Dead of Summer by Jessa Maxwell Genres: Adult, Mystery/Thriller
Published by Atria Books on July 22, 2025
Also by this author: The Golden Spoon, I Need You to Read This
Format: eARC (288 pages) • Source: Publisher
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Years after her best friend mysteriously disappeared from a remote New England island, a young woman returns in search of answers in this atmospheric and scintillating thriller from Jessa Maxwell, nationally bestselling author of the “deliciously entertaining” (Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author) The Golden Spoon.
Orla O’Connor hasn’t been to the isolated New England enclave of Hadley Island since she graduated from high school a decade ago. As a teenager, her best friend Alice disappeared from its shores without a trace—but with plenty of rumors.
Now, Orla returns to her family’s beachfront home to clean it out before her parents sell it. The island and her best friend’s house next door, abandoned after her family left in grief, are stirring up memories she would like to avoid. Then there are the locals, always gossiping and watching Orla’s every move. Worst of all, David, Orla’s childhood crush and son of a wealthy Manhattan family, is back for the summer with his new, impossibly pretty girlfriend, Faith.
Faith suspects that David is going to propose but as soon as she settles into his family’s sprawling Hadley Island estate, she feels out of place. She anticipated a luxurious summer of fun and romance, but David is never around—lured into business conversations with his entrepreneur father from dawn to dusk. With nothing else to do, Faith begins to investigate the island’s dark past, curious about what really happened to Alice all those years ago.
Meanwhile, local Henry hasn’t left his house since the young girl went missing, in an attempt to let the accusations against him die down. Except they never have. For years, Henry has had an endless supply of time to pursue his only hobby, watching the island from his telescope and recording the activities of its inhabitants. But Orla’s return has shaken him and lately he’s been seeing strange things: shadowy figures walking on the beach in the middle of the night and a light on in the upstairs window of the long-abandoned house of the missing girl.
When there’s another disappearance on the island, all three find themselves pulled into an eerie and twisty mystery that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.
I fell in love with Maxwell’s debut THE GOLDEN SPOON. Her sophomore novel was similar – kind of a quiet thriller and a little on the cozy side but not really? She has a very distinct style that was further solidified with this novel.
We follow a few characters on Hadley Island – Orla (whose best friend went missing years ago, presumed dead), Henry (the man accused of killing her friend Alice), and Faith (joining her rich boyfriend David for the summer at their mansion). Their POVs alternate to give us a full picture of what’s happening on the island, where Orla is returning for the first time since she moved to NYC. This sets a bunch of things in motion and will eventually tie everyone together and solve the mystery of what happened to Alice.
I’m a sucker for a coastal New England kind of book and this had it in spades. It was super atmospheric with the small island setting, everyone-knows-everyone. There’s a lot of build up and scene/character-setting through more than half of the book. Nothing really spooky or edge-of-your seat kind of happens until after 60%. I’m okay with this since I’ve come to expect it from Maxwell’s books.
Overall this book was pretty good, albeit predictable. I figured out a few things along the way. I was generally interested the entire time while reading but I don’t think it’s an unputdownable thriller, much like her others!
No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding by Catherine Mack Series: The Vacation Mysteries #2
Genres: Adult, Mystery/Thriller
Published by St. Martin's Publishing Group on May 13, 2025
Also by this author: Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies
Format: Audiobook, eBook, Hardcover (352 pages) • Source: Libby, Purchased
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The second in a witty, USA Today bestselling series following author Eleanor Dash as she goes from wedding guest to murder mystery investigator at her best friend’s wedding on Catalina Island.
Attending your best friend’s wedding should be a piece of (wedding) cake, but not for Eleanor Dash, bestselling author of the Vacation Mysteries series. Because murder seems to follow her every time she goes on vacation and is definitely her uninvited plus-one to the special occasion.Emma Wood, Eleanor’s best friend since childhood, is starring in the movie adaptation of When in Rome, Eleanor’s first novel. Emma is also marrying Fred Winters, a major movie star and Emma’s co-star, who just happens to be playing Connor Smith, Eleanor’s ex and leading man of the series.
Filming wraps and they invite the whole cast and crew to their wedding at nearby Catalina Island. There may be a storm headed their way—because of course there is—but nothing will stop their nuptials . . . that is until Emma receives a note that says “Someone is going to die at the wedding.”
Eleanor is a professional at this point, and she’ll do everything she can to uncover the murderer so true love can prevail . . . before it’s too late for her and the rest of the storm-trapped wedding party.
I really enjoyed the first installment in this series – I know it was kind of polarizing for folks who don’t like when books break the fourth wall or have cheeky footnotes, but I thought it was fun! The series follows Eleanor Dash, a cozy vacation-themed mystery series author, as she goes on multiple trips and, yes, people die.
In this book, she’s at her friend Emma’s wedding on Catalina Island, despite a hurricane rolling in. She’s had a whirlwind romance with another famous actor, Fred, and they just wrapped filming for the movie adaptation of Eleanor’s book. People start dying during the wedding weekend and Eleanor is on the case again.
This book was generally very similar to the first, with a slightly different set of characters, new setting, and new mystery to solve. I liked it a pretty similar amount too! I don’t think Eleanor’s commentary to the reader was too grating but again, can see why people may not like the writing style.
The mystery itself was fine – I think my only real issue with this series (and it was very evident in this book) is that because Eleanor is speaking directly to the reader, we get ALL of her thoughts as she’s trying to solve the mystery. The entire final 25% of the book is her speculating and coming up with different accusations for people, and we go along on the entire stream of consciousness. I think the resolution in this one was a little “overbooked” (to use a wrestling term) aka complicated and overworked.
It sounds like there will be a third book and the setting will be the Bahamas, which is really fun! I will probably continue to look forward to these installments and hopefully they keep going well for me.
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