Author Guide | BookFairy
📖 About Holly Jackson
Holly Jackson is a British bestselling author of mystery and thriller novels, best known for creating A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, the young adult crime series that introduced readers to Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Born in 1992, Jackson grew up in Buckinghamshire, England, and developed an interest in storytelling from an early age. She later studied literary linguistics and creative writing at the University of Nottingham, where she also completed a master’s degree in English.
Her debut novel, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, was published in 2019 and became an international bestseller. Its success led to two sequels, a companion prequel novella and a television adaptation.
Jackson subsequently expanded beyond the series with standalone thrillers, including Five Survive (2022) and The Reappearance of Rachel Price (2024).
In 2025, she published Not Quite Dead Yet, her first adult mystery novel.
Her books are known for carefully constructed mysteries, unreliable information, secrets, moral dilemmas and young protagonists determined to discover truths that others would prefer to keep hidden.
On BookFairy, I’m reading and reviewing Holly Jackson’s novels, sharing my thoughts on their mysteries, characters, atmosphere and unexpected revelations.
💜 Why I Read Holly Jackson
I’ve read and listened to several Holly Jackson novels, and I’ve come to appreciate her ability to create mysteries that immediately capture my attention.
What I particularly enjoy is the feeling of investigating alongside the characters.
Her stories encourage me to examine details, question apparently innocent people and reconsider my theories whenever new information emerges.
I also appreciate her writing style. It’s accessible, engaging and carefully paced, with enough suspense to make me want to continue reading without becoming unnecessarily complicated.
One of the things that keeps bringing me back to her books is the balance between the mystery and the emotional experiences of her characters.
The investigations matter, but so do the relationships, personal struggles and consequences that surround them.
That doesn’t mean every twist surprises me. Occasionally, I can see where a particular revelation is heading, and sometimes I wish certain supporting characters received more attention.
Nevertheless, Holly Jackson has become one of my favourite contemporary thriller authors because I can generally trust her to deliver a compelling mystery.
📚 Books Reviewed on BookFairy
📖 Not Quite Dead Yet (2025)
Not Quite Dead Yet is Holly Jackson’s first adult mystery novel.
The story follows Jet Mason, a young woman who discovers that she has only a limited amount of time to investigate the attack that will eventually kill her.
It is an unusual murder mystery because the victim is still alive and actively searching for the person responsible.
I experienced this novel as an audiobook, although I also own the beautiful Waterstones Exclusive signed first edition.
What I enjoyed most was the steady development of the mystery, the believable characters and the way each new discovery raised further questions.
I also appreciated the balance between suspense and emotion.
Although some revelations were more predictable than I had hoped, I thoroughly enjoyed the reading experience.
📖 Read my Not Quite Dead Yet review on BookFairy
More Holly Jackson reviews will be linked here as I continue working through her books.
📖 A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder — Reading Order
Holly Jackson’s best-known series follows Pippa Fitz-Amobi, a teenage amateur investigator whose determination to uncover the truth draws her into increasingly dangerous situations.
The main trilogy should be read in publication order.
📚 Main Trilogy
| Book | Original Title | Publication Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder | 2019 |
| 2 | Good Girl, Bad Blood | 2020 |
| 3 | As Good as Dead | 2021 |
📕 Companion Prequel
Kill Joy (2021) is a novella set before the events of the first novel.
It follows Pip during a murder-mystery party and provides an additional glimpse into her curiosity and investigative personality.
Although the events take place earlier, I recommend reading Kill Joy after the first novel, or after completing the trilogy.
⭐ Recommended Reading Order
- A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (2019)
- Good Girl, Bad Blood (2020)
- As Good as Dead (2021)
- Kill Joy (2021) — Companion prequel
💜 BookFairy Recommendation: Begin with A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. Save Kill Joy until you’re familiar with Pip and the series’ atmosphere.
🇷🇴 A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder — Romanian Editions
The series has been translated into Romanian and published by Corint, under the Leda / Leda Edge imprints.
The Romanian series is known as Crimă perfectă.
| Original Title | Romanian Title |
|---|---|
| A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder | Crimă perfectă. Instrucțiuni pentru fete cuminți |
| Good Girl, Bad Blood | Fată cuminte, răzbunare cruntă |
| As Good as Dead | La un pas de moarte |
| Kill Joy | Crima de la conacul Remy |
Some Romanian editions have appeared with alternative covers or television tie-in designs.
These are editions of existing books, not additional instalments.
📚 Holly Jackson Books in Publication Order
The following list includes all seven confirmed original novels and novellas published through October 2026.
| Year | Title | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder | YA mystery — Series #1 |
| 2020 | Good Girl, Bad Blood | YA mystery — Series #2 |
| 2021 | As Good as Dead | YA mystery — Series #3 |
| 2021 | Kill Joy | Companion prequel novella |
| 2022 | Five Survive | Standalone YA thriller |
| 2024 | The Reappearance of Rachel Price | Standalone YA mystery |
| 2025 | Not Quite Dead Yet | Standalone adult mystery |
Deluxe editions, paperback reprints, audiobooks and boxed sets are not counted as new original works.
🔎 Holly Jackson’s Standalone Thrillers
Beyond the A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series, Jackson has published three standalone novels.
Five Survive (2022)
Romanian title: Cine moare în zori
Six friends embark on a road trip, but their journey takes a terrifying turn when they become trapped in an isolated location.
As the situation becomes increasingly dangerous, secrets and suspicions begin to threaten the group.
This novel can be read independently of Jackson’s other books.
The Reappearance of Rachel Price (2024)
Romanian title: Reapariția lui Rachel Price
Bel Price has spent most of her life dealing with the disappearance of her mother, Rachel.
When Rachel unexpectedly reappears during the production of a documentary about the case, Bel begins questioning her mother’s account of what happened.
The novel explores family secrets, unreliable memories and the difficulty of distinguishing truth from carefully constructed stories.
Not Quite Dead Yet (2025)
Romanian title: Înainte de a muri
Jackson’s first adult thriller follows Jet Mason as she attempts to uncover the identity of her attacker before her time runs out.
Its unusual premise transforms a murder investigation into a race against death.
Unlike the author’s previous standalone novels, Not Quite Dead Yet was marketed for an adult readership.
🇷🇴 Holly Jackson’s Standalone Novels in Romanian
| Original Title | Romanian Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Five Survive | Cine moare în zori | Corint |
| The Reappearance of Rachel Price | Reapariția lui Rachel Price | Corint |
| Not Quite Dead Yet | Înainte de a muri | Litera |
The Romanian edition of Not Quite Dead Yet was translated by Dana-Ligia Ilin.
🎬 A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder — Television Adaptation
The success of Holly Jackson’s debut series led to a television adaptation of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.
The series introduced Pip’s investigation to a wider audience beyond the novels.
Readers discovering the story through television may enjoy returning to the books to experience the investigation as Jackson originally wrote it.
For first-time readers, I recommend starting with the novel before watching the adaptation, particularly if you enjoy uncovering clues without knowing the outcome.
📦 Collector’s Editions & Box Sets
Holly Jackson’s books have appeared in multiple formats, including:
- Standard paperback and hardcover editions.
- Deluxe and collector’s editions.
- Special editions with decorative edges or bonus material.
- Complete A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder boxed sets.
- Audiobooks and digital editions.
- Television tie-in editions.
These versions may be particularly interesting to collectors, but they do not change the number of original books in the bibliography.
I own the signed Waterstones Exclusive first edition of Not Quite Dead Yet, which is a lovely addition to my collection.
⭐ Where Should You Start with Holly Jackson?
If you’re new to Holly Jackson, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is the natural starting point.
It introduces Pip Fitz-Amobi and the investigative style that established Jackson’s reputation.
However, you don’t need to commit to an entire trilogy to discover her writing.
If you’d prefer a standalone book:
- Choose Five Survive for a tense survival thriller.
- Choose The Reappearance of Rachel Price for a mystery built around family secrets.
- Choose Not Quite Dead Yet for an adult mystery with an unusual premise.
All three can be read independently.
💜 My Favourite Holly Jackson Book
Holly Jackson has become one of my favourite contemporary thriller authors, although I’m not ready to choose one definitive favourite from everything I’ve read.
Not Quite Dead Yet reminded me exactly why I enjoy her books.
It delivered the engaging mystery, steady suspense and believable characters that I’ve come to expect from her writing.
I appreciated how carefully the investigation unfolded, even if some of the revelations didn’t entirely surprise me.
For me, the pleasure of reading Holly Jackson comes from the journey through the mystery rather than simply reaching the final twist.
I’ll keep updating this page as I read more of her work and revisit the books that made me a fan in the first place.
📚 Complete Holly Jackson Bibliography
Explore the complete bibliography of Holly Jackson, including the A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder trilogy, its companion novella, standalone thrillers and other published works.
The bibliography includes original publication dates, recommended reading orders, Romanian translations and links to BookFairy reviews.