Not Quite Dead Yet ending explained: Who killed Jet in Holly Jackson thriller?

Jet is left with a unique opportunity where she can try and solve her own murder before dying in a last-ditch attempt to make her family proud.

Tangled in among the murder storyline is a historical plot focusing on the untimely death of her sister as a child which always had some questions left around it, and a blossoming romance with her long-time friend, Billy.

It's safe to say that Not Quite Dead Yet has a lot going on - and you may have been left with some questions around the ending.

Worry no more, as we at Radio Times have all the answers for you - read on for an explanation of the ending of Not Quite Dead Yet.

Not Quite Dead Yet ending explained: Who killed Jet?

The central question around Not Quite Dead Yet is who attacked (and would subsequently kill) Jet. Throughout the novel, Jet queries multiple people who could be behind her death, including her own brother no less (more on him later).

Jet's family had plenty of enemies, considering they worked in construction and were responsible for dismantling family homes and more.

There were key bits of evidence throughout the novel that appeared and would be crucial for how things all pieced together - but it was difficult to actually make the links not just for Jet, but for us as readers.

There was the hammer, which was part of a big set, a piece of artificial red hair from a Halloween wig, a missing tea towel from the kitchen and the burning of the family business.

After exploring all those clues, Jet was stumped and back at Billy's house, decided to confront her brother, Luke, as she was following a theory that his real dad was responsible for her death. Jet went to gather some materials, like duct tape, in case she needed it.

Billy advised her the tape was next to the tool kit, but Jet couldn't find it. What she did find shocked her: it was the rest of the toolkit with the murderous hammer missing. Her blood ran cold as she realised it implicated Billy in her death.

While Billy professed his innocence, Jet's time was up. Billy, desperate to let her die thinking she's solved the murder, tried to convince her it was him after all.

The truth came out after Jet's funeral, as Billy finally confronted the real killer: his dad (and also Luke's real dad). It transpired that Jack had an affair with Jet's mum for years, resulting in Luke's birth. And when Jack went to check on Luke and Emily on the day she died, he found his son had killed the daughter of the woman he loved. He would simply have to cover it up for him.

But Jack's wife knew all of this; she'd worked it out. So, when Jet said Emily's name around her years later, she upped and left the family household, unable to bear the guilt for much longer.

On Halloween night, Jack found out that his son, Luke, wasn't going to inherit the Mason construction business - and Jet's mum Dianne had voted against him to be the chief of police. Two blows in one night proved too much for Jack, and he had to get revenge - by killing Jet to hopefully claim the company (unaware it was going to someone else entirely).

He got the red hair on Jet from a fight earlier in the night and decided to put the tool set with the hammer in Billy's apartment to hide it. After attacking Jet, he acted as a cop would, aiming to solve the crime. He was given a decent lead with Jet's ex being suspicious before she died to cover up the crime.

After confronting his dad about the crimes, Billy pulled a gun on his dad, determined to end it all. But he was smarter than that and put the gun on the table, and instead revealed Luke was there the whole time and he'd heard everything. Luke grabbed the gun and aimed it at Jack, while Billy begged him to run.

Jack ran to Jet's house and asked to be let in, but Luke was ruthless and shot him there on the family doorstep, killing him.

HUNGRY FOR MORE? For this month’s midweek treat, Joanna sat down and read intense thriller Not Quite Dead Yet, which she paired with a delicious and equally intense Pepperoni-Salame pizza from Dr. Oetker Ristorante.

For all the latest RT Book Club news, interviews, Q&As with the authors, reviews of previous books and more, visit The Radio Times Book Club sponsored by Dr. Oetker Ristorante.

You can purchase Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson, our book of the month, at the Radio Times Shop.