I really enjoyed this. A bit Lianne Moriarty in style, the different angles keep you interested and entertained and it’s great unpicking all the layers to the story and understanding what’s happened to get to the opening of the story. Really recommend it.

I went into this book excited about the premise however it ended up being a bit of a disappointment. I love stories with multiple characters but this book went a little too far and I kept getting lost among the couples. It didn't help that all the characters were highly unlikeable, for me there needs to be at least one redeeming character.

Jen and Sam and Lauren and Jason have grown up together summering on Fire Island for decades. They host parties, play tennis and relax in the glorious sun. But this summer, a body has been found under the boardwalk and the rumour mill just won’t stop spinning. Bad Summer People is full of rich people problems and unlikeable characters and I got fully addicted to their drama. I thought it was really interesting to get the viewpoints of side characters, as it highlighted how much the 'observers’ or bystanders really see and the danger that they could pose. I feel like this is a definite Marmite book. If you love stories that revolve around scandal amongst the elite, this is an engaging page-turner that you’ll struggle to put down.

Lukewarm and blends into all the books in this "rich people do bad things in the summer, probably in The Hamptons" genre.

There's something about the way the author writes that makes the words flow easily, and the pages turn themselves!
A pitch perfect thriller! . . . This author is an absolute master of psychological suspense!

I loved this deliciously gossipy story of uber-rich Americans, who despite their immense wealth and privilege, are never happy and always looking for something to fill the void in their lives. 4.5 stars from me

Focussing on a small community of holiday makers who spend their summers in their luxury houses in the village of Salcombe on Fire Island, we meet married couples Jen and Sam, Jason and Lauren, plus a host of other friends including incoming tennis coach Robert.

Sam and Jason have been best friends since childhood, but Jason and Jen have been having an ongoing affair under everyone's noses. Robert is new to the island - he's hot and he knows it, so when Lauren makes a move, he's not surprised, and the two of them begin their own secret affair. Meanwhile Sam is under investigation for improper behaviour at work, but hasn't told his wife.

Other residents of Salcombe include Rachel, who has been in love with Sam for decades, and is renowned for being a gossip, so when she gets a sniff of what is going on between Jen and Jason, she can't wait to spread the news.

There are a whole host of characters to get used to; I found myself going back and forth in the first few chapters to remember who was married to who, or who had done what, but I got used to who was who fairly quickly.

I really enjoyed reading Bad Summer People and couldnt wait to get back to it to find out more -its a great page-turner full of unlikeable characters all acting in unlikeable ways. The drama and pace suited my tastes perfectly and I would recommend it to people looking for a story that grabs your interest from the beginning.

I enjoyed it, good storyline, characters and setting.
A good summer read, with a bit of intrigue.
Not an author I had come across before but will certainly look out for in the future.

Lovvvved this book! A glimpse into a summer that the New York affluence enjoy and the drama of the housewives and their affairs…..told from everyone’s perspective and you can just visualise them, a Netflix series waiting to happen! Loved it!

Bad Summer People is a novel that definitely lives up to its title. The summer inhabitants of Fire Island are horrible, entitled and narcissistic. Their main pastimes are cheating and playing substandard tennis (although of course they all believe they’re pros!).

I enjoyed the multiple POVs and how the use of splitting the timeline into four parts made the plot easy to follow. The twist in the final part was great and the author plotted this well. For a short book there was an element of repetitiveness but overall it was ok.

If you like unrelatable shallow characters then this book is for you!

A really enjoyable story that had me on the edge of my seats and rapidly turning pages. I couldn't put it down

This was a strange read, mildly gripping but I found all the characters incredibly annoying. I liked the setting, a beach resort on Long Island
In the narrative there was a lot of jumping about between the various characters, Robert the tennis coach, several cheating couples including Jen and Sam , Lauren and Jason as well as some very nasty gossips!!
All had been coming to Fire Island for years and had beach houses. They seemed very entitled and extremely unsympathetic. They barely paid any attention to their children’s nannies, for example!
There was a massive twist towards the end which I didn’t see coming although the author had paved the way quite well.
All in all an average read for me- I did skim read some bits which didn’t hold my attention which was a sign that it wasn’t a four or 5 star book.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my arc copy.

This was like gossip girl but for adults, it was fun and flirty with a little murder in the mix.

I found myself skipping quite a lot of the description as it was seemed repetitive and not necessarily needed. However, I did still enjoy the story as a whole. Not a single character was likeable and it made me even more intrigued to see the outcome.

I do feel like it fell short at the end and was a little bit anti-climatic.

I rated this 3 stars!

A enjoyable read. Was abit slow et the beginning but then it all began to make sense why about half way through the book. I enjoyed the different pov's from all the characters and the suspense in the last third of who done it.

The rich people arrive at their summer residences in Salcombe on Fire Island every year. It is a place where old money mixes with new and where beach side properties have been held by generations of the same family. Into this potent mix comes several families whose annual tolerance of each other is about to be stretched to limit. Bored and dissatisfied with each other the husbands and wives all seem to have something to hide not just from each other but also from the gossipy nature of an island resort where everyone knows everyone else’s business.

The story opens with a discovery of body under the boardwalk an event which leaves Salcombe reeling as crime is rare but as we soon discover no-one is above suspicion. Bad Summer People, with its whip-smart observations about the minutiae of island life, is done so cleverly that it feels like you are waiting in the shadows as this plot takes it’s inevitable trajectory towards tragedy. It’s been a while since I read a story where all of the central characters are totally unlikable but all credit to the author for making each of them so compelling. They are all rich, bored, selfish and self-obsessed and yet so utterly fascinating I couldn’t stop reading and felt a real sense of satisfaction when all the myriad strands came together so cleverly.

Bad Summer People, filled with an abundance of secrets and lies, is a fabulous summer read.

“Maybe it wasn’t a question of if people were liars, but just of how big a liar you were”
“None of them would claim to be a particularly good person. But who among them is actually capable of murder”
A fast paced family drama/thriller with each chapter told from a different point of view.
It has summer time vibes with the need to escape the city to the secluded island of Fire Island each summer.
There’s a dead body, a hot tennis coach and super rich couples behaving badly - cheating, lying and playing tennis.
It has lots of twists and turns that create a shocking finale.
It was fun and intriguing, you wanted to see how their stories intertwined and eventually unfolded.
However you don’t get a lot of the backstory on the characters because there are so many points of view and it got a bit confusing.
The perfect poolside read at just under 300 pages.
Thanks @emmarosenblum, @michaeljbooks & @netgalley for the eARC

Would have loved for Lauren to be a bit of a stronger protagonist - considering the status of the family she seemed too meek and mild for me.

Perfect summer read. Full of deliciously wicked characters that you'd hate in real life, with a nice level of suspense as we unspool the crime scene. I enjoyed the setting on the Fire Island. Great for fans of gossipy books/shows, and I couldn't put it down!

This is the perfect summer reading.
A summer holiday destination, where wealthy families meet every year. They all love playing tennis and gossiping, and this summer there are many severest needing to come out.

Bring this book with you to the beach, and enjoy it.

Bad summer people is such a juicy summer book. Perfect for packing for that summer vacation. With a wide range of characters you will keep turning the pages as the drama intensifies. The opening chapter starts off with a body found. The reader doesn't know who that person is. I couldn't put this one down and I really enjoyed this for what it was. If you like desperate housewives vibes you will love this.

I really enjoyed this book. I grew up devouring Jackie Collins' books and, to me, this felt like a modern day version if her works of art. It was fast paced, gripping, a little confusing at times (there are a LOT of characters) but overall, a fantastic, gripping thriller and a brilliant effort from a debut author. Would definitely recommend!