The Final Friends Trilogy by Christopher Pike

The Final Friends books were published in 1988 and 1989.

In Final Friends Book 1:  The Party, Mesa High has been combined with Tabb High, so Jessica Hart, Sara Cantrell, and sisters Polly and Alice McCoy are new to Tabb High.  The friends soon become acquainted with Michael Olson, Nick Grutler, Clair Hilrey, Bill Skater, and Bubba.  Alice throws a party so that all of the teens can become better acquainted.  But the party ends in death.

The characters are introduced quite well in this book.  They are introduced slowly and with adequate descriptive information.  I was able to remember each character apart from the others. I always enjoy books better when special care is taken by the author to explore each character fully.

In Final Friends Book 2:  The Dance, Michael is obsessed with finding the killer of his friend.  He also wishes that he could date Jessica, while Jessica wishes the same about him.  Neither is aware of the other's feelings.  Sara continues trying to have a relationship with Russ, and it's just not working out.

Meanwhile, Jessica, Maria, and Claire are all running for homecoming queen.  Jessica and Clair are now sworn enemies, and each girl is determined not to allow the other girl to win. Unfortunately, the homecoming dance ends in horror, just like the party did.

I have purposely not mentioned specifics, since that information spoils the suspense in reading these books.

In Final Friends Book 3:  The Graduation, the senior class graduates from Tabb High.  A party is planned on an ocean cruise the night of graduation day.  Michael knows that the cruise will be the last time everyone is together and the last chance he has of discovering the identity of the killer.

This trilogy is a hybrid of the horror and teen romance genres.  These books are a bit different from Pike's typical teen horror books, but I really like them.

This is an excellent trilogy.  The characters in this trilogy are what makes the trilogy so good.  All of the characters are memorable, and some of them are quite eccentric.  Most all of them are quite likable.  The trilogy is also filled with humor. I love these books.  I know I read them several times years ago.  I never could get enough of them.