Dead of Summer is Maxwell's third novel and also the third book I read by them, and it is not my least favourite. :(
Which is a huge bummer. I do love the mystery island + mystery people trope, but I simply did not vibe with it.
As I sensed with Maxwell's two previous books, Dead of Summer is a very atmospheric book., which is always a great thing to happen. It's easier and more entertaining to feel immersed in the story.
However, I did not care for the characters or for the big mystery of it all. What's more, I found this book to be not as enganging as her two previous novels. Those books read so fast, but this one? It was kind of a struggle. This mystery is way too slow, and adding the fact that I didn't connect or relate to anyone, I simply failed to care about it.
I'm sure other readers will enjoy it much better than I did.

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books, for this ARC.

I loved this twisty thriller. perfect for sitting on a dock reading thebenitre day away, which is exactly how I read this one!
thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

My summer just got a whole lot spookier…
And suspenseful.

I just devoured "Dead of Summer" by Jessa Maxwell and my mind is officially blown. Seriously, if you're looking for a book to haunt your beach days (in the best way possible, of course), this is it.

A gorgeous, isolated New England island, a decade-old disappearance, and enough secrets to sink a superyacht.

Orla, is back on Hadley Island to clear out her family home, and let's just say the island's giving off some major "things are about to get weird" vibes. Her childhood best friend, Alice, vanished here years ago, and everyone's still whispering.

Enter David, Orla's childhood crush, back with his impossibly perfect new girlfriend, Faith. Faith thought she was in for a summer of romance, but instead, she's stuck on an island where the "fun" involves investigating old disappearances.

Bless her heart.

And then we have Henry, the local recluse who's been watching everything through his telescope since Alice went missing.

Honestly, get yourself a hobby, Henry, but also... don't stop. We need your intel!

When another person vanishes, these three get tangled in a mystery so eerie and twisty, you won't know who to trust. I'm talking "sleep with one eye open" levels of suspense.

Jess’s Maxwell weaves a web of intrigue that will have you second-guessing every character, every motive, and probably your own sanity.

If you're into atmospheric thrillers that keep you guessing until the very last page, grab "Dead of Summer." Just don't blame me if you start side-eyeing your neighbors on vacation.

one thing jessa maxwell does right, is writing her settings so well that the reader is fully immersed in the story, let's get that straight. i felt the heat from the sun. i heard the chatter in the beach side restaurant. i saw the yachts floating in the turquoise sea.

this is not a thriller, let's get that straight. i would argue this is along the lines of a cozy mystery based purely on how slow moving the plot is. it took me 4 days to finish a less than 300 page mystery. it was not a page-turner like her other 2 books. the last 20% is where i finally felt hooked, and things started making sense. there was a twist that made perfect sense that i did not see coming at all. i wish more time was dedicated to the ending, and fleshing out all the fine details that concluded the mystery.

THANK YOU to atria, the publisher and netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

📚 ARC BOOK REVIEW 📚

Dead Of Summer By Jessa Maxwell
Publication Date: July 22, 2025
Publisher: Atria Books

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
(Rounded Up To 5⭐)

Huge thanks go out to Atria Books and Atria Thrillers for sending me this #gifted book as a part of their Atria Influencers program -- and to NetGalley for this e-arc -- in exchange for my honest review!

📚MY REVIEW:

Dead of Summer is the PERFECT thriller for those hot and hazy days of summer! This atmospheric thrill ride was a brilliant slow burn that had my heart pounding as plotlines came together and secrets were revealed.

The book is told in alternating chapters from 3 POVs: Faith, Orla, and Henry. Off the New England coast and accessible only by ferry, Hadley Island is one of those places where tourists flock during the summer months and where gossip & rumors run amuck with the locals year-round. As we get to know our main characters, it's clear that secrets exist with each of them -- and it becomes apparent there are some huge secrets surrounding the tragic disappearance of a local teenage girl 15 years ago. But what happened to her? And how are the 3 MCs connected?

Maxwell's upcoming release was a fast read that was easy to fly through in one sitting. I appreciated the underlying tension that existed for every character in a different way and I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen! This book was divided into 3 parts, and as the third part of the story began, I thought there was NO WAY this could be wrapped up and all these secrets would be revealed before the book's end. Boy, was I wrong! The twists in this one had me STUNNED -- and I gave some slow claps at the book's conclusion.

A lavishly wealthy family. Summertime on a New England island. Missing teenage girls. A town recluse who inhabits his own small island. Secrets. Betrayals. Regrets. Mystery. Dead of Summer is the perfect combination of all of this -- and definitely my favorite Jessa Maxwell yet! Don't miss this one from Atria Thrillers when it comes out July 22nd!

#DeadOfSummer #JessaMaxwell #AtriaBooks #AtriaThrillers #AtriaPartner #gifted #AtriaInfluencer #ARCs #NetGalley #NetGalleyReviews #summerthriller #bookreviews #bookrecs #thrillerlover #thrilleraddict #booklover #bookaddict

4 ⭐️
Expected publication date - July 22, 2025

WHAT I LOVED - The small town, island life. Everyone knows everyone else's secrets and loves to gossip.

WHAT I LIKED - I like the "body never found, but presumed dead" type of mysteries. Are they dead, or are they one of the characters...?

WHAT I DISLIKED - Some parts of the book reminded me of not 1, but 2 books I have read recently, so sometimes I felt like I had already read this, even though the other 2 books were completely unrelated.

WOULD I RECOMMEND? For a fun, fast summer read, YES!

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books, for this eARC for review. All opinions are my own.

Rating Breakdown:
Characters - 4
Plot - 3
Setting - 3
Writing - 3
Enjoyment - 4
>Total Rating - 3

Review:
This was a fun, short mystery. I figured out a couple of the twists pretty early on, but still enjoyed the execution of them. The glimpses of the island community were sweet, yet heartbreaking, along with the characters' struggles during the course of the book. The characters were definitely the stand-out element of this book for me. Other elements weren't anything spectacular, but the characters definitely kept me engaged and wanting to know more.

Bottom Line:
This was a satisfying little mystery with some great character-driven elements. I would recommend to anyone who wants a quick story with a focus on character exposition.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC to review.

Jessa Maxwell strikes again with Dead of Summer, a chilling camp-set mystery where nostalgia meets nerve-shredding suspense. Think: summer camp aesthetics with a bloodstained twist — friendship bracelets, bonfires, whispered rumors… and murder.

The story is a delicious mix of past and present timelines, slowly peeling back the layers of a summer that was never as innocent as it seemed. Maxwell’s writing is atmospheric without overreaching — every tree feels like it’s watching, every memory tinged with just enough dread to keep your heart thumping.

The protagonist is complex and imperfect — the kind of character who feels real enough to root for, even as her past starts to unravel in ways you don’t expect. This isn’t just a whodunit — it’s a who are you, really?

If The Summer I Turned Pretty went dark, or if Camp Rock was rewritten by Gillian Flynn, you’d get something close to Dead of Summer. It’s twisty, tightly written, and perfect for fans of The Last Time I Lied or The Counselors.

This was a fun read. I thought it dragged a little in the beginning but then I was hooked and read the majority in one sitting. There are a couple twists, some I saw coming and some I didn’t. Overall I really enjoyed it and would recommend reading it

Oral O’Connorhas found herself returning to her childhood home on Hadley Island , her job is to clean out the house so it can be put up for sale. Shes now living in NYC, she left the island many years ago after the tragic disappearance and suspected death of her best friend Alice. Determined to leave the past in the past she’s shocked to hear her old friend and crush David Clarke has returned and he’s not alone. He has brought his new girlfriend Faith. Faith is excited to visit Hadley Island and meet David’s father Geoffrey she feels like David may be proposing. Immediately Faith feels uneasy and unwelcome. Faith soon learns of a mystery surrounding the past disappearance of a local girl named Alice. She also learns that David may somehow have been involved in this mystery. Is this why he and his dad are in secret meetings and whispering. Faith decides to dig into the past and some people will stop at nothing to keep the secrets surrounding the missing girl hidden what really happened that night?

This is my third book by this author & dare I say it-I believe it to be her best! (I really did enjoy The Golden Spoon & its premise).

A small coastal town full of nosy neighbors & chatty Cathy’s spilling the “tea” . I’m from a small New England town & this gave me Hamptons/Martha’s Vineyard vibes. The rich being rich & snobby and thinking they’re superior to everyone & the townies/lower class folks eye rolling & side eyeing them at every chance.

I loved the 3 POVs from Henry, Faith & Orla. I liked their characters and the way the author told their stories through their eyes.

I did not see the twists coming in this one. I think this is a great beach/pool read and I highly recommend it.

This was an average thriller and nothing out of the ordinary. I did not feel overly connected to any of the characters and really didn’t find myself wanting to root for any of them.

I did enjoy the beach setting and the multiple POV, but do wish more time would have been spent in the present. I feel like the present day mystery really lacked development compared to the attention that was spent in the past. At times, I would forget there even was a mystery occurring in the present day that I was needing to care about.

I do feel this book also lacked editing and there were a lot of inconsistencies in the pages (I.e one page a character’s hair is up in a top knot on the top of her head and the very next page - in the same scene - it is blowing around in the wind?? Or on one page it is still daylight and on the very next there is moonlight when there has not been any significant mention of the passing of time?) These are little things, but they really took me out of the story whenever they occurred.

The big twist at the end was also predictable and felt very rushed.

Overall, I would recommend this as a quick and easy summer thriller, but definitely won’t be as memorable as I would have hoped!

So, this one was better than the author’s last book, but not as good as The Golden Spoon, which I loved. This one had all the rich people behaving badly tropes that I loved, with a twist at the end I didn’t see coming, which I always enjoy. It was a page turner for sure, and I couldn’t put it down for the last 25%.

Thank you to Atria books for the ARC! This was a fun, summer thriller read. Fast paced, intertwining character storylines and atmospheric storytelling made for a good story. was it a tad predictable? Yes. Did that stop me from devouring this book? Not a chance.

I really loved the Golden Spoon, so I think I had my expectations set a bit too high for this one. It was a decent beach read mystery, but I did find the plot a little thin and the character development a little lacking in comparison. However, it would be a good option for a vacation where you need to pick it up/put it down at your leisure vs something that's going to suck you in and keep you engrossed.

I loved Jessa Maxwell's The Golden Spoon, so I couldn't wait to dive into a new mystery. Maxwell has a particular talent for character--and in this case, the setting and atmosphere take center-stage, a character in and of itself. The multiple perspectives lends to the suspense, but it felt as though there wasn't as much attention paid to the characters as there had been in The Golden Spoon. THAT SAID - I am in the mood-reader camp and will likely give this a second read this summer, when I'm more likely to fall in love with a mystery.

Thank you, Atria Books, for providing a copy of Dead Of Summer by Jessa Maxwell. This book was interesting, clever, and if you love a shocking ending, you will love this book. Some of the writing felt a bit clunky to me, but it may be a personal preference toward certain writing styles. 4 stars!

Wow… this was a suspenseful thriller!!

I really enjoyed the mysterious plot, it’s chilling and entertaining.

Loved the vibes, the short chapters, so atmospheric that you forget you are reading a book.

The storyline is told in different POV, and will keep you engaged.

I definitely recommend this one!

Thank you so much Atria Books and Jessa Maxwell for my eARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Dead of Summer is a good mystery beach read. Taken as something light and easy, it does very well. As a more serious book, the characters could have used more depth and it was a bit too obvious about a few things.

Note: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley & Atria Books for the E-ARC! Very dark & twisty. Enjoyed the characters & setting. Will read more from this author.