Reviews with content warning for Murder - Bad Summer People: A Novel

Just like the title implies, this book is full of bad people making terrible choices in the summertime! This book heavily relied on the characters being very unlikeable. Everyone in this book is white (except for Theo), rich, and entitled and that is what makes you want to read more in my opinion. They gossip about each other, scheme against one another, lie, cheat, and more! Given that I mentioned that the title gives away the content of the novel I was not expecting anything less than cruel, horrible, ignorant characters. I enjoyed the setting of Salcombe on Fire Island and the close-knit community made the drama even more salacious in this novel. If you are looking for a gossipy, juicy, and incestuous (in terms of everyone knowing each other and being involved when they were younger) beach reach then this is definitely what you will find in this novel. If you are looking for anything deeper, or likable characters then I think you will be sorely disappointed. The book was well-paced, and I thought it was interesting how the murder that takes place within the book was mentioned only at the very start of the novel and then at the end. I understand that we are meant to simmer on the idea of what has happened so that you are questioning everyone's motives and character while you are reading. Who does not like who, and who would be willing to commit a crime? Overall, a solid three stars from me. Bad Summer People was a fairly easy, no-brainer read that would be perfect for a quick summer beach read.

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abbeyroad1410's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Not every book can be one of the best books that you read, and this one was good, but probably not one I will re-read often.
The biggest thing that I enjoyed about this novel was the fact that the mystery relates to who died rather than who killed the person. I think the author, Emma Rosenblum, does a great job playing with this unique angle. There are many moments where characters are at the scene of the death and readers are forced to wonder if this is when it happens. It kept me hooked right up to the point where someone actually died.
One of my biggest critiques is that after the death, the book is extraordinarily slow. Readers also think they know what happened, so until I got to the epilogue, I felt like I was reading end of book fluff for about thirty pages. Until that point, the pacing of the book had been fairly average which felt nice. I wish it had kept that momentum through the ending.
My other large issue was that it was very difficult to keep track of all the characters. So many characters have chapters told from their perspective. One character was so irrelevant to the plot that I forgot that she existed until she was briefly mentioned again in one of the last three chapters. Yet, she has a chapter from her point of view. I almost wish the author had chosen 4-6 characters to use repeatedly instead. It feels like that would have been the right amount for the novel.
Overall, I think the book was good. Readers would especially like it if they want to feel visceral hatred for rich, white people with too much time and money for a little less than 300 pages.

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olpapi's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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kjcrary's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Note: you must read the epilogue and prologue in order to complete the story (then why not just make them part of the story?)

This story can best be summed up as: “Rich horrible people do horrible things to each other with next to no resolution on the plot.” Very fun to read (crazy to think that some people actually live like this), but a super disappointing ending.

Content Warnings

emmas_bookshelf's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is the perfect book if you enjoy rich! people! behaving! badly!

Every chapter in this book switches POV to one of the community members, all of whom are wealthy white New Yorkers summering in their tiny fire island enclave where they lie, cheat, steal, and play tennis. The book starts with someone finding a body and then covers the whole summer leading up to one resident’s untimely death. Perfect beach read.

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