I didn’t hate this book but I didn’t really like it either. The majority was suuuuuuper slow and it felt very predictable. I don’t think I would’ve finished it if I hadn’t had to write a review. It just wasn’t gripping and I was not invested in the plot or any of the characters. I would check out another book from this author, but this one just wasn’t for me.

I loved the setting and the premise, but the execution was lacking a bit... I think largely because I have recently read a few other books about wealthy families behaving badly at their island summer homes that did it *really* well. Still a decent popcorn thriller to read on the beach this summer though!

To be honest, I wasn't the biggest fan of this book. To me, it felt a little predictable, like I could guess everything that was going to happen before it was going to happen. The twists in this weren't my favorite, though I can see the vision with it. I just couldn't help but to feel like it was pointless due to the fact it wasn't exciting for me.

That being said, I am still a fan of Jessa Maxwell, and would definitely read more books from here. This was just an unfortunate miss for me.

Thank you to Atria Books, NetGalley, and Jessa Maxwell for an advance copy of Dead of Summer in exchange for an honest review. If you’re looking for a fast paced, summer read that’s full of wealth, secrets, and small town rumors- look no further then Dead of Summer. This book was giving me Revenge (remember that show?!) vibes and it was so fun to read! I loved how the story was told in 3 POVs. I do feel like the ending may be predictable for some but I still really enjoyed how everything came together. This one is out now and would be a great way yo get another summer read in before fall hits!

Dead of Summer is my first book by Jessa Maxwell. I love a good thriller set in New England, and the author delivered with the atmospheric setting, drawing in me in from the first page. I had to know how the three characters, Orla, Faith and Henry were connected to a girl who went missing from Hadley Island a decade earlier.

There were some great moments in this popcorn thriller that were outright eerie and creepy. As I turned the pages, I began to see the plot coming together, maybe a bit too easily. However, the ending went completely off the rails, and although I wasn’t able to guess the final twist, I felt the conclusion was abrupt and implausible, while also leaving one of the plot points unexplained. Sadly, I was a bit underwhelmed by this one.

Dead of Summer was not the perfect read for me, but will fit the bill for many readers who enjoy:
*popcorn thrillers
*rich people behaving badly, think “Succession”
*multiple POVs
*atmospheric New England oceanside setting
*books where you suspend your disbelief

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC of Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell in exchange for my honest review.

Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell is an atmospheric mystery set in New England where the locals know everything and watch your every move.

Orla O'Connor hasn't been back to Hadley Island since she graduated from high school 10 years ago. Back then, her best friend Alice disappeared without a trace. Now, Oral is returning to her family's home to clean it out before it gets sold. Also back for the summer is David, Orla's high school crush, with his beautiful girlfriend, Faith. Local neighbor Henry has lived in seclusion since Alice's disappearance but now he's been seeing things - shadows on the beach, a light on in Alice's abandoned home. Suddenly another girl goes missing and Orla, David, and Henry find themselves drawn into the mystery that could change their lives forever.

While this is not a mind blowing psychological thriller or a cold sweat suspense, it is an entertaining mystery. While it starts off slow, the lies and secrets, as well as the multiple POVs, will grab your interest and keep you turning pages. I think that avid thriller readers may be a little underwhelmed with this one, but it's a great book to throw in your bag for a weekend away or a day at the pool/beach. Give it a try! This is my first novel by Maxwell and I'd be interested in checking out others by her.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I thoroughly enjoyed this from start to finish! This is my first time reading a Jessa Maxwell novel and it likely won’t be my last. I loved the multiple POVs and the twist at the end really shocked me. I didn’t see that coming at all! Highly recommend this one.

New to me author! This was a good story i just wasn't drawn to its characters! Mostly flat
So a hermit lives on an isolated island, due to a past event that identified him as a suspect in a missing girl's case. He's virtually cut himself from the town.
The wealthy family on the island has come for a vacation and the girlfriend is on pins and needles hoping for that engagement ring. When the boyfriend; the heir to the throne starts to act questionable, she starts to do some digging of her own.
What's boyfriend's dad hiding and who is the hermit talking to?

Thanks Atria and NetGalley for this ARC, beyond grateful and humbled! 🙏🏾🙏🏾

"Dead of summer" Out July 22nd 2025

Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell

Meet Faith. She lives in NYC, just quit her job, and is best friends with Elena. Faith is dating David, an extremely wealthy man from Manhattan. David invites Faith to spend some time during the summer months at his family’s mansion on the prestigious Hadley Island in the New England area.

Meet David. His wealth is obscene. His family is known to many, but not liked by most. He is the next heir to his father’s massive fortune. David is planning on spending the summer at his family’s mansion, where one of his friends disappeared when he was younger.

Meet Orla. She’s an artist who lives in the city. Her family has a house on Hadley Island. Orla hasn’t been to her home out on the island in years because her best friend went missing and she just can’t relive the pain. She returns to take care of some business for her parents.

Meet Henry. He hasn’t left his house on Hadley Island in quite some time. He can’t bear to face its residents, their looks of disgust and disapproval.

Hadley Island. Summer home of the wealthy, their yachts, and lavish parties.

Hadley Island. Home of local old time residents. Their small homes on the outskirts, trying to make an honest living.

Hadley Island. It has secrets, HUGE secrets. Will the truth to what happened many years ago ever be brought out from the shadows?

This was a solid summer read. I pictured myself as Faith, trying to fit in with David’s lifestyle, and taking in all of what the island had to offer, along with the twisted webs weaved by many.

Thank you to #netgalley and #atriabooks for giving me the opportunity to receive a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

#deadofsummer #jessamaxwell #summerreading #mysterythriller #suspense

In the Dead of Summer, we find ourselves on a small island in the heat of summer, where old mysteries and secrets are resurfacing. Including the disappearance of a teenage girl, Alice. When Alice's best friend, Orla, returns home to the island, she finds she has a haunting past she must come to terms with. But it's not just Orla stumbling into the past, the entire island had secrets that are being revealed. From the towns most wealthy to the towns pariah, everyone is in for an interesting summer.

While I loved Jessa Maxwell's, The Golden Spoon, this novel fell a bit flat for me. I felt like I was treading in water to get through it, as so much but so little was happening for most of the book.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review of Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell.

Small town - island - community where everyone knows each other’s business. The rich come in for the summers, and one summer changes the course of the entire island. Lives are destroyed. People move on until one day they all must return home where more nefarious events occur. It’s a popcorn thriller and a fun summer read! Thanks to NetGalley for the read.

💭: Years ago Alice died on Hadley Island. Now her best friend Orla and crush David are back on the island. Secrets spill out and lives are shook.

You’ll like this if you enjoy:
✔️slow burns
✔️multiple perspectives
✔️secrets and lies
✔️family drama

Perfect for hot, summer days!

I'm such a fan of Jessa Maxwell's books, but unfortunately, I just couldn't get through this one. Because I love her other books so much, I will definitely try to pick this one up again in the future and give it another try. This easily might just be a case of right book, wrong reader/time.

I will absolutely still be checking out her future releases though! Thank you so much to NetGalley and to the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a slow burn that speeds up near the end. The ending was something I wouldn’t expected AT ALL. This is a tale of how the wealthy and powerful coast through destroying other people’s lives with no care in the world. I enjoyed reading the POV from the different main characters. The people you think are the bad ones may not be and the people you think are the good ones may not be. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys thrillers that are a quick read even if it doesn’t feel like one.

3.75/5 🌟

This psychological thriller set on Hadley Island follows Orla, Faith, and Henry.
Faith is set to spend the summer at the island retreat of her rich boyfriend but something feels off from the moment she arrives.
Orla has returned to her childhood home just to have the past come rushing back.
Henry has been isolated since the event 15 years ago but when another young girl goes missing he might just be the one the police look to blame.

This was a really slow burn thriller that doesn’t full pick up until the last 50 pages. I wasn’t really sure how I felt about most of the characters while reading it, I kinda disliked them all from the beginning but some of them had their moments where I did like them.
The book flashes back and forth between the present and 15 years prior. The flashbacks could be pretty interesting setting the scene for the big reveal at the end. I did think it was pretty predictable and was able to figure it out pretty easily but it was a strong ending to the book.

All in all, a decent thriller for anyone who enjoys slow burns and explosive endings!

I liked this one but did not love it. It is a quick, atmospheric summer thriller with rich people drama. There were just times that I was not interested and guessed some of the twists.
Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the opportunity to read
3 star

✨ The Vibes ✨
A breezy thriller perfect for a day at the beach

📖 Read if…
✨ You’re always looking for books about rich people behaving badly
✨ You enjoy thrillers with multiple POVs
✨ You want a book that pairs perfectly with a beach chair and a cold drink

Jessa Maxwell has quickly become one of my favorite thriller writers since I devoured her debut, The Golden Spoon, a couple of years back. Her books are suspenseful, while still maintaining a cozy vibe perfect for readers who are looking to dip their toes into the world of slightly darker mysteries.

Her new novel, Dead of Summer, is truly a great summer read. The book follows Orla O’Connor as she returns to the island she called home before her best friend, Alice, disappeared, only to arrive right as another local girl goes missing. Maxwell does a great job of bringing the beachy setting off the page, and I really enjoyed the multi-POV structure of the story. In addition to Orla, you get the POV of Faith, an outsider who’s dating Orla’s childhood crush, and Henry, the man the island blamed for Alice’s disappearance. These perspectives intersected in a way that revealed info at the perfect pace, keeping me engrossed. Henry’s POV was my favorite, as much of the emotional center of the story was in his chapters.

Even though this was a great summer read, it sadly wasn’t my favorite of Maxwell’s. It’s hard to explain why without spoiling the ending, but I felt like a lot of the action was shoehorned into the final few chapters and I just needed a little more depth to make the reveals in those scenes really hit. But, I’d still recommend this for anyone looking to sneak in one final summer thriller before the end of the season.

Dead of Summer is out now. Thanks to Atria and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this one. The characters were compelling and easy enough to differentiate, and I liked how their history and secrets were revealed bit by bit—it kept me hooked. The story has a slightly claustrophobic island vibe that worked perfectly for the mystery. At times, I found it a little tricky to tell if we were in a present or past moment, but it always evened out, and by the end everything clicked into place. The ending was satisfying and tied the threads together in a way that made the slow-burn pacing worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC!

This was a good summer thriller! It was a little slow paced for me and I was able to guess one twist but it was still an enjoyable read. I liked how atmospheric the setting was as it helped to enhance the mystery even more.

Thank you @netgalley and @atriabooks for the #gifted e-arc!

3.5 stars

Faith is a girl from a small town alone in New York City. She meets a wealthy girl, Elena, at a party who tales Faith under her wing and teaches her how to mingle with the wealthy. Then Faith meets David--one of the very wealthy, and she is delighted when David asks her to spend the summer with him at the family estate on an island. When she arrives, she discovers that the island has secrets, David doesn't seem the same, and she begins to wonder if she has made a good choice. This was a well written, good mystery with a good twist. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc with no pressure for a positive review.