I will forever love a @jessamaxwellauthor book! I started this book this morning and could not put it down until I was finished. This is a fantastic atmospheric summer popcorn thriller. The different POVs and short chapters will have you flying through this one! I loved the description of the island, the isolation of the mansion and the close knit community of the village. If you are looking for a beach read this summer, I recommend picking this one up!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you @atriathrillers @atriabooks for the arc in exchange for my honest review. PUB DATE: 7/22

Great read. Loved the setting. Good character development. Highly recommend. Looking forward to more from Jessa Maxwell..

I didn't expect to enjoy this one as much as I did. This is the perfect summer beach book! We have an isolated New England Island where Orla's family has a home. Orla hasn't been back since her best friend, Alice, disappeared 10 years ago. Now the home is being sold so she returns to help clean it out. This brings back memories and Orla begins digging around the past.
David also returns. David was Orla's crush back in the day and he has brought his soon-to-be fiancée, Faith. Or at least she believes she is soon to be a fiancée. Faith is bored, as David is always busy and has little time for her, so she too begins digging around in the past. We also meet Henry who is a loner and likes to spy. He has always been dogged with the rumor that he may have had something to do with Alice's disappearance.
Then another girl disappears and all three get caught up in the middle.
With this story, atmosphere and characterization are the stars of the show and I really enjoyed following along. I would read more from this author.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Jessa Maxwell and Atria Books for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I will post my review to Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, Instagram and other social media and retail sites upon publication day of July 22, 2025.

Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell was a cleverly crafted mystery thriller that immediately captivated me from the very first chapter. The eerie atmosphere, the mysterious mansion, and the peculiar characters who resided there all contributed to the suspenseful tone. What really happened here?
Faith, in particular, was a mystery that kept me guessing throughout the novel. The author’s writing style was engaging and gripping, making this a thoroughly enjoyable and suspenseful read.

Thanks, Atria Books via NetGalley.

Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell
⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

This was such a solid, moody summer thriller — definitely one of those “just one more chapter” reads that totally sneaks up on you.

Dead of Summer takes place on a remote New England island (very murder-y vibes) where Orla O’Connor returns years after her best friend Alice mysteriously disappeared. Of course, things on Hadley Island are not what they seem, and as Orla digs into her past, long-buried secrets start bubbling up. The story is told through a few different POVs — including Faith (who's dating Orla's ex), and Henry (the resident weirdo with a thing for spying) — and somehow it all works. The tension builds slowly but steadily, and the payoff is super satisfying.

Jessa Maxwell’s writing is atmospheric and immersive — you can practically feel the fog rolling in while reading. The characters are layered and flawed in believable ways, and I really appreciated how each person had their own agenda. There’s also this great balance between mystery, emotional drama, and just enough romance to keep things interesting without taking over the plot.

If you're into twisty, slow-burn thrillers with strong character development and a creepy setting you can’t quite shake, I highly recommend this one. It’s a little dark, a little sad, but still hopeful in the right moments — and perfect for fans of The Guest List or The Last Thing He Told Me.

Would totally read more from Maxwell. Thanks NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this complimentary copy.

First want to say thank you for the ARC!

Here’s my spoiler free review of the book!

Honestly, this book was just a very quick summer thriller. Like I’m talking you finish it in one sitting on the beach! I will say some aspects of the book were a bit predictable, but the main suspect wasn’t that predictable to me. I was honestly kind of surprised by who did it.

I didn’t find that I liked really any of the characters that much. Some aspects of the story felt a little rushed to me like the backstory on Faith. It was a fine book, but it wasn’t one of those thrillers that I kept thinking about the ending once I was done reading!

But if you’re looking for a book on vacation this could be it!

Dead of Summer, by Jessa Maxwell, is an enjoyable twisty turny novel that leads to places I was definitely not expecting! The three main characters are:

Orla, who is returning to the island she grew up on after years away. It is a good time for her to take a break from her life trying to make it as an artist in NYC, and clean out her parents' house before they sell it. She hasn't been back since her best friend disappeared from the island as a teenager, and she is faced with many memories, as well as looks and whispered gossip from the locals.

Faith, who is spending the summer on the island with her uber wealthy boyfriend. She had visions of long romantic walks by the ocean, sails and parties; she didn't anticipate that her boyfriend would be spending most days closed off working with his father. The boredom leads her to some exploring of the town, and the mystery of the girl who disappeared so many years before.

Henry is an older gentleman, who lives on a tiny island off the island, isolating himself from the many suspicions that maybe he had something to do with the disappearance.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys some unexpected twists and turns. It is not your average summer by the beach novel, which I really loved.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Mystery Thriller

This novel is the second book I've read by Jessa Maxwell. The first was her debut novel, The Golden Spoon, a 5-star book for me. Obviously, I had very high expectations of this mystery thriller, as I loved everything about the author’s debut novel.

The story takes place on a secluded island in New England and follows a set of characters. There is Orla O’Connor, who is returning to the island after a very long time, and this return brings back many buried memories of her best friend’s mysterious disappearance when they were teenagers.

Then there is David, who is also bringing his girlfriend, Faith, to introduce her to his family. Faith, being fascinated with the island, will start digging into its past and the secrets that are buried about it. Henry is another character that we follow his perspective. He was once considered a suspect in Alice's disappearance. And now, since Orla is back, he feels completely unsettled about her presence.

The book has an atmospheric setting, no doubt about that. The isolated island feels eerie at times, which completely suits the main theme. The story shifts between multiple perspectives, giving the readers a better understanding of each character’s behavior and motives.

The twists and turns were enjoyable for the most part. Yes, some were predictable, but that happens, and it is OK. I think character development would have benefited from some more depth. Overall, the story is a decent mystery thriller that you might enjoy reading, but don’t expect it to be a groundbreaking one.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

I went into Dead of Summer super intrigued by the premise, and in a lot of ways, it delivered exactly what I wanted. I absolutely loved the setting — a lush island in the summer, filled with wealthy characters and all the secrets you’d expect them to have. The atmosphere was so vivid and immersive; I was completely enthralled and couldn’t wait to see how everything unfolded.

That said, while the story kept me hooked, the characters themselves felt pretty two-dimensional. They never quite jumped off the page the way I hoped they would, which made it harder to fully invest in their fates. And when it came to the ending… it just wasn’t my favorite. It felt a little rushed and didn’t quite live up to the tension and mystery that had been building throughout the book.

Overall, Dead of Summer was a fun, fast-paced read with an incredible setting and plenty of intrigue, even if the character development and conclusion left me wanting a bit more.

This started off a little slow for me but picked up the pace at around 50%? That is a little too long in the tooth for me. While I overall enjoyed this read, it was quite predictable and hard to get invested in the characters.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the way it was written and really kept your interest throughout. I would recommend it to put on must read list.

This is a well written story, I quite enjoyed the setting and the atmosphere, the island being isolated and the locals being insulated from the outside world gave it a real creepy feel. Hadley Island is an isolated island, only accessible by ferry, there are some locals that live year round, though there are many visitors that arrive for the summer and stay in houses that, in one case, is a mansion. Orla used to live on the island, she moved to New York for art school and briefly became somewhat popular, before fading away. She decides to return to the house owned by her parents and where she lived when younger to clean it out and prepare it for sale. Faith is also from New York, her and her boyfriend, David, who she soon hopes to be engaged to, have come to spend the summer at the house his father owns, a mansion really. At first Faith is excited, a huge house, everything she could want, except that David is busy with his father, working all the time, with no time to take her anywhere. An incident had happened a number of years in the past, a young woman had drowned in the sound, the blame for the incident fell on an oddball man who liked to watch others through his telescope. David's father decides to hold a fouth of July party at his house, something that hasn't been done since the girl had drowned. Things from the past start to come forward, and that's where the book really comes together. Overall I enjoyed and would recommend. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Atria Books for the ARC.

a very fun, fast thriller with mega billionaires, creepy ex boyfriends and a wonderful, quirky cast of characters! The first 15% was slowwwww but after the 40% mark I feel like I couldn't put it down. A bit predictable but enjoyable in every way, Dead of Summer will be a wonderful July read.

Note: I wish the ending was less rushed and the "aha!" moment was a bit more pronounced - it felt rushed and less exciting once the pieces fell into place. Otherwise, great mystery!

Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell was an intricately woven psychological thriller. I appreciated how well she portrayed the characters in this book. As time went by and truths behind the cover-ups became more and more apparent, the author showed how all this affected each person in the community. I was captivated by the story.

Unfortunately this thriller missed the mark for me and I’m sad that it wasn’t as good for me as the golden spoon by the same author. But I would definitely pick up her books in the future!

A quick read but not very interesting. Not much really happens. And the ending was felt quite rushed. Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

Dead of Summer is a quick and easy to follow read set on a remote New England island during the summer. It is atmospheric and mysterious with a “money is power” dynamic. It is a slow paced, popcorn thriller that keeps you engaged with 3 different POVs that flow well together. Although it has some predictability, it still keeps you wanting to know what will happen next. This will be the perfect summer/beach read!

Thank you Jessa Maxwell, Atria Books, & NetGalley for the advance review copy. All opinions are my own.

Dead of Summer is a story of how wealth and power can hide devastating secrets. Hadley Island has long been a popular tourist destination. It is also where the wealthy spend their summers. When Orla O'Connor goes back to her childhood home on the island she is faced with memories of her best friend Alice who disappeared years before without a trace. She also has to deal with seeing her old crush David, whose famously rich family has a summer home on Hadley Island. Her arrival coincides with the disappearance of another young woman. Did this woman suffer the same fate as Alice? The police once again suspect Henry, a lonely older man who hasn't left his house since he was accused of killing Alice. The book features three POVs and each chapter slowly reveals the truth about Orla, David and Henry and what really happened to Alice. The story moves along at a decent pace but the ending seems kind of rushed. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This one felt like a cozy-meets-creepy murder mystery. Set at a cooking show competition, it had all the right ingredients: drama, secrets, and a killer on the loose. I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes food show vibe and the tension between contestants. The reveal was a little rushed, but it was still a satisfying whodunit.

This book was pretty slow. It seemed to drag on until it seemed to end abruptly. It almost felt like the author knew how they wanted it to end but didn’t know how to get there.