Day’s YA: THE EXECUTIONERS THREE

THE EXECUTIONERS THREE by Susan Dennard
9781250334664
8/26/2025
Tor Teen
Ages 13-18

E-galley available on Edelweiss and NetGalley

Freddie has always been a good girl at heart–she’s the one who follows the rules, and wants to solve crimes instead of commit them. So when she hears shrieks coming from the woods, naturally, she calls the cops. But instead of helping to stop a criminal, all she does is shut down a party and get half of the rival high school arrested. When a body is found in the woods the next day, and it’s immediately ruled a suicide by the local sheriff, she knows there’s more to the story–because her instincts are never wrong–and she’s going to be the one to solve the crime. Freddie sets out to prove there’s a murderer at large, but when she gets roped into the decades-long prank war between her school and their rival school after her failed attempt at Good Samaritanism, her investigation is disrupted. And to make things worse, the leader of the rival prank squad, Theo, has his sights set on Freddie–and is, well, gorgeous. As pranks unfurl, more bodies start piling up in the forest, and supernatural signs start to appear around the town–signs that are seemingly connected to an old poem and a historical town rumor. Freddie doesn’t believe anything supernatural could be actually happening, but it’s up to her to find out who is committing the murders, before they target her next.

THE EXECUTIONERS THREE gave me all of the perfect creepy vibes I’ve been dying to read lately. The historic town is the perfect setting for an eerie, centuries old mystery to unfold. After all, it’s a small town, and people talk, right? As the town’s history develops piece by piece, I found myself questioning everything–why no one wants to discuss the so-called “curse” that has been placed on the town, if it was really a case of the supernatural or just a copycat killer, and who could possibly be committing the murders. Reading it felt like I was walking through a local park on a chilly, overcast autumn day, with a hot drink in my hand and a growing awareness and uneasiness of the woods around me. The 90s setting was also the best addition, from mentions of popular 90s boybands to Nokia phones, and a fear of what Y2K would bring. 

Freddie is an incredible main character to follow–she is quirky, geeky, intelligent, and awkward, but always true to herself and her instincts, and desperate to protect the ones she loves. Her friendship with Divya is so accurate to the friendships I had when I was in high school, where you can support each other to the ends of the earth, but will always have non-stop banter along the way. And that’s not to mention the rivals-to-lovers romance, which was one of the most adorable YA relationships I’ve read so far. Theo made for the perfect, Backstreet Boys-loving love interest. Their interactions were filled with witty jabs and heavy tension, and the undeniable chemistry between them was like a ticking time bomb.

With an extremely fast-paced, twisty plot, this book will leave you on the edge of your seat–or hiding under your covers. I found myself jumping out of bed every time I heard a noise in my apartment while I was reading, as if I were Freddie myself, hunting through the woods. Each time the plot got lighthearted and silly, I was anxiously awaiting the dark turn that was sure to come on the next page. 

THE EXECUTIONERS THREE is pure fun–it’s spooky, campy, and filled with crushes, rival high schools, mysterious deaths, and sleuthing. Fans of Riverdale, Stranger Things, and Nancy Drew should be sure to pick this one up.

Happy reading!
<3 Margo

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