This one just wasn’t for me. From the beginning it kinda dragged and the pacing didn’t really pick up until closer to the end. By then I wasn’t that invested and struggled to finish but I still saw it through. I couldn’t connect with the characters and a lot of it felt too predictable. Overall it just wasn’t my vibe. But if you’re into a slow burn mystery that takes its time to unfold, this one might hit better for you.

This was a super fast read, but there was also so many things going on...and nothing going on at the same time.

If you're someone who hates predicting a "twist" in a thriller early because it ruins the book for you--you're not going to have a good time here. I figured it out almost immediately, and felt like I was just reading to get confirmation that I was right. Which, I was, but the reveal is really random and not at all built up to.

It's also odd because the story is multi POV, but also....not? The real focus of the story is on Orla and David with Henry thrown in. But most of the POV was from Faith, who is BARELY even a pawn in the grand scheme of things. She wasn't on the island at the time of the "incident" that the whole story centers around, but also....doesn't really push or get much information about it? It's very odd, even knowing how it ends.

Henry's POV was my favorite and the only character I felt any sort of emotional connection to. He was the real victim in all of that, deserved more justice than he got, and I felt so sorry for him. People really are the worst and I'm imagining an epilogue where he truly lives his best life after everything he was put through. Everyone else? Eh. Who cares.

This is definitely a great summer thriller read--fast paced, summer setting, rich people being the worst--you name it! But is it groundbreaking and the best book I've ever read? Also no.

I love Jessa Maxwell! Her books are so clever and unique, and I always know I'm in for a treat when I start reading. I have been eagerly awaiting this book, and it did not disappoint. "Dead of Summer" is an atmospheric and entertaining thriller. Set on a remote New England island, this book is the perfect beach read. The story is told from three perspectives: Faith, whose boyfriend, David, invited her to his wealthy family's sprawling estate on the island; Orla, who hasn't been to the island since best friend disappeared 15 years ago; and Henry, who was accused of killing Orla's friend, Alice. I really enjoyed the multiple POVs, which built a lot of suspense. The characters were intriguing and well-developed, and I liked seeing how their different storylines all came together. The story itself is pretty straightforward. Not a lot of crazy twists, but there didn't need to be because there were plenty of secrets and revelations to keep me entertained. The pacing was a bit slow at times, but it helped create a lot of tension. Overall, another excellent thriller from Maxwell!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5!

I love a good rich people drama story. I love a good secluded island story. What if they got together? Enter Dead of Summer!

Maxwell has created a multiple POV story that takes readers to the exclusive and very isolated Hadley Island. Years ago a teen girl went missing on this island and things were never the same for the town, including some of our narrators. What’s it got to do with present day? Maxwell takes you on a ride to understand the significance of this disappearance and how our narrators are not only linked to it, but to each other. I loved watching the overlaps unfold and making guesses about the truth and what would happen next throughout the story.

I think this story could have been downright perfect if the pacing was faster. I have nothing against a slowburn, but this one felt like it burned just a bit too slow for me to be initially hooked. It took several chapters for me to find my footing, but once I did, I was fully invested. Around the halfway point things kick into a higher gear that left me wondering if that happened earlier would I be giving a higher rating. At the end of the day, the wait and the pages were worth it for a solid ending!

I’ve read all of Maxwell’s books and I’ll continue to look forward to what she comes up with next!

Remote island, missing best friend, secrets that never quite sank. I tore through this in two sittings and would have finished in one if real life had not interrupted.

Orla heads back to Hadley Island to close up her family beach house years after her friend Alice disappeared. Packing boxes turns into digging up everything she thought she’d buried. We also hear from Faith, new to the island and carrying her own hidden baggage, and Henry, a local who knows more history than anyone is comfortable with. The shifting POVs build tension piece by piece until the past crashes into the present.

It starts as a slow-burn, salty-air mystery and edges into full summer thriller territory. Creeping mood, waterlogged memories, guilt, jealousy, and the ways grief can rewrite what we think is true. I guessed one reveal and then got completely blindsided by several more. So satisfying.

If you like: stormy beach reads, layered friendships, small town rumors that ripple for years, twisty timelines that pay off.

Many Thanks to Atria Books & NetGalley for this advanced copy to review!

A summer thriller with a mysterious island environment, gossip, old money, and closed-off neighbors. I will admit that some twists were predictable but I did enjoy a few surprises and the alternating points of view helped keep the story suspenseful and engaging. Maxwell takes the time to develop the characters, making their motives believable and backstories compelling. Short chapters and flashbacks led to a perfectly paced story. Overall, a great beach read with a darker edge!

The chapters alternated narrators who had very different perspectives, and you questioned the reliability of each narrator at some point during the book. This was a very slow build, sometimes feeling like a push to get through, and the end came fast and furious in comparison. I was able to predict some parts of the ending, but other parts felt like they were added “just because”. This was an interesting read, enjoyable, but not a book I will be thinking about now that I’m done reading.
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Thank you NetGalley and Atria for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

What a perfect beach summer thriller! Page turner and I couldn’t put it down! I loved the twist at the end I didn’t see it coming and I normally figure it out!

This comes out tomorrow and its perfect for this time of year, as the title suggests. I have really enjoyed Jessa Maxwell's past books, but I think this was my favorite so far. A definite fun read to take to the pool or beach on vacation!

This was an entertaining, twisty, multi-POV popcorn beach read that takes place on a remote island and follows two former friends who share a dark secret that is going to come back to haunt them this summer. I liked that this one was fast-paced, had interesting characters and kept me guessing til the end. It was also good on audio. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @simon.audio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review.

I am officially a Jessa Maxwell fangirl after finishing "Dead of Summer". I had already read "I Need You To Read This" and really enjoyed it, but this one is even better. Maxwell has a knack for making things innocuously tense and ratcheting up the uneasiness, yet still keeps the reader in almost a false sense of safety. You'll almost psych yourself out thinking something is important when it's not and vice versa.

One of the major twists in this book was slightly predictable. However, there were several other twists after that that I had no idea were coming. I think this was intentional and also incredibly clever. As a reader, you think you've figured it out, and you're all proud of yourself, and then suddenly, things are far more complex than you anticipated.

I loved this book and highly recommend it. There is some slowness in the middle, but that's really the story and background building up. The ending was not one I even remotely saw coming, and I think I'm still in awe of it, to be honest.

I totally loved The Golden Spoon so was eager to read this. It did not disappoint. Everyone has secrets. The fun part was figuring them out. Henry's was easy. Everyone else's, not so much. Huge twist at the end. David was just horrible. I kept saying, screw the money Faith, leave!

3.5 stars. Dead of Summer is a tale of mystery and light suspense involving a girls disappearance, and her best-friend’s arrival on that same remote New England island one decade later looking for answers. Who else arrives on island.. but a past crush.. and then there’s yet another disappearance. Clocking in at a short 288p., this is a likable, fun beach read with a summer island setting involving secrets, lies, power and money. Is a perfect popcorn filler if looking for a lighter read. Pub. 7/22/25

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

After years away, Orla returns to Hadley Island pack up and sell her parents’ house. She finds out her childhood crush, David, has also returned with his soon-to-be fiancé. Henry is watching them all from afar. When a girl on the island goes missing, everyone is drawn in and the secrets of the past begin to unravel.

This was a great mystery by Jessa Maxwell. I enjoyed the plot and multiple points of view that wove the characters together. The characters were complex with all of their secrets and I found some more likable than others. Maxwell built suspense that kept me engaged and wanting to know what would happen next. Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for this arc!

Jessa Maxwell's “Dead of Summer” is a slow-burn thriller filled with creeping tension and a moody island setting. The story follows Orla O’Connor, who returns to Hadley Island years after her best friend Alice vanished without a trace. What begins as a trip to pack up her family’s beach house turns into a deep dive into the past, and old friendships, guilt, and suspicions start to resurface.

The mystery unfolds slowly with alternating POVs from Orla, a woman named Faith who is visiting the island for the first time and is hiding secrets of her own), and Henry, a local recluse with a troubled past. Each character's voice provides a different perspective, to give readers a fully fleshed-out narrative. Maxwell does a great job creating a deeply layered story that feels tense and unsettling, and isn’t afraid to explore how grief and obsession can distort memories and shape what we believe to be the truth.

This book is atmospheric, creepy, and full of small details that make the mystery feel realistic. Readers who enjoy thrillers with a touch of melancholy and a strong sense of place will find “Dead of Summer” to be a satisfying, twisty read that will stay with them for a long time.

Dead of Summer is a fast paced thriller, forcing people on a small town island to confront their past. About 15 years ago, Alice fell off a boat and was thought to have drowned. Without a body recovered, her best friend, Orla, has never been able to let it go. As Orla returns to her hometown, the ghosts of her past begin to haunt her again. 

.The multi POV storytelling really brought the characters to life.

Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell
Rating: 3 stars
Pub date: 7/22

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Atria Books for my gifted copy.

Dead of Summer is a moody, slow-burn mystery set on a remote New England island, and it definitely leans into the eerie, atmospheric vibes. Orla returns to Hadley Island for the first time since her best friend, Alice, disappeared a decade earlier. She’s trying to pack up her family’s beach house, but when another girl goes missing, buried feelings come to the surface.

The story rotates between the perspectives of Orla, Faith (Orla’s former crush’s new girlfriend), and Henry, a local still recovering from being labeled a suspect in Alice’s case.

The island setting really works because it’s creepy, quiet, and full of secrets. The multiple POVs help build tension and give insight into each character, but a little more depth in their development would've made the story stronger. Some of the twists are easy to spot coming, but they’re still fun.

While this won’t be making my favorite’s list, it’s still a solid, atmospheric mystery perfect for fans of small-town secrets and summertime suspense.

A gripping, faced-past mystery! I loved the setting on an island inhabited by the elite, and the reclusive Henry peering it all from his private island. The mystery of a missing girl unfolded through dual timeless told from multiple perspectives. There were plenty of twists and red herrings throughout. Although I was able to figure out some of them, the ending surprised me!

3.5 stars. This was a good, quick book. I would classify this more as a mystery rather than a thriller. I feel like the end wrapped up a little too quickly for me, though there were some decent twists within the book. I called the big reveal about halfway through.

I really enjoyed Jesse Maxwell’s previous novels but this one fell a little short. It was hard to connect with the characters and it was slow paced. I will still pick up this author’s next book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.