Holly Jackson

The brand new, explosive crime thriller from Holly Jackson, best-selling, award-winning author of the Good Girl's Guide to Murder trilogy.

Five Survive

Alesha Clifford

And there, nestled between old jackets and shoes, were the walkie-talkies. A piece of masking tape across the back of each, one with MOM, one with RED. She hadn't been looking for them, not really, just looking to look, to preserve her mom for another day, and then another. Red left her own walkie-talkie there, took the one labeled MOM down to her room. She stole a screwdriver from her dad - he was already mostly lost by then, but he could still pretend to function, still went to work - and, in the quiet of her room past midnight, she took apart the walkie-talkie. Piece by piece, wire by wire, but she never did find her mom's voice hiding inside.

Red hoped Arthur hadn't looked at her balled-up underwear. She knew one pair she'd packer had unicorns on it; Santa had gotten them for her that final Christmas. Red hadn't believed in him since she was eight, but it was tradition that Santa got the Kennys ugly socks and underwear for Christmas. Only, Santa must have died when her mom did.

Aimee :)

It's your choice, Red. But i’ll be there, I promise.

Time must move backward here in this in-between place, reversing, because the night was coming back, darkness reclaiming the sky, taking Red with it. But Mom stayed with her, right here in her hand, at the end of all things.

But the woman wasn't looking at Red. She was looking at the dark shape of the walkie-talkie in Red's hand.

Something stung Red in the chest, breaking through.

Another clap, another firework in the officer's hands. A second punch, lower down, through her ribs.

The exact sound she'd heard during that last phone call with Mom, the phone call that changed everything, ripped the world apart. This was it.

It wasn't a doorbell, because the police were right; it couldn't be. It was a ringtone. Catherine Lavoy's ringtone.

What are you doing?' Oliver asked her, his shoulders shifting, staring down at the phone in Red's hands.

'Your mom, Red said, her voice breaking, splitting in half. I think your mom was there.'

Red tried to speak, tripping over her own breath, too fast, throat closing in around it.

Catherine betrayed you, Catherine gave up your name months ago.

'Help, call police! There's a shooter down McNair Cemetery Road and one of us has been sh-'

A hand came out of nowhere, colliding with the walkie-talkie, smacking it out of Red's hands.

It fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.

Red's eyes stayed down there with the broken walkie-talkie, not looking up. Because she knew that hand, the one that came out of nowhere. Knew the black scribbled check mark and boxes by his knuckles, matching the ones on hers.

Maddy was just a few feet from the truck now, movement in her neck, ponytail swinging as she glanced up.

'Go on,' Oliver whispered, guiding her forward.

The sniper was out there, hiding in the night. She couldn't see him, but he could see her.

The door of the RV slammed shut behind her.

One gasp. One scream. One hitch in Red's chest.

There were two of them out there, in the wide-open nothing Two of them. Two guns. Two red dots. No, this couldn't be happening. This wasn't supposed to happen.

'Sorry,' he sniffed. But we're in an RV. I was going to have to say it one time. Think I'd rather be cooking meth, though. Less risky.'

Oliver shot him a look, hardening his eyes.

Maybe that was why they didn't hear the first one, but Red did. A crack that split the night again, and the RV sank behind her, scraping on the gravel.

Another crack and hiss, and the front right of the RV buckled tipping them off balance.

"What the f_' Simon began, falling into Red.

The back left burst, the RV collapsing with it.

The RV grated against the road, screeching as it rolled to a stop.

This was the absolute worst way to die. Mid-squat-pissing whind a tree while Maddy's axe-murderer charged at her from De front. Dignified till the end. No, the worst way to die must be suffocating, no, no, actually, the worst was on your knees, two hors to the back of the - all right, all right, let's finish up here.

There wasn't anyone in the trees. Red knew that. She did.

The only people were the ones she knew of, behind her on the scrubland. It was just a rat, or a bat, or a raccoon, or maybe a vampire. But it didn't matter because she was finished.

Her legs shook as she straightened, pulling her underwear jeans back up, fastening the button and zipper in a hurry. lurched for her phone and held it up, the flashlight her pon against the night.

‘I assume there's a jack somewhere?’ he asked

‘I'm a Simon, not a Jack,’ Simon replied, with a wry smile that Oliver clearly hadn't noticed.

‘Let me help,' Simon said, shuffling over to Arthur and Red, crowding them. 'I'm good at maps.'

'You say you're good at everything,' Red said. 

’I am good at everything.' Simon answered. 'Except being humble.'

Red did bleed just to see the word, to hear it, to think it, to remember, the guilt leaving a crater in her chest. Blood, red as her name and red as her shame. So, she didn't think it, or remember, and she wouldn't look to the left to see her mom's face in her reflection in the window. No, she wouldn't. These eyes were just hers.

Aleeya Metro

"Would you think closet-beach-ball-mop-man was real if you saw him out and about?" she asked

Omygosh Oliver if I ever meet you in real life you better watch out

Ellen Ivey

I really enjoyed this book. It got me out of an incredibly difficult year long reading slump. 

The main character is such good representation of ADHD (even if it’s not specifically stated). Red being hung up on insignificant details in the midst of this crisis was so good. 

I liked the way Simon was good comedic relief, but in a realistic way. Actually using humor to cope. I also liked how they didn’t make him stupid or cowardly. He scared, like all of them. But when it came to voting whether or not to get Red out of the trailer, I firmly believe he voted no.

Maddy was a little flat, but not unrealistically so. She harbored guilt all these years from knowing that her mom probabaly murdered Reds, and that manifested in protecting her. And the way she’s naive and easily swayed by those she loves is displayed well here.

Reyna wanting to protect everyone was super sweet. And while I firmly am against cheaters, I understand on some level why she did it. Oliver strikes me as the type of person to be difficult to break up with. 

Arthur was extremely likeable too. The foreshadowing in his character was amazing. And upon rereading you’re almost mad about not guessing any of it. I liked the way he didn’t want anyone hurt, and that’s *why he did all of it.

And lastly, I even liked Oliver’s character. Not in the sense that he is an enjoyable person, but the writing is spectacular. It’s such a realistic depiction of what panic does to a person. Especially someone like Oliver, who spends his whole life in control. The loss of it sends him spiraling. It pushes any and all narcissistic traits forward. 

The book is action packed as well. Such a good way of keeping tension and suspense. I found myself naeusous while reading, like I could almost feel the tension in real life.

This book is amazing, and I highly reccomend it to get out of a reading slump. It’s action filled and a quick read despite its length. Everything Holly Jackson writes has me gripped start too finished.

Abby

I really enjoyed this book. It got me out of an incredibly difficult year long reading slump. 

The main character is such good representation of ADHD (even if it’s not specifically stated). Red being hung up on insignificant details in the midst of this crisis was so good. 

I enjoyed all the characters honestly.

I liked the way Simon was good comedic relief, but in a realistic way. Actually using humor to cope. I also liked how they didn’t make him stupid or cowardly. He scared, like all of them. But when it came to voting whether or not to get Red out of the trailer, I firmly believe he voted no.

Maddy was a little flat, but not unrealistically so. She harbored guilt all these years from knowing that her mom probabaly murdered Reds, and that manifested in protecting her. And the way she’s naive and easily swayed by those she loves is displayed well here.

Reyna wanting to protect everyone was super sweet. And while I firmly am against cheaters, I understand on some level why she did it. Oliver strikes me as the type of person to be difficult to break up with. 

Arthur was extremely likeable too. The foreshadowing in his character was amazing. And upon rereading you’re almost mad about not guessing any of it. I liked the way he didn’t want anyone hurt, and that’s *why he did all of it.

And lastly, I even liked Oliver’s character. Not in the sense that he is an enjoyable person, but the writing is spectacular. It’s such a realistic depiction of what panic does to a person. Especially someone like Oliver, who spends his whole life in control. The loss of it sends him spiraling. It pushes any and all narcissistic traits forward. 

The book is action packed as well. Such a good way of keeping tension and suspense. I found myself naeusous while reading, like I could almost feel the tension in real life.

This book is amazing, and I highly reccomend it to get out of a reading slump. It’s action filled and a quick read despite its length. Everything Holly Jackson writes has me gripped start too finished.

WELL. I highly recommend it for the claustrophobic setting and the numerous plot twists. The protagonist is hilarious to be and the ending >>>

I think Oliver is the most unbearable character in all of creation.

Mary

WELL. I highly recommend it for the claustrophobic setting and the numerous plot twists. The protagonist is hilarious to be and the ending >>>

I think Oliver is the most unbearable character in all of creation.

buny

** spoiler alert **
           redarthur 😭😭😭😭 holly jackson you're insane bc why did a ya mystery thriller made me shed tears at all. 2.25 stars bc of oliver's thickhead i was so glad he died at the end. the story is fast-paced but still feels too long for something that takes place over 6 hours alone??? yea overall id say it was frustrating to be in red's head and the drag was only made worth it by the revelations at the end. the romance tho . ugh!!!!!!!!!!! what i Still dont have answers to: who wrote the second yes and what was the fucking pattern of the curtains.

Julia

** spoiler alert **
           Omfg. Best book I have ever read. The characters were so good and they made me get so attached and the plot OOOOOOOOO, so good. AND THE ROMANCE BETWEEN RED AND ARTHUR WAS SOOOO CUTE.

Bookworm

Sumaiya 

definitely nothing went the way i expected 

the ending made me want to sob and i’m happy it was a little fast paced 

vyn 

PLOT TWIST WAS INSANE?????????

definitely nothing went the way i expected 

the ending made me want to sob and i’m happy it was a little fast paced 

kayla 

“..she took apart the walkie-talkie. Piece by piece, wire by wire, but she never did find her mom’s voice hiding inside.”

the plot of this book was severely underwhelming - the 'plot twist' reveals felt cartoonish and convoluted, springing out of no where with pretty much no way for the reader to discern what really happened without it being spelled out to them. certain characters felt infuriating and completely senseless, making decisions that wouldn't even have a chance of working when faced with a traumatizing situation like the one they're in, it was easy to tell that these subplots were just created for the 'wow factor'. unfortunately, those moments really pulled me out of the story and made it so so hard for me to actually care about any of the characters or what was going on.


despite that, i did enjoy holly jacksons writing. it was fast-paced and definitely tense at times, the descriptions of grief were beautiful and not what i expected out of this book. these discussions were genuinely heart-wrenching and i found myself near to tears at the end of the book (those who know.. know) so thats increased the rating dramatically. i loved the idea of this book but the cartoonish actions of the threat and the unexplained stupidity of the mc's threw me off way too much, because of this i can't give this book higher than a 2.5.

edit; 97% of the reveals were also extremely predictable, i guessed the main-ish one in the first couple chapters.. woops.

nina 

** spoiler alert **
           3.5 stars 

so who was the second “yes”

Maikah Sabrina

It was slow at first but once the important part happened, the story became fast-paced. Some parts in the plot were kind of predictable but not in a way that would make you want to stop reading. Also, I never thought I was capable of hating a fictional character so much, my blood was boiling as I was reading through the pages. Read it if you want to figure out who it is. The ending was okay but I would've preferred it if the villain suffered a bit more for what they did to Red.

Nanthanat Chompradist

** spoiler alert **
           4-4.5/5⭐️
- veryyyyyyy fast-paced
- I didn't like Red that much. I was kind of annoyed by her, so I wasn't rooting for her - in fact, I wasn't rooting for anyone to survive lol.
- Oliver was so annoying. He's one of the most disgusting characters I've ever encountered. How did he become the person he is?????? He gets worse with every turn of the page. I literally screamed 'YES' when he died 🤪. He deserved it.
- I cried for Don and Joyce - I can't bear it when old and kind people die.
- guess we will never know who the second 'yes' was (I think it's Maddy?)
- That twist at the end was unexpected!

THIS WAS SO GOOD THAT LAST PART JUST WHOAJSHSH

hira

irreparable emotional damage has been caused once again

Bettina Amarandos 

This was nowhere near as good as GGGTM series, which is pretty unfortunate because I was so excited to read this book. I found that the characters weren't as reliable and I didn't find myself as invested in them as say Pip and Ravi. I also found the book a bit predicatable, and while the first part of twists were often shocks the second part was predictable and ruined the overall shock value a bit. Had it not been for that last little tiny section of the book with the transcript and the news report I probably would've given this 2 stars, but that little bit alone bumped it to 3.

Very very good love it good plottwist love it it is amazing I hat Oliver 

Panda_beer 

Couldn’t put it down. Oliver got what he deserved 

Katie Roberts

i couldn'tput this book down even for a second! it was really fast paced and kept me at the edge of my seat the entire time. i got really attached to the characters (except oliver, i really hated that guy the entire book), and even though we found out in the end what arthur did, i still really love him (i know maybe i shouldn't, but i would love for red to forgive him in the future, the two definitely had chemistry). i feel worst about don and joyce though, the poor people! over all this was a really good book!!

kristin :)

I saw the plot twists coming from a mile away. I figured out most of the stuff so I wasn't really surprised. I feel like if you read a good amount of mysteries, the plot twists wouldn't be surprising to you either. HOWEVER, I still loved the book. I was so invested in the story and the characters - especially the characters. And the ending teared me up.

nuha ✨️

Elin Renkema

Amelie 

the plottwists in that book are so so good. Holly Jackson always has the best plottwists but five survive had me gasping the whole time. Ravi Sighn and Arthur are the most underrated book boyfriends and the Letter from Arthur has my heart I mean "Hey, remeber me sarge" was also good but the letter.

i loved it, it really kept my atention the whole book and the plot twist was amezing

Ilse van Seeters

carys jenkins

** spoiler alert **
           sobbing at 4am
this book had me begging for olivers death (and maddys too a lil)
i wish me got to see more of simon 
i didn’t think reyna was fleshed out a whole lot her entire purpose seemed to be progressing the plot surrounding oliver
and lowkey shipping arthur and red OK THEYRE CUTE SUE ME yes if they got together and we got another book (please holly i am on my knees) it would technically be a ya thriller turned mafia romance i LIVE for that idea actually

its 4:12 this is probably all incoherent and i dont care

Very fast-paced and I think that the ending was very unpredictable. I wasn’t expecting to cry at the ending but the letter was quite emotional. 

Five Survive

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