Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster | Atria Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by Jessa Maxwell. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

Orla and her best friend grew up on Hadley Island, and Orla was enamored with rich boy David who summered there. But when Alice disappeared, everything changed. Years later, Orla is back on the island to get her family home ready to sell. David is also back at his family mansion along with his girlfriend, Faith. But things aren't going the way anyone planned this summer.

Told from dual timelines and from the POV of Orla, Faith, and Henry, who is a loner living on a private island who was always blamed for Alice's death. This is a very atmospheric story with remote island settings from both the very rich to the very neglected. Plus, there are multiple mysteries, not only what happened to Alice in the past but a young girl goes missing in the present. This is a quick read that kept me interested from the beginning, with some unexpected twists along the way. I'm a fan of Maxwell's and look forward to her next book as well.

This was a good suspenseful book with summer vibes. It was a little slow for my taste and some of the “twists” were predictable. Overall it was an entertaining read. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Jessa Maxwell’s Dead of Summer is a masterfully crafted psychological thriller that captivates from the first page.
I loved the premise, setting and characters in this novel by Jessa.
I was totally immersed in the story. The characters are well fleshed out and realistic.
Every time I picked it up, I couldn't stop reading and was anxious to learn the outcome.
The writing was immersive and well-paced. This was a well thought out mystery, leaving me on the edge and wanting more as the story went on.

This was supposed to be my beach thriller of the year… and it almost made it. While the twists were on the predictable side, the combination of small-town secrets, eerie vacation homes, and multiple POVs still scratched that summer suspense itch in all the right ways.

Set against a picturesque but slightly off-kilter beach town, the story unravels through a mix of voices. Each character was layered with just enough intrigue to keep the pages turning. I especially loved the structure: short, snappy chapters that made it the perfect pick for a poolside binge or a lazy afternoon with a cold drink.

The characters were surprisingly compelling for a quick thriller. Everyone had something to hide, but no one felt over-the-top or cartoonish. Henry, in particular, stood out; his quiet presence and misunderstood nature gave me strong Boo Radley vibes in the best way.

If you love atmospheric whodunits with a touch of nostalgia and a setting you can practically smell the salt air from, Dead of Summer is worth packing in your beach bag. It may not break the thriller mold, but it’s a satisfying, sun-soaked escape.

Didn’t enjoy this one as much as I Need You To Read This by this author, but it was still a decent popcorn thriller! 🙌

I did feel it was a bit predictable and I didn’t have that connection to the FMC like I feel I should have. The pacing was good though and it did keep my interest throughout! Check it out if you want a quick summer thriller! 👏

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️

Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell is a really great book. This is my first time reading a book by Jessa and it did not disappoint. I really enjoyed the different perspectives and the twists and turns. I was reeled in from the beginning. Not wanting to put it down, I finally did so I could sleep, finishing it the next morning.
I want to thank Atria Publishing for sending me eARC as well as NetGalley and of course Jessa Maxwell.

📚: Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell
⭐️: 3.5/5 (rounding down on #goodreads)

Hadley Island - a small New England island where Alice, Orla, and David spent summer after summer together. Alice and Orla, aspiring artists and best friends. David, part of the infamous Clarke family, with a mansion on the island and a father who terrifies. Then, one summer, everything changes when Alice disappears and is assumed dead. Years later, Orla returns to Hadley Island to find David, and secrets from the past start to repeat themselves.

A great New England summer setting in this book, with a cast of characters that make for solid multiple POVs. That said, the pace felt unnecessarily slow at many points, and the ending was incredibly predictable, where I guessed the twist very early on.

Thanks to Atria via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Dead of Summer is out this upcoming Tuesday 7/22.

It’s summer. You’re cleaning out your late uncle’s beach house on a posh, private island where everyone is suspiciously attractive, extremely wealthy, and hiding enough secrets to make Dateline do a double episode. That’s the basic setup of Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell,

Orla, our snarky, slightly salty main character, returns to Hadley Island to pack up her family’s home and avoid her feelings. Naturally, a teenage girl vanishes the moment she arrives. Cue the reappearance of her high school crush (David, now a billionaire’s sad son), his perfect influencer girlfriend (Faith, who may or may not murder you for clout), and Henry, the local oddball neighbor who gives off “owns too many clocks” energy.

The story jumps between their points of view as secrets unravel, past traumas resurface, and the island’s perfectly curated Instagram aesthetic starts to rot from the inside out. Parts of it just made me laugh. Like Orla’s inner monologue, which I would like to subscribe to in podcast form immediately.. What about that one character who just casually owns a vintage submarine? Why? Unclear. Rich people, man. The pacing is breezy with just enough bite to keep you guessing and plenty of drama, lies, and “Wait... who’s dead now?” moments. A couple twists were more “Oh, okay” than “OMG!!” The ending wraps up a little too cleanly, like someone Windexed the last chapter.

Would I vacation on Hadley Island? Only with life insurance and a burner phone.
Would I read another Jessa Maxwell book? Absolutely. Preferably while side-eyeing everyone on the ferry.

Read this book. Trust no one. And never accept an invite from a billionaire.

Faith is finally invited to the “cottage” , David’s summer home that is more estate than quaint. And by finally, it had only been a few months of dating for the come from nothing lucky Faith and elite David. The other main point of view is that of Orla, returning to the island with slow reveals of what sounds like a woman with a mission of revenge. While there is also brief glances of Henry, the island outcast and maybe misjudged.

The details were expansive in the beginning , if a little over wrought- but made it easy to imagine. Also felt a little like setting up for future things to come. Most of Faiths point of view will be surrounded by shallowness but a good glimpse and dive into if you are a reader who likes to be invested in the world of the social climber. Orla was mostly flashbacks, with yearning for the past. The point of views would throw me off, as Orla and Henry were a slow progression, if any at all, while Faith felt like it was getting somewhere. Pacing them more evenly would have helped the transitions.

The island mystery was intriguing and the Faith chapters were a breeze to read through. In a mystery novel that kept its secrets to its chest, I was interested for the most part on trying to figure out what the story was trying to tell. Each point of view had a secret they weren’t telling, the people of the island reminiscent of the way they were, and the grudges against the rich people but not really telling why. All vibes of small towns with secrets, mob mentality, and the feeling money can buy you out of anything. I just wish it had revealed those secrets a little bit along the way or built up the intrigue a little more for the pay off. Hang in till almost the 50% mark, when the tension finally feels like it’s building. The finale was lukewarm, for as much tension as it was trying to build up. Very on point for a Jessa Maxwell novel and I’d be interested in reading the next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC of this one!
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I’m leaning towards 3.5 ⭐️s for this one! It was a really good summery thriller with some good twists and turns. While I did predict a lot of the twists, I thought they were very well written and played out well.
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I enjoyed the multiple POVs to give both the past and present stories/timelines from all angles.
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It was definitely more of a slow-burn thriller, but overall, I really enjoyed it and it up really well!

First thank you to atria books and NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ 3.75 stars

Synopsis: Orla hasn’t been back to her childhood island home since her high school friend died. She returns to clean out her parents house and discovers her high school boyfriend is there with his new girlfriend. Henry the island odd resident remains reclusive due to being a suspect in the last disappearance so when another girl disappears all signs point to a bigger coverup.

What I liked: I have read all of the authors other books and enjoy them. They are slow burns and not thrillers but a mystery. She has great character development and is very atmospheric in her writing. A summer mystery set on an island in New England was great. Although I like her books, they are not likely to stick with you

A satifying thriller with some unexpected twists, which makes for a great summer beach read. This story is told from 3 different perspectives of characters who visit Hadley Island, a fictional type Hamptons full of rich people with bad habits.

We first meet Orla, a failed artist, who returns to her family home to clean things out and sell the cottage. She grew up on Hadley and has been haunted by the disappearance of her childhood friend, Alice one summer.

Then there's Henry, who lives with his wife Martha on a house called 'The Rock', and spends most of his days watching the residents through his high powered telescope, and logging their coming and goings. He was originally accused of having something to do with Alice's disappearance, but was never convicted.

Finally there is Faith, who is dating, David, whose family summers in Hadley in their giant seaside estate. David's family is old money and many of the residents distrust his dad, Geoffrey and his entitled way of treating everyone as if they are beneath him. Once Faith becomes entrenched in the family and their ways, she starts to see that David really isn't who he says he is.

Once another girl, Gemma disappears, Faith starts investigating, and is determined to see what's been going on at night on Geoffrey's yacht, moored way out on the harbor. This is when the action picks up, and she and Orla combine forces to discover the truth.

Family loyalties are hard to break and the author does a great job keeping up the suspense and tying up all the loose ends. Geoffrey has creepy Jeffrey Epstein vibes and when the truth comes out, Faith is shocked at what the family has created. A fun, entertaining read that kept me engaged. An amazing debut for a first novel!

I would recommend popping a copy of Dead of Summer in your beach bag for an entertaining read. This is not a shocking psychological thriller or a pulse-pounding suspenseful read, but I found that it delivers a quick puzzling kind of mystery, though I wouldn't call it a cozy one. It took a while to get there, but the storyline eventually grabbed my interest as the truth behind everyone's lies and secrets began pouring out. All the pieces of the puzzle eventually fell into place. Some of it was surprising, but most of it was not. The "bad" characters were obviously very bad people, and the "good" characters were obviously good. And as we all know, good always wins over bad.

This is the first book that I have read by this author, and I will be on the lookout for her next one. My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for giving me the opportunity to read a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I devoured this book!

Faith has been invited to spend the summer with her soon to be fiancée, David, at his family home off the New England coast on Hadley Island. But instead of days filled with adventure and fun with her boyfriend, Faith is left to fend for herself while David spends most of his time with his father, Geoffrey, dealing with the family business. Faith finds herself at a local bar and meets some of the locals who reveal that this island is full of people who have lived here their whole life and they have strong opinions about David and his mega wealthy father, Geoffrey. She also discovers that the island is haunted by Alice; a girl who went missing and presumed dead many years ago. So when another young woman turns up missing, suspicions intensify and the search is on to find this girl and the predator.

There is a lot going on in this novel. There is a full cast of characters and side plots to keep the reader invested and guessing. Not once did I feel lost or confused. This author is a master of her craft, formulating a story that kept me captivated and racing toward the end to find answers. This is my first time reading this author and it certainly won’t be my last!

Thank you Netgalley, Atria Books, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on July 22, 2025

"Dead of Summer" is less a beach read and more a sunscreen-slathered anxiety spiral set to the soothing sound of crashing waves and unresolved trauma. Jessa Maxwell delivers rich people secrets, emotionally unwell coastal vibes, and just enough murder-y mystery to make you question every shadow you see at your next beach rental.

So let’s set the scene: Orla returns to Hadley Island, land of lobster rolls and secrets no one wants to talk about, to clean out her parents’ beach house before it gets sold off to someone else’s generational wealth. The problem? Her best friend Alice went missing here ten years ago, and it still haunts the island like bad Wi-Fi. Her return stirs up gossip, memories, and the unshakeable feeling that something is still very, very off.

Also returning: David, Orla’s former golden boy crush turned grown man with mystery trauma and an engagement ring in his suitcase. Along for the ride is Faith, David’s painfully nice girlfriend who’s hoping for a proposal but gets gaslit and ignored instead. Naturally, she channels that rejection energy into amateur sleuthing, because what else are you supposed to do while your boyfriend ghost-hangs with his dad and avoids eye contact?

Meanwhile, over in recluse-ville, we’ve got Henry. Island weirdo. Local scapegoat. The man has been holed up in his house for a decade, nursing old wounds and watching everyone through his telescope like he’s one missed therapy session away from becoming a plot twist. He’s seen things. He’s written them down. And now that Orla’s back? Things are getting weird again.

There are three POVs, Orla, Faith, and Henry, and I will warn you, none of them are super warm or deeply developed. Orla is like a ghost in her own narrative. Faith has more personality but spends most of the book realizing David sucks, which... welcome to the club, babe. And Henry is basically Sad Boy Rear Window with a New England filter. The good news? The island is the real main character. It’s giving "Big Little Lies" meets "Outer Banks" but with more inherited trauma and less choreographed beach fights.

Now, the mystery. I’ll be honest, it doesn’t hit like a twist-filled psychological thriller. If you’ve read even one book with a missing girl and generational secrets, you’ll probably see the big reveal coming. But it’s less about shock value and more about slowly watching everything unravel, the lies, the grief, the money-soaked rot beneath the hydrangeas.

There are definitely moments where the story slows to a coastal crawl. The stakes feel weirdly low until the last third, and some characters have the emotional range of a sand dollar. But just when you think it’s veering into beachy melodrama, the book throws one last eerie reveal your way and bam, you're back in.

3.5 stars. Not Maxwell’s strongest work, but it still serves chilled drama with a twist of existential dread and a very haunted porch light. Think: what if Nancy Drew had student loan debt and generational resentment.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the advance copy. I devoured this with a glass of rosé and the firm belief that if I ever disappear on an island, someone better be watching with a telescope and taking notes.

I think the author did a good job of building up the setting, because the description of the island added to the suspenseful elements of the story. The characters and plot were okay. The characters weren't flushed out well so I never felt invested in them. The plot was okay but developed in a predictable way, so the storyacked qualities thst would make it stand out compared to similar stories. The pacing was intermittently good. Overall, I think this is a decent start.

The remote island setting draws you in, though the pacing felt uneven. The different character perspectives add depth, but the twists were predictable and the characters felt a bit flat. Still, an enjoyable read overall. Thank you Negalley for the arc!

A quick read, the kind of thing you can read/skim in one day. Atmospheric, although somewhat predictable and it dragged at times. Familiar themes: rich nasty family, poor girl with secrets in her past hooking up with a rich guy, a woman return to her hometown after years away, small town with suspicious residents who know everyone and their business, odd local man who is a natural target, lots of secrets. The characters were all shallow and unlikeable, the narrators somewhat unreliable. The premise appealed to me since I usually like a cold case mystery, so I was disappointed in this one. Suitable for a beach or poolside read, or an at-home read when it's 90+ degrees outside and you're stuck in the house.

I really loved Maxwell's other novels but this one fell short. I did like the multiple points of views but just found this story to be predictable and not something I would read again.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Hadley Island was once inhabited by friends Alice, Orla, David and Henry. One night Alice went missing. Since then, Orla and David have moved off island to their careers. Only Henry lives there now in self-imposed exile. Years later, Orla returns to clean out her parent’s beach home so it can be sold. That same summer David returns to the island with his girlfriend Faith, and with the friends all on the island, whispers and questions begin again about Alice. This is a complex book about friendships, manipulation, flaunting of wealth and position and dark secrets about what happened to Alice. Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for the eARC. My review of this twisted mystery is my personal opinion.