Five Survive Review: High-octane yet flawed
As the follow-up to her debut series and her second foray into the thriller genre after the genre shift in As Good As Dead, Five Survive is the last book I had to read to catch up with her bibliography. That is, as of 2026, though, as I will be keeping up with all her books from now on. It has a phenomenally punny name and, perhaps, her most high-concept premise. Did Five Survive become one of my favorite Holly Jackson novels? One of the worst, but good? Or just bad? That's what I, Brighton Nelson, will be discussing in today's review. Thanks for joining me, and I hope you enjoy your time on the site today!
Let's start with the negatives. Like almost every other Jackson novel at this point, the twist is great, but she keeps relying on certain tropes for her secondary-character betrayals that feel stale by the time you've read most of her bibliography. I didn't factor this into my first two reviews for her books, but three's a pattern, so I have to keep crossing my fingers that she'll try harder in the next novel.
Another negative is the drawn-out drama in the second act. I like all the plot reveals and love the succession of claims that they were the problem. It added a lot of tension, but it got to the point where almost every character withheld information that was clearly related, all to pad the book with drama that feels overly unrealistic.
This needless riff-raff continues with some plot conveniences. Why did they do the "yes or no" vote when not a single other person did anything like that? Why would anyone use this sniper strategy as their first choice? Why is there so much plot armor with the sniper's line of sight? Why were the curtains Chekhov's gunning the whole book? Sure, maybe they were a reflection on the mundane or an ADHD tell or something, but it was mentioned enough that it feels like over-foreshadowing. The walkie-talkie rules and randomly grim, anti-moral collateral damage with the sniper's moral code make no sense.
Nevertheless, while this book did crack a bit under a lot of obvious holes, the rest of its strengths patchworked the book back into a wonderful whole, even if it's not quite top-tier Holly Jackson. The mystery is as compelling as ever, even though it's presented in such a different format than most of her novels. It's not a detective story—it's a confession-filled game of "Truth or Dare" without the dare.
Each new layer of the characters adds to the interconnected mythos of hidden truths. Each character is quite interesting—not too in-depth, but notable enough for the story at play. Red shows a solid exploration of grief and resilience; Oliver explores darkness and horrible behavior; Reyna's neglectful attitude is so short-sighted she's almost as bad as Oliver; and Arthur is the love interest, with a special side to him. Simon and Maddy were underwhelming by comparison, but not particularly bad, per se.
The Brighton's Bookshelf Verdict
Brighton's Bookshelf Score: 7.5/10
Letter Score: A-
Five Survive isn't Jackson's best work, but it's not her worst. It's got a fantastic story and mystery, and while it has some plot holes and pacing speed bumps that are pretty annoying, the concept and final act will win even Jackson skeptics over with their high-octane nature.
Interested in checking out some of my other Holly Jackson book reviews? Or other mystery, YA, thriller, and crime novels? Check them out below!
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