How far would you be willing to go to find answers?

This story takes us to Hadley Island in New England with a gal going back to where she grew up, hoping for answers and closure.

This was a fun story to go through and a fairly quick read. It weaves between characters as well as timelines to give the full picture. I liked being able to get the different perspectives to fit all the puzzle pieces together. You don’t necessarily know who to like or who to trust - which gives a sort of sharper edge to the story.

It was a slow build to a very quick climax at the end. The getting to the end felt quick swift and engaging. I really enjoyed The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell, so knew I wanted to read this book and am ready to read more.

Thank you so much to the author, Jessa Maxwell, Atria books and NetGalley for the eARC of Dead of Summer!

Orla's best friend, Alice, disappeared 10 years ago on Hadley Island. She returns to the island to care for her childhood home and lay ghosts to rest. Her wealthy friend David and his new girlfriend also return. Their lives collide and deadly secrets are revealed.
The story is told in 3 POVs. Fun and suspenseful! Perfect beach read.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Atgria Books for this digital e-arc.*

Dead of Summer is the first book I’ve read by Jessa Maxwell, although I have her other books on my TBR. I need to read those ASAP!

I loved the multiple POVs in this book. The way that each POV also had some flashbacks to help piece the past events together was done nicely. And each POV ending in cliffhangers had me turning pages to find out what happened. It is slower paced than I anticipated, but the cliffhangers definitely help make up for it. As do the short chapters. The isolated, small town island setting really helped set the vibe in the story. You just know everyone has secrets, but how dark are they?

Thank you to Atria Books & Netgalley for my ARC of this book!

This is a slow burn mystery - characters and their pasts are slowly revealed through three main POVs. I liked the setting of this, as a small island will definitely make a story a little bit more creepy, but I think it was a little too slow for me. I like when thrillers and/or mysteries move quickly as the pace seems to be more engaging. There was also nothing really surprising in this one, just a slow uncovering of a past event.

Jessa Maxwell’s “I Need You to Read This” was a five-star read for me, despite DNF’ing “The Golden Spoon” because it felt too cozy, so I was really excited for “Dead of Summer” to see which direction this book would go.

First, I love the cover, and it seemed like a perfect summer thriller based on the premise. I’ll admit that when I got into it and realized this was yet another thriller about a girl meeting her ultra-rich boyfriend’s family for the first time, I almost gave up right then. Please….this trope has been beaten to death, revived, and beaten to death again in this genre recently. I’m pretty sure I’ve read at least ten recent thrillers with this storyline in the past 12-18 months.

But my love for the cover and my enjoyment of Maxwell’s most recent book before this one was enough to make me carry on. Ultimately, I enjoyed the setting and the story, and felt like it was a quick read that I didn’t want to put down. I was satisfied with the ending and rated it a solid four stars.

The items below are only for feedback purposes and won’t be published with my reviews on other sites.

In terms of feedback, there were several twists in this book and the first one was very obvious to me almost from the beginning. The second one wasn’t quite as obvious but I still saw it coming from a long way off. It was pretty clear Alice was still alive somewhere and would pop up soon. And why did she never tell Orla she was alive when they were supposedly best friends for many years. I just didn’t buy that.

The arrival of the best friend was too abrupt and really pulled me out of the story. The resolution was also too abrupt and I think it could have been smoother overall. It just wrapped up way too quickly and felt rushed in the last 5 percent of the book.

This is a thriller with a ton of twists but a slow start. Introducing the setting and the characters takes up a little more than a third of the book, but once that is accomplished, the plot takes over and rockets to the end with some surprising twists. The main characters are united by the disappearance of teenager Alice a decade before the book starts. With a trio of narrators, the story did not mesh well for me at first because they all presented the story not only from different points of view but also from different backgrounds. Orla is packing up her parents’ house and was Alice’s best friend. Faith is the new girlfriend of wealthy David Clarke and Henry is the reclusive and mysterious peeper on the island, using a telescope to keep track of what is going on all around the island since he never leaves home. The three of them have little in common but the stories of Orla, Henry and David converge around the mystery of another missing teen. I enjoyed the setting, a plush and welcoming environment with plenty of summer vibes. The characters were somewhat mysterious as their secrets were slowly revealed, which added to the atmosphere of story. Once the second teen disappeared, the book got more interesting and I felt compelled to finish it. This is a good story, not great, since I could guess part of what was going to happen and I didn’t really like most of the characters. But it is a solid thriller with a slow start.
I voluntarily received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions expressed are my own.

I loved the atmospheric telling of this story about three women: one who returns to sell off her parents' house, one who was her best friend and presumed drowned at sea, and a third who comes to meet the family of the wealthy man she has been dating.

So much of this book made me angry, though. The way David left Faith alone, while he pow-wowed with his father, the loneliness of Henry, who lives on a crumbling rock in the middle of the ocean, accused of having something to do with Alice's death, Orla, who interrupts the relationship between Faith and David, and of course, Geoffrey, David's obnoxious dad. And perhaps that's what the author intended. Where I had a problem was with suspending disbelief for the last third of the book. There were just too many improbable things happening for my taste.

I have heard good things about the author's other books, and I plan to read "I Need You to Read This" by Jess Maxwell.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advance reader's copy.

Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell is the perfect twisty, gloomy summer going into fall read set on Hadley Island, New England. Orla returns to the island to go through her parent’s belongings at their old house. David returns to visit his father, who still lives in a huge mansion, and brings along his soon to be fiancé, Faith. Henry is the weird recluse who lives in a single house on a cliff and observes all the goings on with a telescope on the island. There is a past, though… Orla’s best friend, Alice disappeared on that island, and everyone thinks Henry did it. In this slow burn of a thriller, we get the perspective of Faith, Orla, and Henry as past secrets unravel with a few twists I didn’t see coming. Everyone is connected, but in the end we get the truth of what really happened to Alice all those years ago. This book is rich with atmospheric description, which is why I said it’s the perfect read as we start to close in on summer and enter fall.

I have some mixed feelings about this book. I liked the mystery fine and once we got into the mystery it definitely held my attention. Unfortunately, it just took a long time for the mystery to pick up. I felt like the first third of the story was very slow. I think it was trying to build the setting and characters, but it had too much description. I didn’t need every house on the island or every room in those houses described so in depth. Those long, drawn out descriptions took me out of the story often. I also really struggled to get a read on the tone. Is this cozy or more suspenseful? Am I supposed to like the characters or distrust everyone?

I enjoyed the last third of the book a lot. The pacing picked up and we were finally getting into the mystery. The tone was much more clear and I felt invested. I would have liked this story more if there was more mystery building sprinkled throughout instead of most of it coming at the end. I thought the different POVs and cliffhanger chapter endings added to the suspense. I just would have liked to seen this done throughout the story instead of all at the end.

Orla O'Connor is returning to her childhood home on Hadley Island for the first time in the years after her best friend - Alice - disappeared, presumed dead. Getting ready to sell her parents' beachfront home, Orla is confronted with memories that won't stay buried, especially on a small island, and even moreso when another girl goes missing.

Told in alternating points of view between Orla, Henry- a local recluse with a penchant for spying on his neighbors and with a mysterious tie to Alice's disappearance- and Faith- visiting the island with her boyfriend David, who knew both Orla and Alice. I thought that alternating chapters were done really well and achieved a good sense of well-roundedness as far as the setting goes.

I wish the plot would have progressed faster than it did for all the lack of twists we actually get throughout. Maybe it's because everything was built up almost too meticulously, but I wasn't surprised by anything learned.

I did appreciate how it challenged my perceived biases going into a story. As an avid reader you get a sense of how characters are going to be. Who's going to be trouble, who's going to be nice, who you can or can't trust. I thought I had everyone pegged after a few chapters in, but I did not. It would be too spoilery to go into more detail about this, but I like when a story or the characters flip the script.

Looking at the big picture, it does have a satisfying end, but I didn't feel like the buildup carried into the ending very well. It was kind of build, build, build, reveal end. It felt abrupt. I wish there was a bit more of a come down. However, I felt similarly about Jessa Maxwell's The Golden Spoon.

Jessa Maxwell is an auto-read author for me, and I was really excited to read an early copy of Dead of Summer. I liked how this story was told from multiple POVs , which kept me engaged being that the story was a slower burn. I thought the author did a great job building tension and suspense with the mystery in this story, even though the twists were predictable.
Overall, this is a quick, bingeable thriller that would be a perfect for a day at the beach, or on a rainy day when you can fly through it in one sitting!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was a little slow at first, but once I got into it, I was super hooked. The author did a great job of making me feel for Henry like I actually knew him. I liked the rest of the characters as well, but the Henry chapters in particular got to me.

I genuinely didn't see the ending coming, so that's always a plus!

Orla O’Connor left Hadley Island after the disappearance of her friend Alice, and she hasn’t been back since. Now she has returned to clean out her family residence so that it can be sold. Being back on the island has stirred up a lot of memories that she would rather not be brought up. On top of that, David Clarke, her childhood crush and best friend who was with her the night that Alice disappeared, is also back on the island — with his girlfriend. Now there is another girl missing.

I had such high hopes for this book. I had seen such awesome review of it. Unfortunately, this book didn’t do it for me. I have read this author before and I really enjoyed the book I Need You To Read This. I was kind of bored with this one. I was 38% into the book and I felt like nothing was happening, and all that was eluded to was something that happened in the past. For thrillers, I need a little more, and I need it earlier on. I don’t want all of the action to take place in the last 10% of the book anymore.

For those that read thrillers a lot, the ending to the plot is somewhat predictable. I wasn’t shocked, or wowed. The story was told through multiple points of view, which after I remembered who each character was, was fine. At first, it just took me a moment to remember who Henry was!

I didn’t feel the need to DNF this book, which is good. This is more of a beach read, popcorn thriller. It’s easy to read and it reads quickly. For those that are new to the thriller genre, and enjoy slow burn thrillers, then you’ll definitely like this book.

While the story remains intriguing enough to hold interest throughout, the book is mostly disappointing. Regular readers of thrillers or viewers of theatrical thrillers can likely spot several of the big twists before they are revealed. Plus, there are too many unlikable characters. This includes Orla, Alice, and David, none of whom has an inkling of what it is like to be a good friend. The ending is also less than satisfying. It doesn't make complete sense and needs further explanation. To say more would be spoilery.

Orla doesn't want to return to the small community of Hadley Island. She doesn't want to see those involved in the disappearance of her best childhood friend Alice. But her parents are selling the house and she has no excuse to not go clean it out for them! What she comes across is the continuation of deep held secrets. I loved that the story is told from three very diverse points of view. That added to the suspense and engaging pacing of the story. Slowly the past truths are revealed and the links to the present become apparent. Some twists felt obvious while others went places I hadn't expected. Whether you are looking for a twisty suspense, a light vacation read, or a rich people behaving badly, this is a book for you!

Alice disappeared a decade ago and her best friend Orla has never really been able to get past it. She left her New England home at the first chance she could and hasn't come back from NYC since. But a request from her parents draws Orla back in and once on the island she can't help but contend with Alice's disappearance.

Jessa Maxwell has written the perfect kind of summer thriller. Full of powerful people and intrigue, Dead of Summer is one of my favorite books of 2025.

Why is it that men managed to get away with every bad thing they do or blame it on some less powerful men? Oh, let me answer my question! Money, power, and a little bit of brute power can get you anything. When a woman does the same, it's time to lock her up. This is why women choose more convoluted and cunning ways to solve their problems.

Orla did not want to come back to the island where her best friend disappeared, but someone needs to put the house in order before she can sell it. As if that was not enough, her childhood crush came back to the island with his girlfriend. With all eyes on these trio and Henry, who people thought had a hand in disappearance, the quiet island turned back in time to that of disappearance.

When another girl disappeared, Faith started to see the evil lurking in the shadows and Orla started to get dejavus. While men, excluding poor Henry and shaken David, continued to live their lives, women were fighting for each other and others long gone.

Thank you Atria Books for my #gifted copy of Dead of Summer! #AtriaPartner #atriabooks #AtriaInfluencer #DeadofSummer

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟐𝟐, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓

𝟒★

Jessa Maxwell is back with another thriller that is perfect for your beach bag. It has such an atmospheric setting and eerie vibes. While the beginning was a bit slow for me, the second half of the book definitely picked up in pace and became quite the page turner for me. Full of secrets and gossip in a small town, I enjoyed each of the quirky characters in this book. While a bit predictable at times, this one still kept me engaged and I really enjoyed how this mystery played out for Orla, David, and Henry.

🌑Multiple POV
🌑Atmospheric
🌑Unique Characters
🌑Suspenseful
🌑Small Town Vibes
🌑Secrets

Posted on Goodreads on July 22, 2025: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around July 22, 2025: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on July 22, 2025
**-will post on designated date

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria publishing for providing me with an e-ARC of Jessa Maxwell's latest thriller, Dead of Summer.

This is a perfect summer thriller read. The atmosphere created by the author gives total summer vibes and if it weren't for the missing people and rich people drama - you may almost wish you were on that remote New England island. Sadly, this book was a bit of a letdown. I have LOVED Jessa's previous work, The Golden Spoon and I Need You to Read This and was hoping for the same outcome.

The book has three points of views and was easy to follow and while it pulled me in and held my attention initially, it became a bit predictable toward the second half of the book. The pacing was fine, but lends itself to more of a slowburn type of thriller. Again, this was an entertaining read with great summer atmosphere, I simply perferred her other works a bit more. I would still recommend this book without hesitation to anyone looking for a summer thirller.

This was the perfect summer popcorn mystery! Beach vibes, secrets and murder what else could someone want out of a thriller book? In Jessa Maxwell’s 3rd book we get 3 different POV’s about past and present situations on Hadley Island. 10 years ago, one of the POV’s best friend Alice went missing and of course when Orla returns to the island sinister things start happening again. At the same time their old friends David and Henry are there to thicken the suspense along with David’s new girlfriend, Faith.
Originally, I was not feeling Faith’s storyline but the short chapters that slow burned the events unfolding on Alice’s disappearance made this book a 4 star read! The ending was a bit predictable but that did not take away from the fun and feel of it all! I’ve read all of Jessa Maxwell’s books now and I will absolutely keep coming back for more!!