This book was thrilling and suspenseful. It showed a true ripple effect from a tragic event. This story was great and I did not see that ending coming. Kudos on this being a debut thriller! Wow!

Money is a strange thing. Most of us want more of it. We make plans for how we would spend it – going on holiday, paying off our mortgage, giving our kids a better life. Yet, money doesn’t necessarily make us happy. That is definitely the case for Holly and Savannah, the wife and daughter of a wonderful husband and father killed in a hit and run by someone with enough money to buy them a house and a life they could only dream of.

Holly makes the deal because she thinks it the right thing to do – to give her daughter a life she couldn’t have otherwise. Savannah wants that life, wants more. For both of them though, the grief of losing the man they love means that no amount of money can make them feel better. It doesn’t seem to be helping the person paying them off either – they are wracked with guilt over what they’ve done. It’s all a big old mess, one none of them seem to know how to get out of. And then it takes a deadly turn.

Given the title, this is no surprise. What was was that the book wasn’t as deadly as I thought. In fact, it was more a story on the morals of what the characters had done that it was the fact someone was trying to kill Holly and Savannah. Once I’d gotten my head around that – which took a while I will admit – I have to say I quite liked it.

I liked the characters, I liked the moral dilemmas they faced, and I liked the way they dealt with them in a way that felt human, not forced. I didn’t so much like the ending, which felt a little like an ‘add on’ that I could have done without. Overall, though, this was a jolly good read. One I’d recommend (as long as you don’t want a high body-count!) – 4 Stars!

This book was a quick read with good twists that had me flying through the pages. The author kept us hooked by narrating through different POVs, I felt drawn into the characters' stories. Trying to link how their stories fit together with each other. The characters are a driving force of the story. Even though the climax twist wasn't unpredictable or mind boggling, it didn't affect the overall reading experience. Definitely recommend it to readers who love a good thriller!

This is a super entertaining, quick read. The short chapters help with the quick pace, and I enjoyed the alternating timelines and points of view.

Good As Dead is the first book I have read by Susan Walter after the synopsis drew me in, making this an exciting and anticipated read. Overall, this has a great plot concept, however, the multiple points of view made this a complex read.

The beginning was amazing and intriguing. The reader is dropped straight into the action, making the most of this a great page-turner. The chapters are short and punchy, making this easy to fly through.

However, I needed to complete a little diagram to remember how each character was connected to the other, as I found myself getting slightly confused. The timeline jumping from past to present throughout also was rather unappealing.

Despite these criticisms, I would still say this is worth picking up. I liked it, just didn't love it but it hasn't put me off reading more of this author's work, and as far as thrillers go, this is OK. Just keep a pen and notebook handy whilst reading this!

YESSSSS GIRL! Loved this one, so fun! Exciting story line, excellent character development, amazing twists, the pages flew by and I enjoyed every word! Does money buy happiness? You’ll have to read this to find out, don’t miss this one! Can’t wait for this author to write another one!

Thank you Netgalley, Lake Union Publishing and Susan Walter for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Good as dead is a very compelling book. It is told from many prospectives and it jumps from the present to three months in the past. There are many twists and turns and kept my interest. I definitely plan on reading more from this author.

"It all starts with a promise from a stranger: We’ll take care of everything" this was what got me invested and I'm glad I did. It was such a good read and a great plot.

When Holly's husband dies in a tragic accident leaving her and their daughter to fend for themselves, how could she possibly turn down an offer that would solve all of their financial worries?

I'm not going to lie, I was initially drawn to this book because the title and premise reminded me of the Netflix show Dead To Me, which I loved, and this book did not disappoint.
Fast-paced and compelling, this is a perfect, quick, thriller read.
The consistent form in the rotating POVs and flashbacks made it really easy to follow and draw the necessary connections between past and present without having it spelled out for you. I found myself invested in each of the characters' stories and finding out how they connected with one another.
While the ultimate reveal and "plot twist" wasn't necessarily mind-blowing, neither did it detract from the overall enjoyment of the story and it also felt well thought out and executed.

Long story short, if you, like me, enjoyed Dead to Me on Netflix (or just fast-paced thrillers in general) I would definitely check out this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my e-arc of this title, received in exchange for an honest review.

Good as Dead by Susan Walter has quite an interesting premise that makes you think about what you’d have done in similar circumstances. Holly lost her husband in a hit and run accident. Before she even laid him to rest, the guilty party’s fixer approached her with an offer that was difficult to refuse. In exchange for her silence and the deletion of the dashcam recording, Holly and her daughter would get a huge financial settlement. Holly and Savannah want justice. However, they are struggling financially and there is no telling how a legal suit would go. Would it drag out in court? How will the two survive during that time? The decision to accept the offer is easy to judge because yes, its wrong. However, I couldn’t judge the 2.

The story is focused on events that took place once Holly and Savannah moved into a new, affluent neighborhood as part of the settlement. Their neighbors are suspicious of them. In addition, the 2 are struggling with own guilt of having accepted the settlement. With such a huge secret and a number of people involved, I was curious to see if anyone would crack. I was also curious about guilty party and the entire deal. Of course, the nosy neighbours had me nervous too.

The narrative style is quite interesting with a number of narrators including Holly, Savannah, the Fixer, Holly’s nosy new neighbors and the guilty party. Worry not though, it was easy to keep track of all of the them and the story has quite an easy flow.

This was a fast-paced psychological thriller that had me at the edge of my seat up to the last page.

This is a fast-paced psychological thriller told from multiple perspectives. I was hooked from the beginning. It's a quick read that you won't want to put down. The only thing I didn't love was the tiny bit of romance weaved in. I love a good romance, but this didn't need it!

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. What a read! Gripping and twisty, the pace never lets up. Told from multiple points of view the story just builds. Great writing, great characters and thoroughly unputdownable. Highly highly recommended!

This story starts with a car accident whereby Holly 's husband is killed and Holly and her daughter Savannah have been paid by an anonymous person to keep quiet. They have been set up in an amazing house with millions of dollars in the bank, but they have to remain silent about what happened.

This book would make a good action thriller film with plenty of twists and plots of under-handed actions, whilst in the background a love was growing in secrecy.

However, it was quite confusing to get to grips with the different time scales, jumping back and forth over a period of 3 months and with the introduction of different characters along the way, it was easy at times to know what character was saying what until a page into the chapter, maybe if the chapters were labelled with each character name at the beginning it would be helpful.

Although this narrative is a bit far-fetched, when you consider if a grieving mother and daughter would be so desperate to be willingly bought by not sharing key evidence with the police? Although with the introduction of Libby and Andy' and their financial circumstances, I found it interesting the parallels that were established between the two families. Both families trying to live the true LA dream

I enjoyed this book but I think I was hoping for a few more unexpected explosives revelations.that might have occurred between Jack and Holly. And although I thought Evan might end up being the bigger villain and double cross everyone, due his want for money and power, his character became the softest.

Once I got into this book, I found the book both enthralling and intriguing, even though a bit confusing due to the time differences over concurrent chapters. . With Holly and Savannah living opposite a retired investigative journalist, I think you knew that justice and truth would out. However, the manner in which the author Walter's moves to this final point is so energetic, gripping and unexpected. A thoroughly great read.

I can't describe this book except to say that it's compulsively readable. I absolutely could not put it down.

Dual timelines and multiple perspectives often become very difficult to keep track of this, but this author pulls it off flawlessly. The web of connections between the characters is well-woven and interesting. The characters are fleshed out well and are all great; flawed but sympathetic.

I couldn't possibly say enough good things about this book. One of my favorites of the year so far. Can't wait for more from this author!

After going through a long period of crazy work times with no time to read, I was looking for a true escapist thriller. This one fit the bill perfectly. A fast and suspenseful read with plenty of intrigue and just the right amount of twists and turns..

This book is told by multiple narrators, and begins with a horrible car accident, the family whose life it shattered, and the man who is desperate to cover it up. The characters in the book lead lives that are intertwined in mysterious and coincidental ways, and these intersections reveal themselves slowly throughout the book. I really liked the character of Savannah, the sixteen-year-old daughter at the center of the family tragedy who decides to take matters into her own hands. Some of the plot twists in the book were fairly predictable, but they were satisfying and well-executed. The motivations of all the characters are interesting and fully realized with some fun twists and surprises.

The book never loses steam and is fun to read from start to finish — very fast-paced with a lot of suspense. Interesting issues, from Hollywood deals to keeping up with the Joneses, are featured. The characters are very well drawn. I was very impressed with this debut effort and look forward to reading more thrillers by Susan Walter!

Thanks to Lake Union and NetGalley for the ARC of this fun thriller.

This book was an amazing surprise! There’s so much buzz about it right now! Hollys husband was killed in a terrible accident but she’s been offered help to stay silent. Too bad secrets are impossible to keep. Really enjoyed this one and hope to see more from this author.

3.75 stars

Y'all, I am having such a hard time rating this book.

It has so many things going for it: multiple POVs, fast-paced writing, great characters, and some very interesting observations about wealth and deceit. I can tell that Walter has done work in TV before because she does a fabulous job of giving you distinct and interesting perspectives on the material.

However, while Good as Dead was billed as a suspense/thriller novel, I never felt for a second that it deserved that distinction.

Yes, there are thrilling elements and moments of suspense (although they are sprinkled sparingly throughout and appear in earnest only in the last 20% of the book). That being said, this is about as much of a thriller as Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere.

Good as Dead is most successful when it is examining power dynamics and how a sudden lack of wealth can lead people to take desperate measures. The thriller element is probably the most underdeveloped part of the novel; while we have six narrators, the one character that would really bring the story together is never utilized in that way and it leaves their motivations feeling a bit weak. For me, this book either needed to move into complete suspense/psychological thriller or dig deeper into its own ideas about wealth/power.

All in all, I thought this was an incredibly strong debut from Susan Walter and I am very eager to see what she delivers next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

Okay so this book shook me. I am scared and I finished reading this about a week ago. I think this would make an excellent premise for a series or movie. Super well done.

I’m happy I didn’t pay for it. The writing was good but the story was so predictable that I couldn’t finish it fast enough. That’s how I know if I am enjoying a book or not. If it’s a great story then I just want to keep on reading. On a positive note……might be an ok Lifetime movie if you like that kinda thing. Personally, I do not.

When Holly Kendrick got into an accident she didn't know her life would change so drastically.

A hit-and-run accident leaves Holly in hospital, seriously injured and her husband dead. Waiting for her mother to wake up, Holly's 16 years old daughter Savannah is just getting used to the fact that the life she knew is gone when Evan offers her something they desperately need - money.
But Evan is a fixer, trying to make amends in the name of the guilty party- accepting his offer means that the paycheck to paycheck life will be behind them but it also means no talking, investigating or persecuting the person who is responsible for the accident.


The book is told in 6 alternating points of views and every time the POV changes there is a chapter from the previous events, dating back three months in the past, and then it goes back to the future.
The chapters are short but captivating and the alternating POV's were easy to follow. The build of chapters was what really drove me into the story, you get introduced to all the important characters without feeling overwhelmed.
The plot was (for me) a little bit predictable but delivered cleverly.

I think the way this story was built and written is what gave me such enjoyment reading it, and after some not so interesting work i had previously read, this one greatly surprised me. I have high hopes for Susan Walter's new works(s) if she intends to write some.