A new thriller asks: Can a dying woman solve her own murder?
This is the clever premise of Holly Jackson's new thriller, 'Not Quite Dead Yet.' The novel, Jackson's first for adults, opens on Halloween night when Jet, the snarky daughter of one of the richest families in Woodstock, Vermont, is violently attacked in her kitchen. Jet awakes in a hospital 36 hours later with a skull so severely fractured that she has been left with two dire options: undergoing a risky surgery that is likely to kill her, or living out the rest of her days until an aneurysm takes her life, in roughly a week. To the horror of her grieving family, Jet chooses the second option. She's going to use her final days to find her killer.
This is an irresistible setup, and Jackson ('A Good Girl's Guide to Murder') is talented enough to keep readers invested beyond the premise. The novel's biggest draw is the voice of its complicated, dying protagonist, whose acerbic personality often alienates those around her. In particular, Jet's antagonistic exchanges with her judgmental but worried mother reveal a scorched history of petulance, contempt, and a loss of trust between parent and child. This complicated relationship is echoed by other members of Jet's family, who share a history of money troubles and personal tragedy.
Jet's childhood friend Billy is one of the few people who isn't put off by her sarcasm. A devoted friend, he agrees to assist Jet as she tries to discover who assaulted her. Woodstock is small, and the outsize wealth of Jet's family has seemingly affected everyone who resides in the town. There's no shortage of potential assailants: a drunk man who confronts Jet about the havoc caused by her family's influence; an embittered ex-boyfriend; even her sister-in-law, Jet's former best friend.
The author gambles that her caustic protagonist won't be as distancing to readers as she is to most of the people in Woodstock. This becomes more challenging as Jet's macabre humor descends even deeper when she learns of her death sentence. When pressed about her impending demise, Jet shrugs and says, 'If you've gotta die, might as well be funny about it.'
At times, Jet's attitude strains credulity. Would someone facing certain death within a week really be so invested in the intricacies of an investigation, even if it is of an attempt on her own life? Moreover, readers may find Jet's nihilism exasperating, and the constant dad-joke-level quips about her impending death ('Did you sleep well?' … 'Like the dead.') don't help. Jet is such a powerful figure, and Jackson imbues her with such a forceful personality, that she yanks attention away from other characters. 'The world doesn't revolve around you, you know!' Jet's enigmatic sister-in-law tells her. 'Well, I'm the one dying this week, so it can revolve around me just a little bit, 'kay? Temporarily,' Jet retorts. Of course that's true, but one has the sense that Jet also insisted last week that the world revolve around her — as well as every week before that.
That said, some readers may be drawn to Jet's individualism and even find it empowering. And, to Jackson's credit, as Jet's health worsens, her resolution and determination are credibly shaken. In one harrowing scene, she wakes to discover that her right arm is paralyzed: 'Jet pressed her working fingers to her right arm. Pressed harder. Harder. Half-moon imprints from her nails in the skin. She felt nothing. Just a hunk of meat, attached to her shoulder.' She screams to Billy for help.
Even those readers who don't find themselves won over by Jet during these last days of her life will be caught up in the mystery, as she and Billy uncover painful secrets behind the Mason family's business and within their own lives. Jackson has written more than a singular character study or a captivating pitch. 'Not Quite Dead Yet' is a harsh but ultimately successful story of redemption, love, and the accepted burdens of friendship and family.
E.A. Aymar's most recent novel is 'When She Left.'
By Holly Jackson.
Bantam. 400 pp. $28
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Virginia State Police identify two victims killed in crash on I-64 in Augusta County
Virginia State Police have identified two people who were killed on Interstate 64 after a truck went off the roadway the morning of July 22 in Augusta County. A 2026 Freightliner TMA crash truck, used to protect workers and motorists in highway work zones, was eastbound on I-64. At approximately 6:19 a.m. at mile marker 89, police said the driver overcorrected, causing the truck to veer off the right side of the interstate. The truck went through a guardrail and down an embankment, striking a tree and overturning on its side. Both the driver and passenger in the truck died at the scene. The driver was identified as Georgeanna L. Hardesty, 51, of Iron Gate. The passenger was Sabrina L. Harris, 50, of Covington. Both were wearing seatbelts, police said. The crash remains under investigation. More: Art Hive calls for help to add accessibility ramp, inclusive mural More: Two Waynesboro police officers indicted amid allegations they assaulted fellow cop More: The Box to offer nightlife and events space in Staunton Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at bzinn@ You can also follow him on X (formerly Twitter). This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Victims in I-64 crash in Augusta County identified by state police Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Shelter-in-place order issued in Harrisonburg after random knife attack injures woman
A shelter-in-place order was issued late in the afternoon in Harrisonburg after a woman was attacked by a stranger with a knife on July 23. The victim, a 54-year-old Harrisonburg resident, was taken to Sentara RMH with critical injuries but she is expected to recover, a press release said. The attack took place in the 1000 block of Chicago Avenue, prompting the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Emergency Communication Center to issue the shelter-in-place order for the neighborhood and nearby streets. Officers from the Harrisonburg Police Department immediately began to search the area for the suspect, who fled the scene. A police canine tracked the suspect's scent to a possible location, the release said, which led to surveillance footage being obtained. The footage was shared across multiple platforms, police said, and the suspect was identified as 44-year-old Hunter Booth of Harrisonburg. "The Harrisonburg Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T.) Team executed a search warrant athis known residence on Chicago Avenue, and Booth was taken into custody without incident," the release said. Booth is charged with attempted first-degree murder. He is being held at the Rockingham-Harrisonburg Regional Jail. More: Round 2: Waynesboro hosting Back to School Bash July 27 More: Virginia State Police identify two victims killed in crash on I-64 in Augusta County Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at bzinn@ You can also follow him on X (formerly Twitter). This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Harrisonburg man charged with attempted first-degree murder
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Does this look like a real woman? AI Vogue model raises concerns about beauty standards
There's a new supermodel in town. She's striking, stylish... and not real. In August's print edition of Vogue, a Guess advert features a flawless blonde model showing off a striped maxi dress and a floral playsuit from the brand's summer collection. In small print in one corner, the ad reveals that she was created using AI. While Vogue says the AI model was not an editorial decision, it is the first time an AI-generated person has featured in the magazine. The advert has been met with controversy and raises questions about what this means for real models who have fought for greater diversity, and for consumers - particularly young people - already struggling with unrealistic beauty standards. Seraphinne Vallora is the company behind Guess's controversial advert. Its founders, Valentina Gonzalez and Andreea Petrescu, tell the BBC they were approached by Guess's co-founder, Paul Marciano, on Instagram and were asked to create an AI model as part of the brand's summer campaign. "We created 10 draft models for him and he selected one brunette woman and one blonde that we went ahead and developed further," Gonzalez says. She explains there's often a misconception that AI image generation is simple, saying it is actually a complex process. The company has five employees who create AI models, and it can take up to a month from idea inception to the completed product. The pair say they charge anywhere up to low six figures for a client like Guess. 'Disheartening' But Felicity Hayward, a plus-size model who has been in the industry for more than a decade, says using AI models in fashion campaigns "feels lazy and cheap". "Either Guess is doing this to create a talking point and get free publicity or they want to cut costs and don't think about the implications of that." She describes Vogue's decision to include the advert as "very disheartening and quite scary", and worries it could undermine years of work towards more diversity in the industry. The fashion world was making real progress to be more inclusive in the 2010s - the decade saw Valentina Sampaio become the first openly trans model to walk for Victoria's Secret, Halima Aden was the first hijab-wearing model in global campaigns, and brands like Savage x Fenty featured plus-size models on the runway. But in recent years, Hayward believes, the industry has slipped backwards because "these people are just not getting booked any more". And the use of AI models is "another kick in the teeth, and one that will disproportionately affect plus-size models", she warns. Gonzalez and Petrescu are adamant they don't reinforce narrow beauty standards. "We don't create unattainable looks - actually the AI model for Guess looks quite realistic," Petrescu says. "Ultimately, all adverts are created to look perfect and usually have supermodels in, so what we are doing is no different." The pair admit the AI images on their company's Instagram page are lacking in diversity and promote unrealistic beauty standards. They say they have tried to be more inclusive, but it's the users who don't engage much with those posts. "We've posted AI images of women with different skin tones, but people do not respond to them - we don't get any traction or likes," Gonzalez tells the BBC. "At the end of the day, we are a business and use images on Instagram that will create a conversation and bring us clients." The company is yet to experiment with creating plus-size women, claiming "the technology is not advanced enough for that". An ad campaign by Dove in 2024 was designed to highlight the biases in AI. In the advert, an image generator is asked to create the most beautiful woman in the world and produces virtually indistinguishable women who are young, thin and white, with blonde hair and blue eyes. The images generated look similar to the Guess AI model. Hayward worries that seeing these unattainable images could have an impact on people's mental health and negatively affect their body image. Concern around unrealistic beauty standards and the damaging effects they can have is nothing new. But unlike traditional airbrushing, which at least began with a real person, these AI models are digitally created to look perfect, free from human flaws, inconsistencies or uniqueness. While some high-profile figures such as Ashley Graham, Jameela Jamil and Bella Thorne have spoken out against image editing and refuse to have their pictures Photoshopped, the use of AI sidesteps such conversations entirely. Vogue's decision to include an AI-generated advert has caused a stir on social media, with one user on X writing: "Wow! As if the beauty expectations weren't unrealistic enough, here comes AI to make them impossible. Even models can't compete." Vanessa Longley, CEO of eating disorder charity Beat, tells the BBC the advert is "worrying". "If people are exposed to images of unrealistic bodies, it can affect their thoughts about their own body, and poor body image increases the risk of developing an eating disorder," she says. 'Exceptionally problematic' Adding to the issue is the lack of transparency - it is not a legal requirement to label AI-generated content in the UK. While Guess labelled its advert as AI-generated, the disclaimer is small and subtle. Readers may overlook it and, at a glance, the image appears entirely lifelike. Sinead Bovell, a former model and now tech entrepreneur, wrote an article for Vogue five years ago about the risks of AI replacing modelling. She tells the BBC that not labelling AI content clearly is "exceptionally problematic" because it could have a detrimental impact on people's mental health. "Beauty standards are already being influenced by AI. There are young girls getting plastic surgery to look like a face in a filter – and now we see people who are entirely artificial," she says. Aside from the impact AI models could have on a consumer, especially if unlabelled, what about the impact of this technology on those working in the fashion industry? Sara Ziff is a former model and founder of Model Alliance, an organisation that aims to advance workers' rights in the fashion industry. She says Guess's AI campaign is "less about innovation and more about desperation and need to cut costs". More broadly, the former model thinks AI in the fashion industry is not inherently exploitative, but can often come at the expense of the people who bring it to life because there are many more staff involved in a photoshoot than just the model and the photographer. "AI can positively impact the industry, but there need to be meaningful protections for workers," she explains. 'Supplement not replace' Seraphinne Vallora rejects the notion that it is putting people out of work, and says its pioneering technology "is supplementary and not meant to replace models". "We're offering companies another choice in how they market a product," Petrescu explains. The pair add that they have created jobs with their company, and part of the process of creating AI models requires them to hire a real model and photographer to see how the product looks on a person in real life. However, its website lists one of the benefits of working with them as being cost-efficient because it "eliminates the need for expensive set-ups, MUA artists, venue rentals, stage setting, photographers, travel expenses, hiring models". Vogue has come under fire for including the advert in its print edition, with one person on X saying the fashion magazine had "lost credibility". Bovell says the magazine is "seen as the supreme court of the fashion industry", so allowing the AI advert to run means they are "in some way ruling it as acceptable". The BBC approached Vogue and Guess for comment. Vogue said it was an advert, not an editorial decision, but declined to respond further. So, what does the future of the modelling industry look like? Gonzalez and Petrescu believe that as their technology improves, they will be even more in demand by brands looking to do things differently. Bovell thinks there will be more AI-generated models in the future, but "we aren't headed to a future where every model is created by AI". She sees positives in the development of AI in the industry - predicting that anybody could "start to see ourselves as the fashion models" because we will be able to create a personal AI avatar to see how clothes look and fit. However, she adds that we may get to the stage of "society opting out, and not being interested in AI models because it's so unattainable and we know it's not real". More Weekend Picks The procedures driving UK's cosmetic surgery rise Women share their bittersweet experience after taking weight-loss drugs Can LED face masks transform your skin? Here's what the experts say Solve the daily Crossword
