A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #3
As Good As Dead
by Holly Jackson
Contents
Fifty-Three
Overview
Pip lies awake replaying Detective Hawkins’s veiled comment and their meeting, fearing he suspects her involvement despite Max’s arrest and the DT case’s reopening. Interpreting his words as a lingering doubt, she concludes her safety and normal life are impossible without decisive action. She commits to one final plan, accepting the personal cost.
Summary
At night, Pip replays Detective Hawkins’s offhand remark, mimicking his tone and hesitations, and fixates on whether it was a joke or a masked accusation. She recalls their meeting, when she handed over evidence linking Jason to the DT Killer and access to Andie’s email, and how Hawkins said police already had that lead.
The memory of his lingering handshake and the way he studied her eyes convinces Pip there is a seed of doubt in him. Though Max has been arrested and charged, the DT case is being re-investigated, and Billy Karras stands to be released, Pip cannot shake the feeling that Hawkins suspects she orchestrated events.
Pip’s relief at survival and Ravi’s emotional support clash with her dread. She reinterprets Hawkins’s promise to find her later as a threat, imagining that his tiny, hidden suspicion will grow. She recognizes that even an unproven doubt could undo her hard-won safety.
Accepting that normal life will not return while Hawkins’s doubt exists, Pip decides there is only one way to protect those she loves. She resolves to enact one final plan, fully aware it may destroy her.
Who Appears
- Pip Fitz-AmobiProtagonist; fixates on Hawkins’s subtle suspicion, questions her safety after Max’s arrest, and commits to a final protective plan.
- Detective HawkinsDetective whose offhand comment and demeanor plant doubt in Pip that he suspects her involvement.
- Ravi SinghPip’s boyfriend; reacts with relief and emotion to the apparent resolution, contrasting Pip’s mounting fear.
- Max HastingsRecently arrested and charged; his case fuels Pip’s fear that Hawkins still suspects her.
- Billy KarrasWrongfully convicted man likely to be released as DT case is re-investigated.