I really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately it fell flat for me. At times I had trouble distinguishing between the two timelines as mid-chapter the timeline would abruptly change. I also saw where the plot was going pretty early on, but that’s possibly because I’ve read a ton of mysteries and thrillers.

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Thank you so much for this ARC! Jessa Maxwell is an auto read for me and I went into this blindly.

I FLEW through this. The setting was perfect, an island with a dark past that we get to explore from the viewpoint of the affluent. The storyline was so intriguing and I loved the glimpses of the history told through the eyes of different characters. You read this book feeling uncertain about everyone you come across.

I was NOT expecting the ending twist but it was delicious. So hard to not give a spoiler, but my heart was so happy at the end for one character in particular. What a treat.

Jessa Maxwell actually gets better with each book. This was probably the most "thriller" like of her 3 books and I am totally here for it. Keep them coming!

Thank you to NetGalley and to Atria Books for the ARC of Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell.

This is a solid beach read / summertime thriller. If you go into it with this frame of mind, or if you've had a few drinks by the water, then it is easy to just accept the story for its face value of entertainment without needing something deeper.

Again, it's a beach read, so I don't expect the characters to be incredibly layered, but I do wish more of them had some sort of reflective arc/change throughout the course of the novel. In a way, it was disappointing to see that all these people basically experience something without seeming to learn or change from the past or into the future.

Faith believes she has found the perfect man in David, but a visit to Hadley Island is about to change everything. This small New England enclave is where David spent his summers until the local teen, Alice, went missing. Now, a decade later, David has returned to Hadley, along with Alice’s best friend, Orla. As Orla searches for answers, Faith begins to have her own suspicions, and the life she thought she was building could come crashing down.

Told from multiple viewpoints, this engaging read is perfect for summer. While the characters and plot may feel somewhat predictable, author Jessa Maxwell still manages to create suspense and drama that fans of her work will enjoy.

Jessa Maxwell is an automatic read for me so I was so excited to receive this arc! This book takes place on an island which leads to isolation and and a eerie atmosphere. This was rich people behaving badly which I love. Orla comes back to the island years later after her friend Alice disappeared. Faith and her boyfriend David who is a billionaire are on the island too. David is never around and Faith starts looking into what happened to Alice. Then there is Henry who has not left his house since Alice went missing and there were accusations against him. But since Orla has returned he has started seeing figures and things he shouldn't. Another disappearance happens....This was a slow burn thriller perfect for summer.

This story follows the people that return to a fancy rich people island mansion (I am sure there is better way I could have described that, but you get the idea). There are dark pasts and mysteries, past murders and MANY secrets.

Definitely one of those story premises where everything (and everyone) is not as they appear. But sadly, this is another victim of "great premise, not-so-great execution."

I didn't find that this was very captivating. I found the pacing to be very strange and slow, to the point where even when things were happening, it didn't feel like things were happening. Does that make sense?

It was also a bit predictable, but I know that is very much a problem with thrillers and mysteries...once you've read a certain number, you can pretty accurately guess the endings or twists to a lot of them. So that may be a me thing for this book, but others could find themselves in the same position too.

I just wanted more from this book. It could've been so good and so dramatic! I think I've just learned that Jessa Maxwell books aren't for me. I wasn't a big fan of the last one I read by her for the same reasons, but I wanted to read this one because it sounded so good.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

This is my first Jessa Maxwell book and I really enjoyed it! "Dead of Summer" gave twists, turns, a great East Coast setting filled with flashbacks of Orla and David and their adolescence before their close friend Alice disappeared without a trace. Alice's disappearance created a life altering gap for Orla as she returns to Hadley Island and sees her in everything and everywhere she looks. Orla still questions what happened to Alice and her disappearance. She seeks for answers and also sees David and his new girlfriend Faith. Faith, supportive character to David, begins to question the elite status of David and also wonder about the talk of the unsolved Alice. Filled with twists and turns, I think that "Dead of Summer" gave nostalgia vibes that tie in art, Rear Window vibes of people watching from Henry, and a mix of the rich and wealthy and their luxurious lifestyle.
I think that this would be a great summer read that is a quick thriller, who done it, and ambiance of a great setting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the ARC.

Maxwell's The Golden Spoon was an easy 5-star read for me, and I Need You to Read This was really good too, so I was anxious to read her latest. It didn't disappoint! This is such a fun, fast-paced mystery that I flew through it in a day while I was at work! Her writing style is so engaging and easy to read that it's hard to put the book down. Even when you should be working! The plot was interesting and full of twists. The story is told from the POVs of three different characters. At first, I didn't like Faith, but I very quickly changed my mind, and she ended up being awesome. Henry was great too and I felt so bad for him. Orla was okay but she wasn't my favorite. She did not make good choices. Between the fast pace, the twists, and the vivid island setting Dead of Summer is the perfect beach read! Throw in rich people behaving badly and it's even better! I recommend this book and look forward to seeing what Jessa Maxwell comes up with next!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

I will post this review on Goodreads on the date of publication as per the publisher's request.

I thoughoughly enjoyed this suspensful and twisty book. It kept me guessing on many points and was hard to put down. Every character has their own secrets which are kept well hidden.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell.

Jessa Maxwell’s Dead of Summer is an atmospheric thriller that blends mystery, nostalgia, and a touch of eerie isolation. Set on the remote Hadley Island, the novel follows Orla O’Connor as she returns to her childhood home a decade after her best friend Alice vanished without a trace. The town is still haunted by unanswered questions, whispered rumors, and lingering suspicions.

Maxwell does an excellent job of crafting a vivid and unsettling setting. The island’s isolation, its tightly wound community, and the slow unraveling of secrets add to the book’s tension. However, while the premise is gripping, the execution falls a bit short. The pacing drags in places, and some twists feel more predictable than shocking. Orla is a compelling protagonist, but certain character relationships and motivations could have been explored with more depth.

While Dead of Summer delivers an intriguing mystery and a moody, suspenseful atmosphere, it doesn’t fully capitalize on its potential. Readers who enjoy slow-burning thrillers with an emphasis on setting will find much to appreciate, but those looking for a truly surprising and immersive mystery might be left wanting more.

The story seems familiar and I feel like a version of it has been written several times now. However, I did like Maxwell's take on the mystery and disappearance. The atmosphere was set up well and hooked me. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC.
Great beach read: twisty, hard to put down and satisfying.
Told from the viewpoint of 3 people, set on an island and creepy at times (very nasty rich people), I thoroughly enjoyed this read!

Faith has been invited to accompany her boyfriend David to his family’s estate on Hadley Island and she couldn’t be more thrilled. She’ll finally meet his famous billionaire father, although she’s prepared for a formidable and ruthless man. And she’s not disappointed. Even her boyfriend appears to diminish in his presence and vanishes for long periods of time. She’s left to wander the grounds of the estate and second-guess this perfect life. Her interest is peaked when she hears local stories of a girl named Alice who’s presumed dead at the hands of a local recluse who lives on The Rock, a tiny offshore island composed of one house.

She also meets Orla, a recently returned local after she recognizes David on the beach. Faith isn’t sure David is completely honest when he brushes her off as nobody significant. But the reader also sees from Orla’s point of view, and we know she spent multiple summers with her best friend, Alice, and David, who Orla was obsessed with. And still is. There are plenty of secrets on this island, but are they harmless? Or deadly…

I didn’t expect to enjoy this book as much as I did! I read it all in one sitting, I was captivated for hours. The way the author writes just drew me right in and once I started, I was hooked. Sure, I knew where the plot was headed and saw the twists coming, but it didn’t matter. The author just knows how to tell a story. I’ve started reading another of her books and I’ll be ready and waiting for anything new.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Atria Books for the ARC of Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell.

This story is told from three different perspectives - Orla, a former island native who hasn't returned since graduating high school, Faith, the soon-to-be fiance to David, son of one of the wealthiest men in the country, and Henry, an island recluse. Their stories are all intertwined around an event that happened 13 years ago when Orla and David's friend, Alice, went missing/was presumed murdered, on the Fourth of July. Henry was accused of the murder, though no body was ever found and he was never charged. This is the first summer Orla has returned, and it's the first summer since that year that David's family will once again be throwing their Fourth of July party. As Faith tries to ingratiate herself with the townspeople, rumors about Alice spread and David begins behaving in odd ways. Henry, ever watching from his home, begins to believe the truth may finally come out, especially when another girl disappears.

This is a solid beach read / summertime thriller. If you go into it with this frame of mind, or if you've had a few drinks by the water, then it is easy to just accept the story for its face value of entertainment without needing something deeper. While it is easy to figure out some of the twists and turns of the mystery early on, it's still a fun read that gets a bit darker than expected toward the end.

Again, it's a beach read, so I don't expect the characters to be incredibly layered, but I do wish more of them had some sort of reflective arc/change throughout the course of the novel. In a way, it was disappointing to see that all these people basically experience something without seeming to learn or change from the past or into the future.

I read Jessa Maxwell’s last novel, “I Need You to Read This” last year and enjoyed it, if not loved. This one treads somewhat similar territory (women living with secret pasts in high society), but I enjoyed the premise and mystery a lot more here. The central mystery is the years-old disappearance of a young woman from a wealthy, remote island off of New England and the story is told via three different people - her best friend, the man who everyone is convinced is guilty of the disappearance, and a woman who is engaged to the son of the wealthiest man on the island. All of our narrators have secrets, of course, and most of the characters are hiding who they really are. I really enjoy the subgenre of mysteries involving rich people being awful and this is exactly that. The setting is great and the writing is pretty evocative, in terms of place. I don’t think this breaks new ground on the current trend of mystery/thrillers, but I didn’t mind that at all. In fact, I found it pretty comforting. Very much enjoyed this one and am still dying (metaphorically) to read “The Golden Spoon.”

Dead of Summer had chilling, mysterious vibes! It was well written and had a clear thesis. It definitely felt like reading a suspenseful thriller! This storyline has three point of views and was an easy to read book. It gave me all the beach feels to it too, which I loved! It had me questioning what was going to happen next, which had me very entertained throughout the entire book! Even though this is a slow burn, I absolutely loved it. I highly recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a thriller summer read! I give Dead of Summer a high 4 out of 5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley, author Jessa Maxwell, and Atria Books Publishing for this digital advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Dead of Summer is set to be published on July 22, 2025!

Overall an interesting story. Faith has found herself in a relationship with a billionaire’s excited to go to their summer house (read: estate) with the prospect of an engagement on the way. Her people smart bestie encourages her to enjoy every minute. Meanwhile a man accused of a horrible crime hides away in his grief and a former Townie comes back to sulk and realize she’s kind of terrible.

There were several awkward flashbacks throughout the entire book that were trying to slowly reveal what happened in the past that traumatized everybody. But it became pretty obvious what the big reveal was going to be and who were the people really pulling the strings.

It’s a fun read but not super complex.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

I loved her previous book "I need you to read this", that was an easy 5 star read. But, this latest one unfortunately did not keep the same momentum going for me. I found the story overall to be sluggish and extremely predictable. Too similar to other thrillers I've read.

Coming off of Jessa’s last book, I Need You to Read This, Dead of Summer just fell too flat for me. I found it very predictable and I didn’t find any of the characters to be as engaging as they were in her other books.

Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell is a fast-paced mystery set on Hadley Island. Faith goes with her wealthy boyfriend, David, to his family’s home, while Orla returns to clean out her family’s place. David and Orla have a history together, and with their friend Alice, they spent great summers on the island... until something went horribly wrong.

Now, years later, Henry, the town recluse, is being questioned about the disappearance of a young girl, after being accused of Alice’s murder in the past. The book is full of twists and surprises, and it kept me hooked the whole time. With multiple characters’ points of view, it’s easy to follow, and I found myself cheering for Henry!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read Dead of Summer.