It's Max Hastings. The story sets up Daniel da Silva as the red herring, but the copycat killings are all orchestrated by Max to torment and frame Pip. He's been festering since 'A Good Girl's Guide to Murder,' and his plan is a direct, twisted response to her. The reveal is shocking because you realize the danger was never really 'out there'; it grew from the consequences of her first investigation.
Man, that's a tricky one because the book deliberately misleads you. The official suspect for most of the police investigation is definitely Daniel da Silva. All the physical evidence points his way, and given his connection to the original case, it's a convincing frame job. Pip buys into it initially, which is her big mistake.
The real answer, the mastermind, is Max Hastings. Yeah, the rich kid bully from the first book. He orchestrates the entire copycat scheme to get revenge on Pip for ruining his life. He's the one who actually commits the new murders, plants the clues, and manipulates everything to make Daniel look guilty. It's a brutal twist because it shows how Pip's past victories created a nemesis who studied her methods and used them against her. Hastings being the suspect flips the whole series on its head—the monster wasn't some stranger from a past crime, but a product of her own success.
Okay, so I just finished 'As Good As Dead' last night and my mind is blown, but also kinda shattered? The main suspect shifts so much throughout the book, it's part of the whole point. For the first half, the police and everyone are laser-focused on Daniel da Silva. The evidence seems to line up, and Pip's own trauma from the previous books makes her want to believe it, to have a tidy answer.
But that's where Jackson flips the script. Pip's obsession leads her to dig deeper, and the real suspect she uncovers is the copycat—the person re-enacting the original 'Andie Bell' case to frame someone else. Without giving too much away, the true architect of the new killings is someone much closer to home, someone exploiting Pip's own reputation and the town's history. The final reveal of who's really pulling the strings made me put the book down for a minute. It wasn't just a 'whodunit' twist; it felt like a commentary on how trauma and notoriety can create monsters, sometimes from the most unexpected places. I'm still turning that last confrontation over in my head.
Max Hastings. He's the copycat. After what Pip did to him in the first book, he spent years planning this elaborate revenge. He kills Leigh and frames Daniel, knowing Pip would get involved. The genius—and horror—of it is that he uses her own investigative fame and methodology as the trap. Every step she takes following the clues is a step he predicted. He's not just a suspect; he's her mirror image, a detective of her own downfall.
I actually have a slightly different read on this. While Max Hastings is the physical perpetrator, the conceptual suspect for a huge chunk of the book is Pip herself. Her paranoia, her PTSD, her inability to let go—they all point the finger back at her own deteriorating mental state. The town, the police, even her friends start to see her as unstable and potentially involved.
So when the reveal happens, it's a double layer: we get the literal suspect, Max, but also the thematic suspect, which is the corrosive nature of true crime obsession. Pip was suspecting everyone, including herself, because the environment of suspicion was the real trap. Hastings just weaponized it. That's why the ending hits so hard; it's not just about catching a killer, but about Pip escaping the role the world had cast her in.
2026-06-26 18:11:01
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Freddie Ashford is a famous New York hockey player living the dream. He has money, fame and a serious long-term relationship until someone decided his life was too good. One night out with his teammates changed his life, turning it upside down. Freddie has been accused of a crime he didn’t commit, he lost his friends, his girlfriend, sponsor deals, and he is on the verge of losing his career.
Tatum Reid escaped from a controlling and abusive relationship with a hockey player. The only good thing she got from that relationship was her eight-year-old daughter. She promised herself never get involved with a hockey player again, but she finds a new in New York as a PR for a very famous Hockey Team. Her is to make sure the players behave on social media, and she is making her number one priority clearing Freddie’s name.
What happens when Tatum’s past comes knocking on her door? Her ex comes to play against the team she works for, and Freddie Ashford tries saving her the same way she is trying to save him. Will Tatum keep her feelings to herself, or will she allow Freddie to penetrate her icy heart and make her happy once more?
This is the fourth and final book of The Ashford Brothers Series. This book can be read as a stand-alone, but for better comprehension, it is better to read the other three. The Big Shot, The Joker, The Strong and finally The Jock.
I quit and dipped. City threw a parade.
Only Jenna Blake—my oh-so-gifted junior who claimed she could "see through killers' eyes"—lost it.
At her celebration banquet, she went full drama queen:
"I owe everything to Kate Mercer. Please, bring her back!"
I laughed. Cold. Not happening.
Last time around, I was the hotshot detective. But every clue I found? She dropped it first like she read my mind.
People started saying I was washed.
So I went all in—three months, no sleep, cracked a massive trafficking ring. Led the raid myself.
She beat me there. Again. Place was cleaned out.
Boom. She's the city's golden girl.
I'm the clown with no game.
Pressure got ugly. My head snapped. I died chasing the last scumbag.
Then—bam. I woke up. Same day. Raid morning. Round two.
Chloe is having a bad day that turns into a bad week. She gains more weight, forgets to pick up the milk, bribes an officer, and just can't seem to get caught up. Bad turns to worse when she catches her husband cheating on her, finds herself a murder suspect, and tries to avoid stranger danger.
With the sudden death of his sister, detective Dawson Wills was going to give everything to find her killer, he wanted to do it alone. To find and make the killer pay for causing him so much pain, but unfortunately, life doesn’t always give you what you desire. Dawson was giving a partner, one of the things he disliked as a detective.
Jane Johnson was Dawson's dream woman, how would Dawson maneuver his way from falling in love with this beautiful woman who was now his partner and finding his sister’s killer?
He dislikes having partners, but detective Jane was too beautiful to be disliked….
"I was the reason behind his success, but now, I will be the reason for his downfall."
Ashley Carter was the perfect and loyal wife every man in the business world envied. The woman that only Alex Montgomery could have.
Ashley thought she had it all until the night of their anniversary. An anonymous call ended a five-year-old solid union and the happy life of Ashley.
She was not just betrayed by her husband, but also lost all her properties and reputation in society because of him.
With shame and the constant smear by the media, Ashley left, but promised to return to fulfill those words.
And exactly three years later, she was back as a famous actress to take everyone who hurt her down. But she wasn't alone. She had the three most dangerous men fighting for her heart.
Now, her ex-husband is falling at her feet, begging for another chance and set to compete with these three men for her cold heart.
But love wasn't Ashley's priority anymore. Revenge and the unquenchable thirst for fame were.
And even if she decides to give it a second chance, who would she choose?
No one knows, but it is quite certain that she is out to destroy not just him, but everyone.
A series of past murders catch the attention of the police and the media.
All the people who were killed were women, all of which had some sort of relationship with a well known and successful businessman named Asriel Parker.
For some reason, the murders all point to him as the number one suspect and connection between them. The reasonable thing to do is to put him behind bars but there is one problem.
"Everyone is innocent in the eyes of the law until proven guilty."
There isn't a shred of evidence that actually pinpoints Asriel Parker as the culprit.
With that statement in mind, Selena March, a good police officer and detective is sent undercover as his live-in Personal Assistant to dig up whatever information she can use to put the murderer behind bars.
Selena has no idea what she signs up for but she knows for a fact that falling in love is not part of the whole 'undercover' mission
The killer in 'As Good As Dead' is Jason Bell, Pip's own brother. This twist hits hard because it's not some random villain but someone Pip trusted deeply. The book builds this reveal perfectly, dropping subtle hints about Jason's unstable behavior and his obsession with control. What makes it chilling is how normal he seems at first—just a protective older brother. But as Pip digs deeper into her investigation, she uncovers his violent past and twisted logic. The final confrontation is brutal, with Jason justifying his murders as 'necessary' to keep Pip safe. Holly Jackson nails the psychological horror here, making the killer's identity both shocking and heartbreaking.