite Dead Yet
Seven days. That’s all Jet Mason has left. As the twenty-seven-year-old daughter of one of Woodstock, Vermont's wealthiest families, Jet has spent her life waiting for it to actually begin. I'll do it later, was her mantra. She thought she had all the time in the world.
Until a violent Halloween night attack leaves her with a catastrophic head injury and a fatal aneurysm ticking like a time bomb. Rejecting a highly risky surgery to guarantee herself one final week, Jet realizes she has no idea who wants her dead. Suddenly, everyone in her inner circle is a suspect: her elite family, her estranged best-friend-turned-sister-in-law, and her ex-boyfriend. As her condition rapidly deteriorates, she turns to her childhood friend Billy—the only person she can trust. Jet may be out of time, but she's finally determined to finish something.
She is going to solve her own murder.
- Jet (Margaret) - Protagonist, 27
- JJ - Jet’s ex-boyfriend
- Billy - Jet’s childhood friend, Jack’s son
- Luke - Jet’s brother, 30
- Emily - Jet’s sister, deceased
- Sophia - Luke’s wife
- Cameron - Luke and Sophia’s son
- Lou - Chief of Police
- Nell - Lou’s wife
- Jack - Police sergeant, Billy’s father
- Scott Jet and Luke’s father, Owner of Mason Construction
- Dianne - Jet and Luke’s mother
- Owen - Gerry’s son
- Andrew - Man at the Halloween party
- Nina - Andrew’s daughter, deceased
- Henry - JJ’s brother
- Jet is attacked in her home on Halloween night and is found by Billy, who calls 911.
- She survives, but within a week, an aneurysm will form, rupture, and be fatal.
- There is a surgery, but it has only a 10% chance of survival.
- Jet refuses surgery and decides to solve her own murder before she dies.
- JJ left town on Halloween night and hasn’t been located since.
- The killer took Jet’s phone and turned it off on River street.
- Nina killed herself and Andrew blames Dianne because she got Nina fired from her job.
- Andrew tells Jet that Scott isn’t going to leave the company to Luke like Luke thinks; he’s going to sell it to Nell because he doesn't think it's fair to give the business to one kid when he has two.
- There is a Mason Construction site on North Street, which is right by River Street.
- Jet and Billy smash up the foundation at the construction site on North Street, poured on November 1st, and find Jet’s iPhone and the murder weapon - a hammer.
- Emily drowned in the family pool at age sixteen.
- The police arrest JJ.
- Jet and Billy discover that Sophia had been dumping the medicine out of Scott’s high blood pressure pills and filling them with salt.
- Jet confronts Sophia, who says she did it so Scott would finally retire and give the business to Luke.
- Jet tells Luke about Scott’s plans to sell to Nell.
- Jet discovers Luke is committing tax fraud, insurance fraud, and invoice fraud at Mason Construction.
- Someone sets fire to the Mason Construction office building, and it burns to the ground.
- A few weeks before Nina killed herself, she threatened to reveal Dianne’s secret if Mason Construction didn’t back out of the purchase of her and Andrew’s home.
- Luke admits to Jet that he burned down Mason Construction to avoid anyone finding out about the fraud.
- He also admits to killing Emily because she said he wasn’t a real Mason, that Scott wasn’t his real father, and that his real father helped him make it look like an accident.
- Jet realizes that must be the secret Nina was blackmailing Dianne with.
- Jet dies in Billy’s apartment.
- Eight days later
- Billy tells Jack that he knows everything: Jack had been having an affair with Dianne for many years, he is Luke’s biological father, he helped cover up that Luke killed Emily, Billy’s mom left them because she thought Jack killed Emily and was afraid of him, and Jack killed Jet because she was the only person standing in the way of Luke inheriting Mason Construction.
- Luke was listening the whole time and when he hears that Jack killed Jet, Luke grabs the gun and kills him.
Holly Jackson really delivers with Not Quite Dead Yet. The premise alone is so unique it hooks you right away, and from there, it is a brilliantly fast-paced ride. The medium-length chapters keep the momentum high while still letting the narrative breathe.
Unlike a lot of thrillers that can get bogged down repeating the same clues or conversations, this story stays fresh from chapter to chapter. Every interaction feels purposeful, and as the list of suspects grows, the tension keeps ramping up without stalling out.
The ending is a little abrupt, but it is not disappointing in the slightest. It manages to tie the overarching threads together in a highly satisfying way that leaves a lasting impression. I recommend this book for anyone who loves a whodunit with a sassy, messy main character.
- Emily - Dead - Drowned by Luke
- Jet - Dead - Killed by Jack
- Jack - Dead - Killed by Luke
- Murder
- Blood
- Suicide
- Fire
- Infidelity
Publisher: Bantam
ISBN: 9780593977057
Publication Date: July 22, 2025
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.
