A nostalgic nineties setting for solving a century’s old murder/curse. Stranger things vibes and I loved it!

First of all, many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for granting me a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I’d sell my soul to Susan Dennard if that means she’ll keeps writing books like this. I don’t know how she exactly did it but she made me feel nostalic for the 90’s (let’s ignore I was born in 00). I mean the Nokia and that loud blaring ringtone you could hear from kilometers away? Yeah I can vividly imagine that.

Freddie was definitely a very unique and quirky character but in an actual fun and endearing way, and not in one that gives me second hand embarrassment. While the author could’ve easily made this a love triangle, i’m really glad she didn’t!! I totally wasn’t feeling the first ‘’love interest’’ so i’m glad he was just a background character, whose purpose was to just be there.

From the moment Theo was introduced I was rooting for him and Freddie. I would’ve loved to know more about him as a character, but nonetheless i’m content with the scraps we got <3

The story ended up wrapping up all of the loose ends but I definitely wouldn’t be opposed to more stories in this world!!

I loved this! This is perfect nostalgia Halloween 90s vibe. I definitely gave stranger things season 3 vibes. If you like reading about teens with a spooky Halloween setting and a fun mystery this is it. Great writing too

Imagine if all of your favourite 1990s slasher movies met with charm and found-family vibes of Buffy the Vampire and added hanging, beheading and disembowelments.

Weird, right? But also, undeniably fun. As a girl who grew up with 90s teen horror, their was such a vibe and I really, really enjoyed it.

Freddie is the epitome of every 1990s final girl, spunky, fun and always ready with a quip. And Theo is every. single. 1990s male crush I ever had.

Susan Dennard did a fab job with this one and I'll be recommending it to all my fellow 1990s babes.

I really enjoyed this slightly spooky tale of a teenager who has a massive curiosity about the world around her and calls herself an Answer Finder. Freddie Gellar gets half the local rival posh school arrested when she hears screaming from the local woods. The prank war they are engaged with takes a bit of a turn when a body is found in the same woods, and becomes even darker when it seems like this is all connected to an old poem called “The Executioners Three”.
Freddie has an added complication in her life. Becoming the Prank Wizard makes her popular with the cool crowd at her school, including football star Kyle, but she’s drawn to prankster from the other school, Theo, who happens to be the sheriff’s nephew, and possibly more connected to the Executioners Three than she realises.
This has got a fantastic Buffy/ X Files vibe for readers of my age (old) but I’m sure there’s a resonance for the target audience with Stranger Things or Wednesday.
Good fun, and nicely left open for more Freddie in the future. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

4.5 ⭐

The Executioners Three is the perfect YA paranormal mystery full of 90s nostalgia. Everything about it was just perfect the autumnal vibes were immaculate with it's spooky small town setting with it's sinister secrets, along with the rivalry between two schools and the sweetest most beautiful sub plot of a romance that just left you with a smile on your face.

Freddie who I absolutely loved was an amazing FMC and found her such a strong and relatable character. I just enjoyed how she went through the book trying to solve the mysteries surrounding the murders occuring in the town.

There wasn't a single thing I didn't love about this book, it is addictive, funny and just such a joy to read. The perfect book that needs to be on your TBR for autumn. Highly recommend!


Thank you so much to Publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book before publication, these are my honest thoughts and opinions.

The Executioners Three is like the love child of X Files and Stranger Things, slightly creepy but tongue-in-cheek humorous. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this before publication.
When Freddie Gellar calls the police after hearing screams in the woods she thinks she’s doing the right thing. She didn’t expect to get half the football team from the local private school arrested. She also didn’t expect that the police in estivating would miss the dead man found hanging nearby.
In homage to her father - who must never be mentioned - Freddie starts her own investigation. Weird noises. Ringing bells. Historical poems talking of death. Why does nobody else seem to be worried about what’s going on?
We follow Freddie and her best friend as she investigates. She uncovers the story of an age-old curse and seems to have evidence that someone is trying to make it come alive. Will she stick to her gut and uncover the truth? You bet she will…and it’s great fun watching her do so!

I really enjoyed Dennard’s Luminaries series so I was excited when I saw the premise of this book! I think she tackles it perfectly, building suspense balanced with humour and heart.

This book gave me all the nostalgia of Scooby Doo and the Goosebumps series and that made it all the better.

A perfect read for fans of action packed mysteries!

Actual rating 4.5 stars

If supernatural and scooby doo wrote a book this would be it!
A mix of YA supernatural mystery, nostalgic late 90’s vibes and some good old fashioned sleuthing.

The setting had a fab eerie small town feel and the characters were sweet and exactly how we all probably remember ourselves when we were teenagers. The cringing I would now do at myself 🤣

Susan Dennard has a wonderful way of writing in a slightly darker, misty, mood way that really draws you into the story and mystery.

The plot was reasonably predictable and cliche but in all the best ways that fit perfectly with the nostalgic vibes and I had such a good time reading this, chucking along with Freddie our FMC and trying to solve the murders in her town.

As a fan of the Luminaries series, I was excited to see what else Susan Dennard could write.
This was a book that had a great pace and I loved getting to know the characters within this.

4,5 stars, rounded up.

Frieddie finds herself deep in the midst of a prank war with a rival school, a mystery surrounding a dead body in the woods and a budding first real love. Can she keep up without drowning under the weight of so much expectation? I have to say was mighty impressed by The Executioners Three. It is the perfect YA mystery novel that made me quite curious for her other books.

The Good:
- The writing is fast paced and the suspense urges you to read on.
- The relationships between the characters were just on the edge of precious without going over it. The interactions were fun and no unnecesary drama was forced. It felt very believable.
- The 90s vibes in general were well written.
- The mystery was so so good. There were twists and both small and big reveals. While I predicted a lot along the way, it wasn't because the book was that cliche. Dennard is just really good at dropping hints throughout the story so that you figure out bits and pieces. It was very satisfying to sleuth alongside the main character.

The Could be better:
- While the vibes are great, there were a bit too many references in the beginning of the book. As someone who was a kid in the 90s I had to roll my eyes here and there. Especially naming her camera and phone after popular tv characters. It was a bit cringe-y. But I imagine the teenagers of today wouldn't catch as many references as I would.

The Bad:
- Nothing, it was a great book!

All in all it was a very pleasant surprise. I had a hard time deciding between 4 and 5 stars, but as I'm not quite the target audience I think teen readers would absolutely rate this one 5 stars so I had to go with that. If this turns out to be a series I will for sure pick up the next book. It's not quite a new obsession, but I'm highly motivated to check out Dennard's other books. Thank you to Daphne Press and NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC. All opinions are my own.

Seventeen-year-old Frederica “Freddie” Gellar sees herself as an answer finder — the kind of person who will follow the evidence wherever it leads. She’s also an X-Files aficionado, which says a lot about her love for mysteries and the strange. Her world is small, consisting mostly of her best friend Divya… until she gets half the student body at Fortin Prep boarding school arrested.

It all starts when Freddie hears terrified shrieks coming from the woods and assumes someone’s being attacked. Her quick action ends up being a massive misunderstanding — but strangely, this incident makes both her and Divya suddenly popular. The students now crown Freddie as the “Prank Master,” part of a long tradition of prank wars between rival schools. For once, the girls enjoy having friends and being at the center of the action.

But things take a chilling turn the very next day when, during a walk in the woods, Freddie and Divya discover a man hanging from a tree. The local sheriff rules it a suicide, but Freddie isn’t buying it — the branch is far too high for that to make sense. Her investigation quickly uncovers a strange poem titled The Executioners Three, which eerily describes a hanging, a beheading, and a disembowelment. Suddenly, what started as a harmless prank rivalry spirals into something far darker — a cursed, spine-tingling mystery tangled with cryptic poetry, creepy folklore, and supernatural elements.

The story opens with a wonderfully eerie scene: fog curling through the woods, unsettling noises all around, and Theo Porter swerving to avoid an animal in the road, crashing into a tree. From there, the tension never lets up. As Freddie digs deeper, the creepiness intensifies — along with her growing connection to Theo, who unfortunately happens to be from rival Fortin Prep. Their banter is sharp, their chemistry electric, but in this rivalry, Theo is supposed to be off-limits.

The heart of the story lies in its mix: the unbreakable friendship between Freddie and Divya, the witty exchanges, the romantic tension, and the escalating danger as the town’s curse creeps closer to claiming more lives. The final stretch is edge-of-your-seat tense, with real stakes and haunting revelations.

If you love a gripping thriller with a 90’s vibe, strong characters, supernatural chills, and a dash of romance, this is one to add to your shelf. I was hooked from page one and could not put it down.

Thank you to #netgalley and @DaphnePress for and ARC of this book in exchange for an honest fair and unbiased review, all thoughts and opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way.

The Executioners Three is a perfect YA paranormal mystery! I absolutely loved this book! The setting is a small town with sinister secrets. Think Vampire Diaries and Stranger things. The time period is also the 90s so this made for a lot of nostalgia! The plot is so much fun, there’s rivalry with another school, small town festivities, teen friendships and crushes as well as this very creepy paranormal activity. The FMC is an X-Files fan and definitely was channeling her inner Mulder to help solve the murder mystery. I loved her strong character. There was nothing I didn’t like about this book. It’s addictive, funny and also has a great ending. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-copy. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

I liked how the story was based around a poem, while mixing in mystery, murders, teenager school rival pranks and some romance.
The pranks where entertaining and at times creative, but it added a element of normal life to a chilling setting setting where murders are taking place.
I loved all the 90s nostalgic references as it added another layer to the story, but also gave some relatableness.
The poem was clever and yes a saw something before they was confirmed, but I was still left surprised.
Hoping we may get some more of Freddie as I loved her investigative nature while also having a gut for when something is wrong.

The Executioners Three is everything I want in a fall thriller: eerie forests, cryptic poems, supernatural mysteries, a hint of romance, and enough 90s nostalgia to make your Tamagotchi blink twice.

Set in a misty small town during Halloween season, this story hits the perfect balance between creepy and cozy. Think Stranger Things meets Scooby Doo, with a dash of Gilmore Girls and The X-Files thrown in for good measure. I tore through it in one sitting, flashlight app in hand, second-guessing every creak in my house.

At the heart of it is Freddie Gellar, a gloriously nerdy amateur sleuth with an eye for trouble and a tendency to name her camera. She's smart, stubborn, awkward, and full of heart. Her friendship with Divya is pure gold, full of inside jokes, Lance Bass references, and unwavering support. Her banter with her rival-turned-love-interest Theo is absolutely electric.

The story kicks off with a prank war and quickly spirals into something darker: a string of grisly deaths, ancient symbols, cryptic poetry, and a centuries-old curse that still hums through the woods. The pacing is fantastic, with twists and revelations that had me hooked from start to finish. Even when the plot leans into the creepy or grotesque, it never loses its emotional centre.

Dennard's writing shines in the character work. Freddie feels like someone you know, curious, brave, and just the right amount of reckless. Theo is charming and mysterious, the kind of love interest who makes you swoon one page and raise your eyebrow the next. And the romance? Sizzling, sweet, and still clean. It’s exactly what a YA thriller needs.

Set in 1999, the book is packed with pop culture references, from Nokia ringtones to NSYNC keychains, and it absolutely nails the nostalgic vibe. The small-town setting, with its foggy forests, harvest festivals, and whispered ghost stories, creates an atmosphere that’s spooky without being overbearing. Even the historical French-settler backdrop adds depth and intrigue.

While some readers might find the school rivalry subplot a bit overplayed or the ending wrapped a little too quickly, I didn't mind. I was here for the atmosphere, the banter, the creeping dread, and the adrenaline. Dennard delivered all of that with heart.

This is the kind of book that makes you want to grab a plaid blanket, light a candle, and dive in with a mug of cider nearby. Perfect for fans of cozy horror, clever teen sleuths, and stories that feel like your favourite Halloween movie marathon.

"Unfortunately, she doubted her teachers would accept “saving Berm from a potential murderer” as an excuse for not turning in essays."
4.5☆|5

It has been a long time since I had that much fun reading a book, but damn, this one was so good! With this standalone, the author takes us on a trip in a small American town in the 90s. We are gonna follow Freddie, a 17-year-old teenager who has been nicknamed the answers finder by her friend Divya. Freddie, who accidentally got half the rival high school arrested for partying in the woods. Woods where the very next day a body is found… And despite the sheriff calling it a suicide, Freddie is convinced that it was a murder. So she's gonna find those answers, no matter what.

It is no secret that fall is often my favourite season, so when I got approved for this book that gives creepy small town, Halloween-ish vibes, I was enchanted. And that delightfulness lasted throughout the entire book, making the reading experience very pleasant! I absolutely adored the vibes and setting of this story and the way the author managed to bring us fully into her universe. And what a universe! Mysteries surround that murder, and that town certainly has a lot of lore to unfold - including but not limited to: an old and very strange poem; unexplained bell sounds and an old curse - and all that made it delightful to read.

I had never read another book by Dennard and therefore didn't really know what to expect from this one. But well, let's just say that I wouldn't say no to reading her other books was I were given the opportunity. The writing style and tone felt just right, and I really loved Freddie's character, which gave this book a wonderful narration. And that plot! Combined with Dennard's writing, it made me addicted to the book; I simply didn't want to put it down. Adding to that the lore I talked about just before, a sweet kind of unexpected romance - that got me rooting for them all book long, they probably altered my brain chemistry - and a great cast of characters, we end up with a wonderful book that I look forward to buying once the physical copies hit the libraries!

Thank you to Netgalley and Daphne Press for sending me an eARC of this novel. It goes out on August 26th, just in time to make it into your fall TBR pile!

Thank you, NetGalley and Daphne Press, for this eARC!

Rating: 3.5 stars

This book is perfect for fans of atmospheric small towns in the fall, haunted by a murder mystery with a supernatural horror element. This was also what initially drew me to the book; it delivered on that promise and did so well.

Overall, I think the prose does a good job of capturing the atmosphere, the town and its people, as well as the horrors of the mystery. Dennard has created a charming community with an intriguing past and interesting citizens. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery Dennard crafted, and I enjoyed uncovering it alongside Freddie.
However, I struggled to pick up this novel again after reading a few chapters. This isn’t due to the murder mystery or the prose, but entirely because of the main character, Freddie, and her relationship with Theo. The story unfolds over about a week, yet they go from rivals to lovers in a single day, which doesn’t quite work for me. Especially since, whenever they are in a scene together, the murder mystery often takes a backseat, with most scenes ending in them making out or almost doing so. I would have preferred more focus on Freddie's relationship with her mother regarding the death of Freddie's father, as it seemed more relevant to the plot than a rivals-to-lovers romance.
I also had a minor quibble with Freddie's narration, especially her use of phrases like "Very Bad Human Indeed," "Kiss Him For Real," and "Very Serious Indeed" to emphasize her feelings. This is only a small detail and didn’t affect my overall rating, but it might be worth mentioning for anyone who might also find it a bit irking.

That said, if you enjoy rivals-to-lovers stories set against the backdrop of a small town in the fall, with a murder mystery to solve, this book could very well be perfect for you!

The cover and premise appealed to me, promising a dark, atmospheric horror story. The 90s setting and comparison to Stranger Things also drew me in. Unfortunately, the book didn’t quite deliver. The pacing felt sluggish, and the mystery took too long to gain momentum. I didn't like any of the characters, and the prank war between rival schools left me cold. In the end, I think I just wasn’t the target audience, so I had to DNF at about 20%. I’m sure it will appeal to some readers, but it simply wasn’t for me. Many thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.

While the cover, synopsis, and even the poem at the very beginning were setting out for a dark, twisted, atmospheric novel, it unfortunately didn't deliver as much as I'd expected. I found myself not caring too much about the prank war between the rivaling schools, while the actual darkness I expected from The Executioners Three was concentrated in the final part of the book.

Also set in the 90s, it did feel a bit nostalgic to me as a 90s kid myself, but I wish it were more on the adult side rather than YA, if 90s kids were the target audience.

That being said, this was still a solid read, a great blend of humour and horror, the main character Freddie reminiscent of Teen Wolf's Stiles, getting into the same sort of shenanigans, which was something I really enjoyed. And while romance isn't a big part of this book, I still appreciated having a couple to cheer for.

this book gives the perfect cosy spooky fall vibes! would deffo recommend reading this in september/october time! the characters made me smile & laugh quite a fair bit, and loved the relationships of the characters. i really enjoyed how they linked the different families through decades and generations to figure out the mystery. i really liked the dynamics of the ‘prank squad’ and honestly just found it a very fun book that i will be telling others about! and i think the overarching ending where everything is tied up is done very well! will be making sure i buy a physical copy when the book comes out!