As Good As Dead

**As Good As Dead** is the third thrilling book in the *A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder* series.

### Synopsis

*Pippa Fitz-Amobi is haunted by the way her last investigation ended. Soon she’ll be leaving for Columbia University but then another case finds her… and this time it’s all about Pip.*

*Pip is used to online death threats, but there’s one that catches her eye, someone who keeps asking: "who will look for you when you’re the one who disappears?" And it’s not just online. Pip has a stalker who knows where she lives. She keeps finds headless pigeons and 5 headless chalk figures on her driveway. The police refuse to act and then Pip finds connections between her stalker and a local serial killer. The killer has been in prison for six years, but Pip suspects that the wrong man is behind bars. As the deadly game plays out, Pip realizes that everything in Little Kilton is finally coming full circle. If Pip doesn’t find the answers, this time she will be the one who disappears…*

The first part of the book

(contains spoilers)

The book starts with Pip Fitz-Amobi leaving her house to attend a mediation meeting with Max Hastings. As she leaves her house she notices a dead pigeon on her drive, but she doesn't think much of it. After a train journey, Pip meets her lawyer, Max Hastings, his lawyer, and a mediator. Max wants to sue Pip for libel after she posted a quote stating that Max would always be guilty even after the Jury decided he was innocent.  Max believes that it was a "defamatory statement" and that it was "damaging" to his reputation. He wants to make a deal with Pip, and agrees to drop the lawsuit if she publicly admitted she was wrong and apologied to Max on her social media, he also wants Pip to admit that the audio clip she used about him on her podcast, where he confessed to being a rapist, was doctored (which it wasn't) Pip is enranged and storms out of the meeting.

Later, Pip recives another email, one that she's been getting a lot recently, from an anonymous sender. The email reads: "Who will look for you when you’re the one who disappears?" She dismisses these threats as internet trolls. The next day pip discovers strange headless chalk figures on her driveway. Again, she doesn't think anything of it and dismisses it as the work of the neighbours kids or tire marks.

The next day, as Pip is returning from her run she notices five chalk figures positioned closer to her house than they were last time. (The previous chalk figures had been washed away by the rain) She also notices another dead pigeon on her drive, positioned in exactly the same place as last time, however, this one is headless. Later, Pip gets concerned as she gets another email, this time referring to killing two birds with one stone. She makes a connection that someone could be stalking her or trying to frighten her.

On a run, Pip notices a message in chalk that says "Dead Girl Walking" on a street near her house. She photographs this message as potential evidence as she knows it has been left for her. As soon as Ravi finds out about Pip's potential stalker, he encourages her to take it to the police. She shows Detective Hawkins who dismisses her claims suggesting she has no real evidence that she has a stalker. Pip decides to take the case into her own hands, to find out who her stalker is.

As Pip is clearly becoming obsessed with the case, Ravi takes her out on a walk to clear her head. Their paths cross with some of Pip's ex friends, Ant and Lauren who are walking Lauren's dog. They get into a bit of an argument and exchange heated words before they go thier separate ways. Coming back from their walk, Pip and Ravi notice another three headless stick figures, again, closer to the house. Pip thinks that the figures coming closer to her house means that her stalker is coming after her.

While doing some research about her potential stalker, Pip finds a link between what is happening to her  and a victim of the DT Killer (Duct Tape killer, a local serial killer from six years ago who was known to wrap his victim's whole head in duct tape before strangling them). According to an article that Pip found online, one of the victims of the DT killer found dead birds and chalk figures on her drive prior to being killed. It seems unlikely that the DT killer was stalking her, though as a man named Billy Karras was accused of the murders and has been in prison since. Researching the case futher, Pip comes across a Facebook page created by Billy's mother, Maria Karras, who believes that he is innocent even with a confession from Billy, which she insists was forced.