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.

For me the story was pretty slow and then had a rushed ending. At some points the mid chapter time jumps would throw me off and I’d get confused. The reveals were predictable and I had wanted the Karma to play out longer. The resolution wasn’t very satisfying because it was so quick and then the book ends.

Dead of Summer is a multi-perspective summer thriller set on a remote New England island. There's billionaires, power plays, dark secrets and cover-ups, and a cast of interconnected characters.

Orla, who hasn't been back since her best friend disappeared as a teenager, returns to sell her family's beachfront property only to collide with her high school crush. Faith arrives with her wealthy boyfriend, David, to stay in the sprawling Hadley estate for the summer, thinking that he's soon to propose. Meanwhile, Henry, a local, hasn't left his home since Alice disappeared years ago in the hopes that the accusations swirling about him will die down. When another young girl goes missing, the three of them are yanked into the eye of yet another dark and stormy mystery.

The novel's major strength was its atmospheric setting. Maxwell did a good job of giving the island a close-knit yet cloistered feel, with gossipy whispers and suspicions about the past crashing like waves that built with intensity the further the plot progressed. The multiple narrative perspectives made for a propulsive pace, but I think it detracted from the characters making more of an emotional impact. I almost felt as if I wanted more time and depth from each of them. That said, it was still an enjoyable read. Perfect for a beachside escape.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my review!

Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell is a stylish mystery thriller about the wealthy and the power of money to hide deep dark secrets.

Faith is spending the summer with her billionaire boyfriend David Clarke on his family's estate on a remote New England island. She suspects he is going to propose to her, but things take an unsettling turn when David seems preoccupied with his father's demands, distancing himself from Faith on what was supposed to be a romantic getaway. Orla O'Connor returns to the island to sell her family home when secrets from the past pull her back into the shadowy mystery that links her to David. Meanwhile, Henry, a reclusive elderly man, spies on the islanders with his telescope, spotting an impossibility that connects David, Orla, and the tragedy that embroiled him in a sinister plot involving the secrets of the island.

Dead of Summer was a page turner, a propulsive thriller that had me guessing until the very end. The glamorous setting and peek behind the curtain of the wealthy pulled me into its pages. There was a sense of foreboding that the author created with a Hitchcock inspired mystery pulsating throughout the story. The characters were messy and the author did a great job at eroding their perfect veneers. The twist at the end with its big reveal was well done and one I didn't see coming.

I recommend Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell for fans of Jaclyn Golden mysteries and for fans of stylish suspenseful thrillers.

What a great read! Thank you for the arc!!
I loved the way the book and characters pulled me in and keep me compelled to keep reading. The plot twists had me by surprise, I didn’t have them figured out at all.
Will highly recommend to friends!
Thank you again

Thank you, NetGalley, for this uncorrected eproof ARC of 'Dead of Summer' by Jessa Maxwell - expected release date of 07/22/2025

ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Typical trope...A well-off teenage boy commits a crime, daddy saves the day but son comes home as an adult, with a girl the family doesn't like/trust, and the son's skeletons come out of the closet. Pretty predicable but a quick read, wasn't drawn out, and it was well-paced. Nothing too exciting happened but it wasn't a terrible read.