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Our Deadly Summer: The heartfelt and hilarious new novel from the bestselling authors of the Aisling series
Not yet published
Expected 21 May 26'Tender, bittersweet and utterly hilarious. The final twist made me gasp' Daisy Buchanan
They said they'd never let a man get in the way of their friendship...
*
Laura and Dee haven't spoken since the day they buried a body together.
It was supposed to be the best summer of their lives. A break from university, from parents, from wasting their time on Irish boys with farmer's tans.
They'd imagined flirting with Ryan Phillippe on a New York rooftop. Instead, with summer jobs waitressing at a country club on Long Island, pickings are slim.
Mikey is a bully. Marco is off limits. Jose is angry. Mr Haight is a sleaze. Josh is too keen. And Other Josh… he's something else entirely.
It's a miracle only one of them ends up dead.
Dee is pretty sure she didn't mean to kill him. Laura, to her credit, never asked.
Not until she sends an email, out of the blue, more than twenty years later. It's finally time to mend the biggest heartbreak of that summer; Laura wants her best friend back.
A hilarious and heartfelt story about friendship, young women and bad men. Sarah Breen and Emer McLysaght bring their trademark Aisling humour in this completely new direction. Noughties nostalgia and a dead body, it's the novel you didn't know you needed.
They said they'd never let a man get in the way of their friendship...
*
Laura and Dee haven't spoken since the day they buried a body together.
It was supposed to be the best summer of their lives. A break from university, from parents, from wasting their time on Irish boys with farmer's tans.
They'd imagined flirting with Ryan Phillippe on a New York rooftop. Instead, with summer jobs waitressing at a country club on Long Island, pickings are slim.
Mikey is a bully. Marco is off limits. Jose is angry. Mr Haight is a sleaze. Josh is too keen. And Other Josh… he's something else entirely.
It's a miracle only one of them ends up dead.
Dee is pretty sure she didn't mean to kill him. Laura, to her credit, never asked.
Not until she sends an email, out of the blue, more than twenty years later. It's finally time to mend the biggest heartbreak of that summer; Laura wants her best friend back.
A hilarious and heartfelt story about friendship, young women and bad men. Sarah Breen and Emer McLysaght bring their trademark Aisling humour in this completely new direction. Noughties nostalgia and a dead body, it's the novel you didn't know you needed.
Kindle Edition
Expected publication May 21, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 19, 2026
4.5 ⭐️ we love drama and the noughties
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Our Deadly Summer* by Sarah Breen and Emer McLysaght is the long awaited, much anticipated, new novel from the duo that brought us the beloved OMGWACA series. Story-wise, this is a complete departure from the ‘Aisling’ universe but there are a lot of similarities in humour, tone and style that many readers will enjoy.
Deirdre is from a small town, raised by loving yet overbearing parents, and has a healthy respect for money. Laura is a wealthy petrol station heiress, largely invisible to her family, but an apartment on Townsend Street and an unlimited allowance help soften the blow. Despite their differences, the girls are joined at the hip and off they pop in summer 2001 to New York City on a J1, determined to make loads of money (Deirdre) and shag loads of boys (Laura).
Working at a country club for the season, the girls spend their days serving high society and their nights drinking at the local dive bar. A series of men punctuate their summer, from grumpy groundskeeper José and abhorrent club member Mr Haight, to sexy Josh and his handsy pal Other Josh. But one run in with one particularly bad man sees the girls burying a dead body and never speaking to each other again. Now, 24 years later, they reconnect and are forced to confront some long buried secrets.
I can't say that I felt the same sort of magic from the J1 girls as I did with the ‘Aisling’ cast of characters. While I am conscious that the books are absolutely separate entities, I found it hard not to draw comparisons because Our Deadly Summer’s voice felt so very Aisling at times. With a May release, this book is going to do numbers as a summertime read and I anticipate it sitting top of the charts for many weeks. Out 21/5/26
Deirdre is from a small town, raised by loving yet overbearing parents, and has a healthy respect for money. Laura is a wealthy petrol station heiress, largely invisible to her family, but an apartment on Townsend Street and an unlimited allowance help soften the blow. Despite their differences, the girls are joined at the hip and off they pop in summer 2001 to New York City on a J1, determined to make loads of money (Deirdre) and shag loads of boys (Laura).
Working at a country club for the season, the girls spend their days serving high society and their nights drinking at the local dive bar. A series of men punctuate their summer, from grumpy groundskeeper José and abhorrent club member Mr Haight, to sexy Josh and his handsy pal Other Josh. But one run in with one particularly bad man sees the girls burying a dead body and never speaking to each other again. Now, 24 years later, they reconnect and are forced to confront some long buried secrets.
I can't say that I felt the same sort of magic from the J1 girls as I did with the ‘Aisling’ cast of characters. While I am conscious that the books are absolutely separate entities, I found it hard not to draw comparisons because Our Deadly Summer’s voice felt so very Aisling at times. With a May release, this book is going to do numbers as a summertime read and I anticipate it sitting top of the charts for many weeks. Out 21/5/26
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Our Deadly Summer is a sharply funny, bittersweet, and wonderfully chaotic dive into the intensity of female friendship, the perils of bad men, and the kind of summer you spend the rest of your life trying to forget. Sarah Breen and Emer McLysaght take their trademark humour in a darker, twistier direction, and it works beautifully.
Laura and Dee’s story unfolds with the irresistible pull of nostalgia — sunburnt days, questionable choices, and the kind of friendship that feels like a lifeline. Their Long Island summer job is meant to be a glamorous escape, but instead they find themselves surrounded by a cast of men who are variously sleazy, cruel, off‑limits, or simply disappointing. The authors capture that early‑twenties mix of bravado and vulnerability with pitch‑perfect clarity.
The novel’s opening line — that the two haven’t spoken since they buried a body — sets the tone for a story that balances humour with genuine emotional weight. The mystery of what really happened that summer is threaded through with tenderness and sharp observation, and the final twist lands with a gasp. But the heart of the book lies in the complicated, fiercely loyal bond between Laura and Dee, and the ache of a friendship that once felt unbreakable.
Breen and McLysaght deliver a story that’s riotously funny, unexpectedly moving, and steeped in noughties nostalgia. It’s a clever, heartfelt look at the women we were, the women we became, and the friendships that shape us long after the summer ends.
With thanks to Emer McLysaght, Sarah Breen, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC
Laura and Dee’s story unfolds with the irresistible pull of nostalgia — sunburnt days, questionable choices, and the kind of friendship that feels like a lifeline. Their Long Island summer job is meant to be a glamorous escape, but instead they find themselves surrounded by a cast of men who are variously sleazy, cruel, off‑limits, or simply disappointing. The authors capture that early‑twenties mix of bravado and vulnerability with pitch‑perfect clarity.
The novel’s opening line — that the two haven’t spoken since they buried a body — sets the tone for a story that balances humour with genuine emotional weight. The mystery of what really happened that summer is threaded through with tenderness and sharp observation, and the final twist lands with a gasp. But the heart of the book lies in the complicated, fiercely loyal bond between Laura and Dee, and the ache of a friendship that once felt unbreakable.
Breen and McLysaght deliver a story that’s riotously funny, unexpectedly moving, and steeped in noughties nostalgia. It’s a clever, heartfelt look at the women we were, the women we became, and the friendships that shape us long after the summer ends.
With thanks to Emer McLysaght, Sarah Breen, the publisher and netgalley for the ARC
February 2, 2026
It's a YA novel, but for people who are too embarrassed, or feel they are too old, for YA. The chapters were short, quick and snappy. Just what I like. It's about a murder that two barely adult girls, still very much teenagers, committed and covered up. Very nostalgic in places, it had the plot line of YA, but very much intended for an audience who grew up in the 90's. Or were at least alive in the 90's. Interesting take.
Having read Oh My God, What A Complete Aisling last year, it was nice to read something new and fresh from the authors, and to have dual POVs.
On the topic of duality, I loved the weaving and thread of the past and the present. It made the reveal that much better to be immersed in such a way in both points of their lives, as the characters are, and have been.
With special thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for this ebook in exchange for an honest review.
Having read Oh My God, What A Complete Aisling last year, it was nice to read something new and fresh from the authors, and to have dual POVs.
On the topic of duality, I loved the weaving and thread of the past and the present. It made the reveal that much better to be immersed in such a way in both points of their lives, as the characters are, and have been.
With special thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for this ebook in exchange for an honest review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
As young women, Laura and Dee headed off to America with plans for a wild summer with hot American boys. What they discovered was rather less than they expected when it came to the boys, and a lot more than they had bargained for when it came to the wild part.
It's all very well to talk about who you go to when you need help burying the bodies, but you don't actually expect to have to do that! And heaven forbid, if you do, then that is the last thing you want to keep being reminded of...
So, the two best friends went their separate ways - until now. What next for Laura and Dee?
This is an entertaining take on what women expect, what they deserve, and what they get. It is also a paean of praise to female friendships. An enjoyable read, it gets 3.5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
It's all very well to talk about who you go to when you need help burying the bodies, but you don't actually expect to have to do that! And heaven forbid, if you do, then that is the last thing you want to keep being reminded of...
So, the two best friends went their separate ways - until now. What next for Laura and Dee?
This is an entertaining take on what women expect, what they deserve, and what they get. It is also a paean of praise to female friendships. An enjoyable read, it gets 3.5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Having read and loved the Aisling series by the same authors I was super excited to read their new book Our Deadly Summer. I think with Aisling I could relate to her or at least see her in people I know. With Our Deadly Summer I couldn't relate to the main characters Dee and Laura and at first I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to enjoy the story because they are just not likeable. I did however love the plot. I really enjoyed how the story was told from the past and present. You are still finding out what actually happened during that deadly summer right until the end.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
3.5 stars
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