The Executioners Three by Susan Dennard – Review

Published: August 26, 2025

Publisher: Tor Teen

Series: N/A

Genre: Mystery, Horror

Pages: 293 (Kindle)

My Rating: 4 Stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
From New York Times bestselling author Susan Dennard comes The Executioners Three, a mystery filled with rivalry, romance, best friends, and a gruesome curse that dates back centuries.

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.

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Susan Dennard really hooked me with her last series, The Luminaries, so I enthusiastically added The Executioners Three to my TBR. This latest book is a standalone mystery set in 1999 with some seriously scary vibes and it happens to release just in time for spooky season. Immaculate fall vibes for sure. 

The Executioners Three follows Freddie Gellar, a high school student with a passion for investigation, photography, and Lance Bass from *Nsync. There was a genuinely alarming number of references to song lyrics and fan rivalry with the Backstreet Boys. Even though I grew up in the 90s I was too young to really be a fan of either band, so what is probably a fun nostalgic reference for many fell a bit flat for me. Musical references aside, The Executioners Three was a great young adult mystery with more than enough horror elements to make me think twice about reading it before bed. 

Freddie’s father was the police chief before he passed many years before and Freddie has begun to follow in his steps. When Freddie thinks she hears the sounds of murder in the woods she calls the police, inadvertently getting much of the student body of the private school nearby in trouble. It turns out Freddie may have actually heard the sounds of a struggle because later while taking a shortcut through the woods with her best friend, Divya, they actually stumble across a body hanging from a tree. Freddie decides to do some investigation of her own despite it being ruled a suicide. When another body turns up and Freddie also discovers a creepy old poem called The Executioners Three, it starts to look like something sinister and supernatural is occurring in her little town.

Freddie and Divya are a wonderful BFF duo and I love that Susan Dennard seems to always feature strong female friendship as a main theme in her stories. While there may be a love interest, the main characters don’t abandon their friends and that remains true in this story as well. For anyone hoping for a cute romantic element, The Executioners Three has that as well and a love triangle no less! Freddie is rather fond of the handsome, popular boy from her school, but then there’s the even more handsome and forbidden Theo from the private school who can’t seem to stop running into Freddie. Theo is a pleasantly well-rounded love interest as well, especially since he’s given a decent amount of page time and his own hobbies, hopes, and dreams!

This was an exciting story that was unexpectedly scary and even a bit gory at times, what with the manner of the deaths. I loved that it blended mystery and horror and the high school experience so well AND that it’s wonderfully evocative of the fall season. I could picture myself in my cozy fleece sitting at the Quick-Bis with my friends getting breakfast or stomping around the historical village, jumping at shadows! The Executioners Three was a fantastic standalone young adult novel that I think has solid appeal for adults (especially folks who grew up in the 90s!).