Publication Date: August 26th, 2025
Hardcover. 304 pages.
Freddie Gellar didn't mean to get half the rival high school arrested. She’d simply heard shrieks coming from the woods, so she’d called the cops like any good human would do. How was she supposed to know it was just kids partying?
Except the next day, a body is found. And while the local sheriff might call it suicide, Freddie's instincts tell her otherwise. So, like the aspiring sleuth (and true X-Files aficionado) she is, Freddie sets out to prove there's a murderer at large.
But her investigation is quickly disrupted by the rivalry between her school and the school of the partying teens she got arrested. For over twenty years now, the two student bodies have had an ongoing prank war, and Freddie's failed attempt at Good Samaritanism has upped the ante. Big time. Worse, the clever―and gorgeous―leader of the rival prank squad has set his sights on Freddie.
As more pranks unfurl, more bodies also start piling up in the forest. But it's the supernatural warning signs around town―each plucked straight from an old forgotten poem called "The Executioners Three"―that worry Freddie the most. She knows the poem and its blood curse can’t be real, but she's quickly running out of time to prove it.
Because the murderer―or executioners?―knows she's onto them now, and their next target might just be Freddie."
The Executioners Three is a quirky, mysterious tale filled with prank wars, old curses and hauntings, and a delightfully unique cast of characters. There's an abundance of witty banter within these pages, but Dennard also weaves in a darker thread of mystery that keeps the story balanced and engaging. I'll be honest that I had some hesitations going into this book for two main reasons: 1) I don't read a lot of YA anymore these days; and 2) I've struggled with every other Susan Dennard book I've ever tried to read. Fortunately, it appears that despite the odds, this ended up being a pretty enjoyable story for me.
Our protagonist Freddie is not exactly a "popular" senior at her high school, but I wouldn't say she's entirely shunned or an outcast, either. However, that changes after she accidentally gets the rival high school's seniors arrested after calling the cops when she heard weird noises from the woods one night...where the cops then found the seniors underage drinking--and subsequently arrested them. Now Freddie is viewed as queen of the pranks and is immediately drawn in with the "popular" kids as they attempt to undertake even more pranks against the rival high school, which has now resulted in an all-out prank war between the two high schools. And, of course, things get even more complicated when Freddie strikes up an unexpected connection with a boy from the rival high school--a boy who also happens to be the sheriff's nephew.
Freddie was a fun character to follow because she is both relatable and also someone whose mind never really stops going so there's always something to keep us, as readers, entertained. I really enjoyed diving into her mind as she endures some very typical high school difficulties like navigating crushes, friendships, and more, as well as how she handles some not-so-typical things that get thrown her way, like mysteries and murder (you know, nothing too crazy!). She has a reference for almost everything and I appreciated how she handled some of her anxieties and tried to really do some inner reflection on various topics as well. She's a smart protagonist who makes some mistakes that felt fitting for someone her age. I do feel like the banter between characters could be a little hit or miss for some people, but in all honesty it was fun to just relax with this book and have a good time while still getting a decent story at the same time.
The pacing worked well for me. It's a shorter read so it wasn't dragged out and it also didn't feel too slow-paced, and fortunately it never felt rushed, either. At times, I did occasionally feel that the plot was a bit jumbled with where the primary focus was meant to be. I sometimes wasn't sure whether Dennard wanted the main focus to be more on the mystery or the prank wars and Freddie's issues, and perhaps this could have made for a good overall balance, but instead it just sometimes felt like some pretty huge mystery elements were sidelined in ways that didn't entirely make sure.
Despite this slight mismatch with the plotting, I still appreciated the overall balance between the fun and tension. The Executioners Three was overall much more lighthearted in tone than I expected. Despite murders, hauntings, and some genuinely suspenseful moments, the book felt lighter than I would have expected--it was almost "cozy" (as most would say) in a way? The heavier elements never lost their weightiness or impact, but they were handled in a lighter manner the prevented the book from becoming overly grim or heavy. I'm a bit mixed on how I feel about this, but overall I think it served to make this book feel like an absolutely perfect read for fall because it just feels like something you'd want to curl up with as the autumnal season unfolds and we head into the spooky season.
