Recent Reads | Dead of Summer and No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding

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! I really enjoyed the first installment in this series […]