A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #3
As Good As Dead
by Holly Jackson
Contents
Fifty-Four
Overview
Pip ends her relationship with Ravi to shield him and others if Max’s trial fails. She instructs Ravi to claim he acted under duress and to cut all contact, accepting a long, painful separation until a guilty verdict. Their emotional goodbye cements Pip’s resolve to bear the risk alone.
Summary
Walking together in Lodge Wood, Ravi talks hopefully about helping Pip move to Cambridge and visiting soon. Pip, overwhelmed, stops and begins to cry, unable to continue with the pretense of normal plans.
Pip tells Ravi this must be their last time together. She explains that Hawkins suspects her and that true safety only comes if a jury convicts Max. If the jury acquits, the police will reinvestigate and likely target Pip and anyone who helped her.
Pip lays out a plan to protect Ravi: if questioned again, he must say he acted under duress, that Pip threatened him, and they have had no contact since she left. Ravi resists, proposing marriage for spousal privilege, but Pip refuses, saying it would only tie him to her crime and betray Sal’s memory.
Accepting that she must isolate from everyone, including family and friends, Pip promises that if Max is found guilty they can find each other again, no matter how long it takes. After tearful declarations of love, Pip pulls away and walks off, leaving Ravi sobbing in the woods as they part.
Who Appears
- Pip Fitz-AmobiEnds the relationship to protect Ravi, instructing a future duress defense and total no contact until after Max’s trial.
- Ravi SinghBeggs Pip to stay, suggests marriage for protection, but ultimately accepts the breakup amid grief.