They Never Came Home, Ransom, and Gallows Hill

In They Never Came Home, Dan and Larry disappear during a hiking trip in the mountains. Joan is Dan's girlfriend and Larry's sister.  Frank is is Dan's brother.  Joan is threatened by a man who claims that Larry owes him money.  She confides in Frank, and soon, the two young people find themselves caught in the middle of a smuggling ring.

The way the story develops is intriguing, and I love how Joan and Frank end up being pulled into the mystery.

This is an excellent book.

In Ransom, five students are kidnapped while riding home on the bus.  Most of the students are from wealthy families, which is why they were targeted.  The teenagers are taken to an abandoned cabin up in the mountains while their families are contacted for ransom.

For me, the most interesting part of the plot is how four of the five teenagers experience personal growth during the story.  One teenager does not, and I somehow knew as I read the book that this teenager would not change.

This book is also excellent.

In Gallows Hill, Sarah and her mother move to Pine Crest so that Sarah's mother can be with her new boyfriend.  Sarah doesn't understand what has gotten into her mother, and soon Sarah finds the entire town is against her.

Gradually, Sarah realizes that something more important is at play and forces unknown to her are the reason why Sarah and her mother moved to Pine Crest.

This book is a bit depressing.  Everyone is against Sarah, and she can't catch a break.  When other students play pranks on Sarah, neither Sarah's mother nor her boyfriend believe her.  I found it quite annoying, especially since the text is excessively wordy during many of the scenes. The concept of "less is more" would have made this story better for me.

While I overall enjoyed the book, it's probably my least favorite Lois Duncan book.

I have created a Facebook group for enthusiasts of vintage teen books such as the ones reviewed in this post.  Please follow this link to join.

Third Eye and Locked in Time

In The Third Eye, Karen has the ability to see what has happened to missing children.  At the insistence of a young policeman, she agrees to find a missing girl.  Karen is devastated about what she learns and vows never to use her talent again.

Later, Karen once again agrees to find some kidnapped children, but the toll the experience takes may be too great.

This is an excellent book.  The book is quite suspenseful, and I found that I cared greatly about what happens to Karen and the others. This might be my very favorite Lois Duncan book.

In Locked in Time, Nore goes to live with her father, new stepmother, and new stepbrother and stepsister.  Soon, Nore notices strange behavior between her stepmother and her children.  Eventually, Nore realizes that they want her dead, because she has the ability to uncover their deception.

I don't have any particular comments to say about this book, but I enjoyed it greatly.  This book is also one of my favorite Lois Duncan books.

I have created a Facebook group for enthusiasts of vintage teen books such as the ones reviewed in this post.  Please follow this link to join.

Stranger with My Face, Daughters of Eve, and Gift of Magic

In Stranger with My Face, Laurie begins having problems with her boyfriend, who thinks he saw her on the beach.  Soon, others report seeing Laurie when Laurie knows she was not present.  After Laurie finally sees the mysterious figure, she realizes that she has a double—a double only present in spirit form. Later, Laurie learns that this mysterious person is planning to take over her life.

The story is quite suspenseful.  The reader gradually realizes what the mysterious person is planning and sees the mistakes that Laurie makes that place her in danger.

This is an excellent story.

In Daughters of Eve, several girls become new members of a secret society known as the Daughters of Eve.  Faculty sponsor Ms. Stark insists that women are treated unfairly in society and that the girls must seek revenge.  Some of the girls are uncomfortable with what Ms. Stark wants them to do.

This book introduces too many characters too fast and with minimal description.  I never could keep some of them straight, and this did reduce my enjoyment of the book.

Lois Duncan revised this book by stating several times throughout the text that the small town is stuck in a time warp where men treat women like they did 100 years ago.  In spite of those statements, the text still reads just like a book about feminism written in the 1970s.  Not enough was revised to change any of that.

In this book and in Killing Mr. Griffin, I find it curious how easily the teenagers are able to avoid discovery while perpetrating criminal acts on school property.  The books were revised in 2010, but modern books would have considered the prevalence of security cameras which most all schools now have.  Cameras should have been taken into consideration in the revisions.

This is a very good book, but it would probably not appeal to many male readers due to how negatively most males are portrayed in the story.

In A Gift of Magic, Nancy and her siblings were each given a gift by their grandmother. Nancy's gift allows her to read other people's minds and influence their behavior.  Nancy begins to use her gift to force others to behave the way she wants.  Ultimately, Nancy learns a lesson about life.

On page 174, the phone would have had caller id in a modern book, so that's a flaw in this revised modern edition.  Of course, the scene would not have worked the way it was written if the change had been made.

In the interview section in the back of the book, Lois Duncan mentions that readers tend to skim so she avoids using multiple names that begin with the same first letter.  I wish other authors would realize that all names in books should begin with different letters.

I enjoyed this book.

I have created a Facebook group for enthusiasts of vintage teen books from the 1980s to the present.  Please follow this link to join.

Don't Look Behind You, Summer of Fear, and Down a Dark Hall

In Don't Look Behind You, April's family becomes part of the witness protection program after April's father testifies in a trial that results in the conviction of drug smugglers.  April does not understand the seriousness of the situation and makes several mistakes that place her family in deadly danger.

I could relate to April, although I wouldn't have made her mistakes.  I was always a young person who did what I was told and understood why I should follow orders.  I would not have endangered my family like April did. However, I understand her naiveté, as many teens would make those kinds of mistakes.

I greatly enjoyed this book.  It is very suspenseful.

In Summer of Fear, Rachel's cousin, Julia, comes to live with Rachel and her family after her parents are killed in an accident.  Pretty soon, Rachel discovers that Julia is trying to steal her boyfriend and is turning her family against her.  Rachel finds evidence that Julia might be a witch, but nobody will believe her.

I also greatly enjoyed this book.

In Down a Dark Hall, Kit is sent away to boarding school at Blackwood School for Girls while her mother and stepfather go on their honeymoon.  Kit is resentful and doesn't want to attend the school.  Upon Kit's arrival, she senses that the school is evil.  Soon, Kit and the other girls notice strange events and try to figure out what is happening.


This book is quite spooky and mysterious.  I love the atmosphere.  I also love how the girls work to solve the mystery.  They can't figure out what is going on, so they puzzle out the situation.

I couldn't help thinking of the Nancy Drew games as I read this story.  The setting would be perfect for a Nancy Drew game.

On the subject of Nancy Drew, the back cover refers to the school as "Blackwood Hall."  I'm pretty sure that exact name is never used anywhere in the book.  The school is just called "Blackwood."  I feel like someone was having a little fun with the promotional blurb.

This is an excellent book.

I Know What You Did Last Summer and Killing Mr. Griffin

I purchased a set of 10 Lois Duncan books on eBay.  The books are from 2010.  I was not aware until after I received the books that I had purchased revised editions.  Lois Duncan revised the text of each book to include references to modern technology.  She also made some other minor changes, such as to clothing styles.

At first I was annoyed that the books are revised, but then I decided that I did not care. Ultimately, I greatly enjoyed reading the revised books.  I especially enjoyed that each book has an interview with Lois Duncan in the back after the end of the story.

In I Know What You Did Last Summer, four friends are in a vehicle that hits and kills a young boy.  The driver insists that the friends not report the accident.  One year later, the friends learn that someone knows what happened, when this person begins harassing them.

I noticed a curious mixture of cultural references in this book.  Lois Duncan inserted modern references to webcasts and the Iraq War.  However, one girl works at the Wards department store, and that should have been changed.  Oops.  Wards no longer exists.

I enjoyed this book.

In Killing Mr. Griffin, some of Mr. Griffin's students decide to scare him to get payback for him being a difficult teacher.  Unexpectedly, Mr. Griffin dies, and the students cover up the crime.

While I enjoyed the book, I couldn't relate to the characters at all.  I also found the premise to be too disturbing to enjoy.  I am a teacher, and one of my former students is in prison for a sadistic murder.  It's sobering to think that someone I knew and interacted with on a daily basis later murdered somebody.

Furthermore, violence in schools against students and teachers has worsened in the last 20 years.  This book was published back back before school shootings became common. Reading this book was not escapism.  It was a bit of a downer.

I did overall enjoy the book, but I doubt I would ever read it again.