Torn between 1 and 2 stars. It was a short book but it was an absolute slog to get through. Rich people behaving badly is always hit or miss for me, but this truly didn’t deliver. I predicted many of the twists, but I’ll give this one extra star for surprising me at the end (even though the twist truly did not make sense when you consider all the breadcrumbs leading to it). Overall, this was boring and if it wasn’t a buddy read I wouldn’t have finished it. I also had the audio which has multiple narrators and that was much more enjoyable, but I still had to force myself to finish this one.

This trope has been done many times before and this book brought nothing fresh to the genre.

Thank you NetGalley & Atria for the ARC!

The concept of the book gave it the perfect summer vibe. This is a super slow burn thriller. Some of the twists were easy to figure out pretty early on. Overall, if you don’t mind a slow burn, this is the perfect summer read.

This is definitely a quick little popcorn thriller with a summer atmospheric vibe. Old money, power, status, secrets. A remote island in New England? Loved all of that.

I was a bit bored at times and things felt a bit predictable to me.

A bunch of smoke and mirrors and a very thinly veiled plot. But it makes for a quick summer poolside thriller.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Atria publishing for the advanced digital copy, all thoughts are my own.

I really tried to get this book completed but it just was not readable for me. I think it involved much of the writing style and going back and forth between different characters and I only got about 15% into the book to realize that I was not going to read this story. why didn't I complete this? because the book in itself is just going on and on about how rich people act and how they're rude and don't know how to behave themselves when it comes to fraternizing with people who are less fortunate than them and when I say less fortunate I don't mean poor I just mean regular everyday people. I didn't really like how their work so many characters that you had to kind of remember who was who and it wasn't focused on one main character and instead focused on a group of people. I am not against several points of view in books but I felt like this one made it a little bit hard to focus and it really wasn't overly interesting enough for me to continue reading.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jessica Maxwell, and Atria Books for the eARC. This slow-burn thriller had my head spinning—in the best way! I loved the atmospheric setting and the perfectly timed twists and turns. A gripping read from start to finish!

Dead of Summer is a mystery thriller about buried secrets on an isolated island - the disappearance of a teen girl from decades ago spring back into memory with the return of the billionaire island family's July 4th party, and another teen girl's disappearance. The whole town has to interrogate their assumptions and prejudices, and maybe act on the ones that prove true.

The story is told through three perspectives: Orla, born and raised on the island, self-exiled after the disappearance of her best friend; Henry, a local who is entirely isolated inside his strange house and watches the town through his telescope and was the main suspect decades ago; and Faith, the girlfriend of the billionaire heir who knows as soon as she arrives that she didn't know her boyfriend at all and that she and others might be in danger.

The build up is slow but the reveal is dark and chaotic, and ends on a delightful note of feminine rage.

Bookstagram Review: Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rounded up | Genre: Mystery/Thriller | Slow Burn, Island Setting

This slow burn mystery is full of island secrets, layered friendships, and summer suspense. This fits perfectly into that mystery beach read category.

If you're looking for a twisty beach read that leans more mystery than thriller, Dead of Summer is a solid choice. Set on a small New England island, this story unfolds slowly.

What it's about:
Orla and Alice are lifelong best friends with big dreams of leaving Hadley Island behind to pursue art school in NYC. But something shifts, Alice starts pulling away, acting distant, and dressing differently. Enter David, a rich boy from the mainland with a complicated girlfriend and even more complicated family dynamics. Add in the island’s mysterious recluse Henry, and the simmering tension of a community that gossips more than it acts.
When Alice disappears, the island starts whispering. Then another girl goes missing. And just like that, everyone’s a suspect.

Why I liked it:
* Short chapters
* The mystery stays tight
* A layered story about teen friendship, privilege, and quiet betrayals
* Island vibes + secrets = perfect for late summer reading

What to expect:
🔹 More mystery than thriller pacing
🔹 Character-driven storytelling
🔹 Gossip, secrets, and slow reveals
🔹 Lots of quiet dread

If you like books where the setting feels like a character, and where every chapter ends with a mini cliffhanger, this one's for you. I gave it 3.75 stars, just shy of a full 4, only because I wanted just a bit more intensity in the middle. Still, the payoff is absolutely worth it.

QOTD: What’s a little detail from your teen years that still lives rent-free in your memory?
Alternatively, what scent or song instantly brings you back to being sixteen?

Thank you @ netgalley @atriabooks @jessamaxwell for my eARC!


#DeadOfSummer #JessaMaxwell #MysteryBooks #ThrillerReads #BeachReads #Bookstagram #SummerReading #BookReview #SlowBurnMystery #AtriaBooks #HadleyIslandMystery #BooksWithTwists

drama filled but this felt like the outerbanks show with less thrill… unfortunately not for me. i had a nice time with it for some mindless reading but i wanted more out of this.

While there were some standout aspects to this book, I think it fell flat. I enjoyed the nail-biting ending scenes leading up to the final twist.

I feel like the story lines were a bit disjointed, the characters were all incredibly unlikeable, and I had to suspend disbelief a bit too much

However, this doesn’t take away from her talent- just because it wasn’t for me doesn’t mean it won’t be for you. I will still continue to read everything she writes!

Rich people love two things money and keeping secrets. And in a small town, that combination can get you very far. When a girl goes missing, her best friend stops at nothing to figure out what happened. But, she may be in for the biggest shock of her life.

I’ve been on a thriller kick lately and this was another solid read! The story takes place on a remote New England island filled with locals and rich New Yorkers looking to find a summer escape. The story is told between three different POVs and is such a fascinating mix of stories. First there is Faith who is visiting the island for the first time with her rich boyfriend, David, whose family owns a massive beachfront property and whose father doesn’t have the best reputation with the locals. She is a bit of a social climber, having moved to New York and made a new life for herself. Next there is Orla, a woman who grew up on the island and is returning for the first time since she left for college over a decade ago. Growing up, she had the biggest crush on David and befriended him along with her best friend Alice. But things changed after Alice disappeared and was presumed dead as a teen. Now she is back to clean out her old house and try to move on from the island. And last we have Henry, the man everyone assumes had something to do with Alice’s disappearance. He has been a hermit ever since, never leaving his house on an isolated rock off the coast, but he watches everything that happens in town through his telescope. As the summer takes off, another young girl disappears and we find these three pulled into the mystery of what happened to her and how it relates to Alice’s disappearance so long ago.

I love a book that overlaps POVs of people whose storylines aren’t related, but eventually everything comes together for it to all make sense. This book delivered on that element and I had such a good time seeing how the three MCs intertwined with each other and how it all connected in the end! There is a lot of mystery with each of the characters and as we learn more about their background, you start to read between the lines and see what might be coming in the future. There is a bit of a dark cloud that is constantly hanging over the story, where you know something bad has happened and is going to happen, but you just haven’t quite figured out what it is yet.

The story is short and fast-paced, with many twists and reveals along the way. While some were predictable, it was well written and gave me “I knew it!” feels. The conclusion to the book was SO satisfying and was made for those who love a good revenge plot.

Thank you Atria for the free copy of this book!

New England coast in the summertime is such an idyllic setting for a thriller! The perfect beach read, I could smell the saltwater and visualize the yachts with the stellar writing. Slow burn, character-driven story that I could not put down. Some of the twists had my jaw on the floor, and another I suspected. All around great read!

Orla is returning to her hometown, Hadley Island, for the first time in over a decade to help her parents sell her childhood home. The island is full of memories, but the strongest is when her best friend went missing. This summer, her other close friend and childhood crush is there visiting as well. What makes matters worse is another girl has gone missing. What is going on at this island?

My favorite part of this book was probably the scenery. I love mysteries that take place on islands where everyone knows everyone. In this book, the reader is solving two stories - one that took place 15 years ago and one today, which was fun.

However, there was just enough intrigue to keep me reading but not enough to have me want to devour this book. It was interesting enough, but not highly intense. The twists were not huge surprises and there was not many cliffhangers.

DEAD OF SUMMER by Jessa Maxwell is a solid vacation thriller. It’s about a remote New England island and the decade-old secrets between a group of former friends. When the since estranged friends end up on island at the same time, the truth threatens to reveal itself.

So this was a fun ride! The book came out last week so I’m interested in seeing everyone else’s thoughts on it! I had the unnerving experience of going to the Goodreads page of this book and reading the synopsis and thinking, “Wait, DID I read this one?” I think it’s a combo of forgettable plot and kind of off synopsis. Like mine I enjoy info, but the official one has a whole lotta stuff in it I don’t think you need. Just go into it blind!

✨My thoughts: overall this was a good book and I definitely recommend it. However, you have to love a slow burn. I am not a huge fan of slow so I struggled in the first half after I learned all the characters. The second half picks up speed and that’s when all the twists and turns show up! Some I don’t see coming some were predictable. Overall a solid book and perfect summer thriller read!

3.5⭐️
- short chapters made it a quick read
- multiple POV
- summery New England setting
- old money
- missing girl
- twisted rich men

Honestly just felt like it took so long for anything big to happen. I wanted more depth from our main character, Faith. It alluded to her hard past, but I wanted more.

It was an easy, yet somewhat predictable, thriller that is good when you’re looking for a quick and simple read!

Thank you so much to @atriabooks and @netgalley for an early look on this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’m always a sucker for a multi-perspective thriller. The layers of that kind of storytelling makes me feel immersed deeper in the story. There was also a fair amount of foreshadowing that you realize as you get into the nitty gritty of the peak of the story.

I felt less connected to the characters than I’d like especially in a thriller. I like feeling invested and connected to the main characters so I know why this is worth reading and why the twist is worth guessing. The two FMC are definitely relatable but the men in this tale, are so cringe that I hated when they were mentioned. It’s a definite deliberate character trait for most of the men in this story, so I appreciate why they were written the way they were.

The layered plot was a good slow burn up to the twist. It did get a little muddy because it all came to light very quickly and all at once but it definitely ties up all loose ends and I wasn’t left questioning anything. The theme of reputation, status, and the outsider is prominent and it reminds the reader to not be influenced by the court of public opinion because sometimes it can be as brutal as mob mentality. This was my second read by Maxwell and I’ll be sure to read more of her books.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

Heck yes to a read with strong, independent women who will do what they need to better themselves. The setting was fantastic - think a gloomier Martha’s Vineyard. The flashbacks to the past worked well to build tension. I really felt for Henry but also didn’t necessarily trust him since he was creepin' on everyone. However, I did figure out some of the twists early on which took away from my reading experience.

I liked this one! It definitely had a slow start and was hard to get into, but about 2/3 in it picked up and I loved the ending. I would read more by the author.

Orla O’Connor left Hadley Island behind after her best friend Alice disappeared without a trace. Now she’s back on the island to get her family home ready to put on the market, and she’s not the only one back on Hadley this summer. David, a wealthy New Yorker and Orla’s teenage crush, is on the island with his new girlfriend Faith. As business meetings with his condescending father occupy more and more of David’s time, Faith finds herself at loose ends and starts digging into the mystery of Alice’s disappearance. Meanwhile, a reclusive local observes all of the island’s happenings through his telescope. When another young woman disappears, is history repeating itself?

This simmering, atmospheric summer mystery is perfect for reading poolside (or oceanside, like I did). At less than 300 pages and with three POVs and short chapters, the pages flew by as the layers of secrets on Hadley Island got peeled back. If you love a missing person story with coastal New England vibes and rich people behaving (very) badly, you’ll want to tuck this one into your beach bag!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me an advance copy of this book.