New thriller asks: Can a dying woman solve her own murder?

Jet Mason has seven days to solve a murder — her own.

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.