The Executioners Three by Susan Dennard Review

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, the two student bodies have had an ongoing prank war, and Freddie's failed attempt at Good Samaritanism has upped the ante. 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 just might be Freddie.

The paranormal episodes of Scooby Doo crossed with Holly Jackson’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Susan Dennard’s The Executioners Three is a really fun and entertaining mystery thriller read that has the perfect tone. Campy in all the right places, yet surprisingly compelling and mysterious when it chooses to be, this YA novel skillfully blends its murder mystery, light paranormal spooks, and high school hijinks, all while serving as a nostalgic love letter to the late 90’s (particularly the X Files).

While narratively and tonally slotting in as a YA novel, the Executioners Three is a peculiar case of mismatched references and storylines that ironically give it a lot of crossover appeal. Following the adventures of Freddie Gellar in her senior year of high school (plus occasional short chapters that cut to rival high school student Theo Porter’s perspective), the story is very much a YA book with school prank wars, classmate crushes, ditching class, elements that are very teenage-centered. However, this book has a clever asset that surprisingly isn’t really highlighted in its book blurb synopsis, that being its complete commitment to 90’s camp. From quoting the X-Files repeatedly, to featuring cutting edge Nokia cell phones, Backstreet Boys vs *NSYNC rivalry and more (I actually lost it when Freddie doesn’t Google search something but instead goes to Ask Jeeves), reading this book as a child of the 90’s is akin to Gen X-ers watching Stranger Things. While heavy pop references can often come off as cringy or unprofessional, Dennard makes it work perfectly with the rest of the novel, portraying her young characters and their interests well (is this why I also say “good sir” to people, is this a 90’s thing or are we just quirky?). While the book’s story and internalized thoughts of its young characters are very YA, I don’t think very many teenagers reading this today would get a fraction of its fun homages, feeling like a rare YA novel intended for adult readers. It’s actually quite genius which gives the Executioners Three widespread relevance and a good reading experience for older readers who grew up reading Dennard’s earlier works when they were actual YA age.

90’s camp aside, the Executioner’s Three plot and setting also complement each other nicely. Much like the spookier eps of Scooby Doo, the story mixes a mystery investigation with eerie paranormal elements that’s consistently entertaining. Set in a rural quiet small town featuring a French-inspired historic village (as someone interested in urban exploration online, I loved this element), the forested and Fall atmosphere is utilized well. Besides the darker or sillier storylines, the book has some interesting side tangents involving the upkeep, fundraising, and restoration of the historic site as well as the classic small town, big annual festival storyline. Freddie’s investigation from both a logical and supernatural angle keeps things interesting and despite being a YA novel, the book can be gripping and thrilling at times. There are some gruesome elements that fringe on horror, but on-page violence and graphic horror are kept to a minimum and smartly played for tension rather than shock value. I particularly liked how the core mystery is tied back to the history and residents of the area and the way how clues are unveiled slowly initially, picking up speed as the story progresses. The historic lore of the town, local legends, it’s just the right amount to be immersive without feeling cumbersome.

Outside of the paranormal elements and the core mystery and threat out in the woods, the book balances out the darker elements with high school shenanigans. Covering a long-running prank war between Freddie’s public high school and the bougie private academy across town, high school crushes and drama (plus a rather on the nose Romeo and Juliet running joke), and the excitement of suddenly being in the cool kids circle, Dennard does a wonderful job at portraying those teenage years where inconsequential silly things often feel like the end of the world. One chapter will cover Freddie in a spooky archive uncovering long lost connections, followed by her attending a school-wide prank and worried she’ll be caught ditching class. It sounds like the material should clash, but the mix of content works well and establishes a fun light-hearted tone. It also helps that Freddie is a great main character and narrator that’s smart and witty, yet also age appropriate and comically emotional.

Smartly paced, my only slight nitpick with this book is the rather fast-paced last quarter that perhaps could’ve been expanded on. Particularly when it comes to the history and different characters/residents and their connection to the town, some of the last-minute plot twists that are integral to book’s namesake Executioner’s Three curse/poem could’ve benefitted from having more clues or attention earlier in the story. Particularly when the book shifts to its thriller section and Freddie discovers the last few pieces of the puzzle, the last-minute intensity feels a bit crunched. This notably also dampens the reveal of the culprit whose motives and role feel a bit vague and convoluted compared to how concise the rest of the story is. The book writes it off with a “even we’re not sure what their true intention was after all” which isn’t the greatest lasting impression. While this book is very quick and bingeable, I personally would’ve appreciated another fifty pages or so for a slightly more elaborate reveal and a longer deductive “ah-hah” sequence leading up to it to top off the otherwise well-crafted story.

Atmospheric, compelling, and certainly very entertaining, the Executioner’s Three is a solid and well-rounded YA paranormal mystery thriller novel. A strong balance of high school character drama, romance, mystery, and light spooky horror, this book is consistently fun and one that can easily be read in a day or two given its shot and snappy chapters and well-pitched humor. Its 90’s camp can either be perceived as nostalgic or silly, but both impressions complement the story and help set it apart from books with similar premises. Picked completely on a whim and having no experience with Susan Dennard’s past books (though I’ve heard of the Luminaries), this was a great quick and easy weekend read that I do not at all regret reading!