The Executioners Three

By Susan Dennard

Book Overview

An instant New York Times, USA Today, and Indie bestseller

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.

*This beautiful hardcover edition includes designed printed edges and special endpapers.*

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.

"An irresistible blend of small-town murder mystery and spine-tingling supernatural elements."--Karen M. McManus, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying

Also by Susan Dennard

The Luminaries trilogy
The Luminaries
The Hunting Moon
The Whispering Night

The Witchlands series
Truthwitch
Windwitch
Sightwitch (novella)
Bloodwitch
Witchshadow
Witchlight

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250334667
• ISBN13: 9781250334664
• Release Date: August 2025
• Publisher: Tor Teen
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.08 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.5" x 9.5"
• Age Range: 13 to 18 years
• Grade Range: Grade 8 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

Fun fall horror!

This book does a great job of combining humor and horror for a fun (and creepy) otherworldly experience in a little town lucky enough to have its own curse as well as dark history. I am so ready for autumn as well after reading this story. Crunchy leaves, pumpkins, and a chill in the air that might come from the upcoming cold weather, or it might be a spirit come back to kill! That poem is spot on eerie! And the cover is awesome too. Now, the only thing I had a bit of a hard time with was how Freddie talked and acted sometimes. It wavered between middle school (with the capitalizing of certain phrases, like "Very Bad Human") and high school (with the make out sessions which hovered on the line) which threw me a bit out of the story sometimes as I know Freddie is a senior in high school. It might have something to do with the time this story is occurring though (1999) and I did like the phrases and names that Freddie gives some of her possessions and those spots lightened the mood when the horror struck hard. And it does get dark with headless bodies and other murders and mysterious deaths. There is a nice touch of the supernatural too (and the appearance of a couple at the end is great with their "we are not the men in black") with a feeling similar to X-Files and other shows in that time (plus a bit of Scooby Doo with the humor and scares). I did enjoy reading this book and if you are looking for a bit of light hearted humor touched with horror and a nicely puzzling curse to break before the murders continue like the murderer wants and the town is doomed, then this story is just the right one for you.