Publication Date: June 9, 2026
In this addictive dual-timeline debut novel, a woman confronts her past at the remote Southern summer camp where the tragic death of her fellow counselor may not have been an accident after all.
Five years ago, Greer left her family’s summer camp in the mountains of Georgia and vowed she’d never return. An idyllic season had turned into a nightmare after a mysterious Phantom began stalking the camp—and ended with Greer’s friend and fellow counselor dead. Losing Steph shattered everything, and Greer’s been fleeing from the grief ever since.
But then Greer’s mother dies, and Greer finds herself back at Dread’s Cove, surrounded by the people she was closest to that intense summer. Two ex-boyfriends—one a childhood sweetheart, the other the guy she’s never gotten over—and old friends. Including Margo, Steph’s best friend.
Greer and Margo didn’t leave things on the best of terms. But now, Margo needs her. Margo never believed that Steph’s death in that horrific fire was an accident—and she’s on the trail of an explosive secret Steph took to her grave.
Greer has to make a choice: keep the Cove’s secrets and her own, or finally face the truth about that summer.
Darby Bozeman’s debut novel, Summer’s Never Over, is full of mysteries that we didn’t know existed. As we race to the conclusion, can we figure out whodunnit?
The prologue, set in a summer camp five years before, drew me in immediately and had my heart racing. The story alternates from the past to the present throughout. Greer is at the center of the story, but the author introduces readers to a multitude of characters, and it’s not always immediately clear who they are or what their relationships are. Some were hard to like, and I felt it detracted from the story at times.
Much of the history from the summer of the fire is explored in the present. There are layers to the story and a depth to the characters. What you see is not what you get. Truths are uncovered at the reunion weekend to show how far the camp has come in the last five years and also to honor the previous owner, Greer’s mom. But the past has a way of catching up with you, even when the undercurrents aren’t understood. As more crimes are discovered and we identify the perpetrator, I was caught off guard. There are tons of twists and turns, and some include clues to sift through, and others are definitely red herrings. The ending was satisfying, especially with the epilogue set a year later.
Summer’s Never Over took me completely by surprise as the details of the last summer five years before uncovered more mysteries to solve than I expected and ties directly to the present.
Darby Bozeman grew up in Portland, Oregon, but she’s spent the better part of her adult life in the South. She has a master’s in teaching from the University of Georgia and she taught middle school English for five years. When she’s not reading or writing, she loves acting in community theater and discussing pop culture. She lives in Knoxville with her husband, Bryan, and their cat, Claude.
