This was a book that started slowly and picked up speed like a boulder running down a hill, moving ever faster to the conclusion. The author's ability to use the language to characterize different cultural and economic groups was excellent; being able to place a character according to the shoes that were being worn or the drink they ordered. The setting in the New York City art scene didn't capture me, but as they moved into the vacation area it was easier for me to relate. I had difficulty initially getting into the story , but I'm glad that I didn't stop because about half way in I was on a roller coaster of a ride trying to figure out what crime, if any, was done, if anyone would be held accountable and if another crime was going to happen before the end of the book. I did find most of the characters difficult to empathize with; they are either self-absorbed because of their wealth and power or self absorbed because of their history and their desire to get to wealth and power by trying to 'fit in'. The book reminds you that everyone has secrets and trauma, being rich just allows you to hide it better. The final third of the book was difficult to put down, and I found myself wondering what happened to all the characters afterward. It seemed that the author might have benefitted from asking an attorney about certain events because I'm not certain that certain events would work the way they were presented.
I was grateful to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for writing an honest review. According to Amazon.com, Jessa Maxwell is the nationally bestselling author of The Golden Spoon, I Need You to Read This, and Dead of Summer. She is also the author and illustrator of five picture books for children. Her comics and cartoons have been published in The New Yorker and The New York Times and her writing has been published in Slate, Marie Claire, and many others. She now lives in Jamestown, Rhode Island, with her husband, two cats and three-legged dog.

3 stars

_Dead of Summer_ is a good beach read atmospherically and in terms of the basic plot (and, at times, predictability of that plot). It's not complicated, but it's entertaining enough.

Faith heads to an island with her wealthy partner, David, and she fully anticipates things will be getting more serious between them during or shortly after this trip. But, since she's in a thriller, Faith, of course, has secrets of her own. These two make a concerning pair, and it's not surprising that Faith finds herself, well, LOSING faith in her situation and reaching out to her closest pal a bit during this time. One of the troubling details that comes up during this adventure is the long ago death of a local and all of the suspicion around various citizens. Several other characters come into play in both minor and critical ways, but for me, Faith was the most compelling.

Some level of accepted convenience has to be part of this genre, but for me, the most obvious one here was over the top. This and some of the other details were hard to believe, and that made the outcomes less satisfying.

Overall, this is enjoyable enough for a casual read.

predictable but fun summer read that works quite well as a poolside or other-side thriller. 3.5 stars, rounded up. tysm for the arc.

A big thank you to Atria books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review 💚

I'll start by saying that I loved the golden spoon by this author.
I enjoyed her second book.
This one was unfortunately not it for me.

I guessed every single thing in the first 5-10% of the book.
Pick it up if you enjoy a popcorn thriller set on an island among billionaires 💚

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I enjoyed another book by the author that I read earlier this year (I Need You to Read This) and the premise of this one sounded good to me since I love a closed circle mystery, but this one missed the mark. There are three POV's but I found two of them to be grating, which made it a bit of a slog. The setting was an island but I never really got a good sense of the atmosphere since each character was on a different part of the island and each location felt very disconnected from the others....it was hard to picture them all clearly. There was a slight "twist" partway through that is pretty easy to see coming and then another big reveal at the end that just too convenient. Overall, just didn't work for me.

Nothing like a summer thriller set in a New England beach town.

This book was good, don’t get me wrong, but the beginning was boring. It wasn’t until the 65% mark that things started to really pick up for me. The plot twists were predictable. I figured them all out pretty early on.

Book review 📖

📜Dead Of Summer
✍️Jessa Maxwell
📠Atria Books
📚Thriller Fiction
🗓️Pub date: July 22, 2025

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

✨Thank you @NetGalley and @atriabooks @atriathrillers for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

✨Orla’s best friend, Alice, disappeared ten years ago from a remote island off the coast of New England. She has not been seen or heard from since.

✨Orla has not stepped foot back on the island until now. Helping clean out her parents’ beachfront house before selling it brings a lot of memories to the surface. Her house, just mere steps from Alice’s, has laid dormant, however, Orla doesn’t feel alone. Eyes are watching her every move.

✨David and his gorgeous girlfriend, Faith, are spending the summer at his father’s sprawling estate on Hadley Island. As Faith expects David to propose, he is becoming increasingly absent and involved in business deals with his father from dusk to dawn. To make matters worse, his old friend, Orla, reappearing seems to have him spooked. Faith decides to start investigating the odd disappearance of Alice from years ago, not expecting the outcome she gets.

✨This had some fun thriller vibes, reminding me of a cross between Riley Sager’s The Only One Left and Alice Feeney’s Beautiful Ugly. I would have loved the middle of the story to have more momentum, as it was a bit drqggy in places, but this one definitely keeps you guessing.

#netgalley #deadofsummer #atriabooks #jessamaxwell #atriathrillers #advancedreadercopy #arc #bookreview #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #summerreleases #thrillerfiction

This was really giving The White Lotus vibes at the beginning but I found the writing to be so abrupt that I couldn’t continue reading it. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell was a quick popcorn thriller! I definately enjoyed the summer atmospheric setting. I enoyed the ending and it kept me intrigued to see what would happen even though it was a bit predictable.

Thank You to Atria Books for this arc read!

This was such a fun read! There are a couple of storylines and you wonder how they’ll end up connecting up until the end. I liked the writing style being quick and easy to read and the plot being twisty enough to keep me hooked!

Thank you to Jessa Maxwell, Atria Books, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Of all of Jessa Maxwell’s books, this is easily my least favorite.

The atmosphere and setup was intriguing - the setting is perfect for a summer thriller and the vibes felt very reminiscent of an Elin Hilderbrand novel.

Ultimately, this had multiple issues for me:

- The plot moved at a glacial pace with the event in question being unraveled so slowly that I lost interest

- None of the characters felt very fleshed out, to the point that I began conflating them

- This was much less of a mystery or thriller and more of a book about rich people misbehaving. By the end, I found myself no longer invested

I generally have enjoyed Jessa Maxwell’s cozy mysteries, so I’ll continue reading her future releases but this was a miss for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC!

Thank you to Net Galley and Atria Books for the advanced copy of this title.

I love Jessa Maxwell mystery/thrillers, and this is the 2nd title I’ve read from her catalogue. Her stories are always well set up, and the narrative maintains a steady pace, following the plot that has been introduced.

Dead of Summer has the right amount of players, so you don’t get bogged down in all these characters that eventually turn out not to have anything to do with the original plot. There are no unnecessary or conflicting backstories that deflect or confuse the reader from the original premise, and the story stays on track to deliver a great ending.

The Dead of Summer focuses on two neighboring friends, Orla and Alice, who do everything together, even their love of art, and they plan to go to New York to attend college when they graduate. They can’t wait to leave Hadley Island in New England, where everyone knows everyone. However, Alice realizes that her New York dream would be a little hard to come by due to her circumstances. Orla doesn’t see this, but she notices that her friend begins to act strangely, dress differently, and pull away from her little by little.

Of course, there’s a boy …David, who’s from a wealthy family and doesn’t have the worries or concerns of Alice and Orla. Emotions and nativity can be a catastrophic combination when it comes to teenagers, and everything is in the moment. There are a few other essential players in this story. Henry, the island recluse, watches everyone from his tower. Faith, David’s girlfriend from New York, hoping for an engagement, and David’s father, Jeffrey, seemly pulling everyone's strings.

This thriller is a slow burn, building to the disappearance of Alice and the events that unfolded that night. Town gossip would reveal absolute truths as another girl goes missing and recluse Henry is once again at the center of everything.

I enjoyed the conclusion of this story and was on the edge, waiting to see what really happened, which was a little predictable. I gave this title 4.5 ✨

It upsets me that sometimes the words "beach read" are used to describe books that are fluffy, not full of substance, or a palate cleanser between reading "meatier" books. To me, a beach read is a book that can be fun, but also has substance. . . .and oftentimes, rich people in gorgeous locals, behaving badly. Therefore, this is, in my opinion, the ultimate beach read. It's the 3rd book I've read by Jessa Maxwell at this point, and I like each book a little more than the last.
So.... let's get to the crux of the situation here. What is David hiding? What is Faith hiding? What is Elena hiding? (Notice a trend?) When their secrets come out into the open, there are fireworks, in the best way possible. I can't really say too much here, but I can absolutely recommend reading this book.... and I can say you won't regret it. As I said before- the perfect beach read. Do with that what you will.

I really enjoyed this! It’s the perfect book to pick up if you’re looking for a good, fast paced thriller. I did feel like I was able to guess a couple of the plot twists, but there was so much going on I was still left shocked by several components. Jessa is so good at keeping you guessing throughout her books!

I started this book by the pool (fitting) and finished it 6 hours later. Once I started it I couldn’t finish! This is such an amazing summer thriller and had so many twists I didn’t see coming! I loved the dual timelines and multiple POV. Each person had such a unique perspective of the current events! If you’re looking for a quick but exciting beach or pool read, this is a must!

This was the perfect summer mystery I was looking for. I love Jessa Maxwell's writing and how she weaves a mystery together. The book absolutely flew by and I read it in 2-3 sittings, I didn't want to put it down!

I love getting multiple POVs as it adds an extra layer to the story and mystery, although I did find myself predicting what would happen. I don't think that this detracts away from the enjoyment, but it is definitely a story that you have the ability to piece together yourself. Some of the characters lacked a bit of depth which I feel could have been achieved by fleshing out the story a little more and adding to the length. That being said, I think this book being on the shorter side definitely works in its favor and is a perfect fast-paced quick summer read.

I always enjoy Jessa's thriller/mysteries and I highly recommend this! I can't wait to see what they have next in store for us!

Overall a good story. The story follows several characters from Hadley Island. The first person is Orla who grew up on the island but left to go live her life in New York City. She returns to the island with the hopes of selling her family home and leaving again. Then there's Henry the local recluse whi likes to spy on the locals using his telescope. Lastly there is Faith, who comes to stay the summer with her very rich boyfriend who is keeping many secrets. The way all the character were intertwined with each other was very easy to follow. Loved the twist at the end and had me guessing till the very end.

This was a fun summer mystery. Some of it was a bit predictive, but other parts still shocked me. Nothing super novel but a great read by the pool book.

Thank you @artiabooks and Netgalley for my #gifted copy!


Dead of Summer was a thriller that I couldn’t put down! Fast paced with multiple POVs and the summer vibes! You feel that sense of nostalgia for summers as a teen and hanging out with your friends. The atmosphere of the whole town and eerie vibes around some of the people just made you wonder what’s really going on! I feel you’d get to this island and wonder what the hell happened there and you’d get all the rumors or musings from the locals. Lots of twists and turns that keep you wanting more.

I recently finished a mystery novel that I thoroughly enjoyed, even if it followed a fairly typical plot. From the outset, I was able to piece together the main mystery, but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story. It made for a quick summer read—perfect for a day on the beach or lounging in the sun.

The setting of the novel was particularly striking. Set on a small island, it provided an atmospheric backdrop that added to the overall suspense, sometimes taking on an eerie quality that kept me engaged. The island itself became a character in its own right, enhancing the mystery as the plot unfolded.

This book features a classic story trope with its affluent characters, particularly the female protagonists, who were portrayed with depth and authenticity. Their struggles and developments added a layer of richness to the story, even amidst the thrill of the plot.

While some of the twists were predictable, they were still executed well and kept the narrative interesting. If you're looking for a light yet engaging mystery to dive into this summer, this novel might just be what you need. Overall, it’s a quick read that combines elements of suspense with memorable characters and a captivating setting. Perfect for fans of summer thrillers!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, Atria Books and the author, Jessa Maxwell for this ARC. The book is released on July 23, 2025 -- just in time for summer. Get it from your local bookstore.