A re-read mystery from 1988. Brother & sister (Alex/Cindy) are drawn into a strange mix of murder, mysticism, relationships, exchange students, & strange occurrences at their high school. Cindy's new boyfriend is accused of murdering his former girlfriend, Alex's new squeeze isn't all that she seems, & the new guy in school has some secrets of his own. Decent mystery but heads to the cheesy supernatural aspects. ( )

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. It started out a bit rough, but ended up getting better. ( )

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A good Young Adult Thriller. ( )

Pike at his best: cunning and creative. I try to guess what the end will be but I don't find out until he leads me there personally.

It starts a little slow and the mystery doesn't seem that urgent or strong until later in the second half, but meanwhile I had some good writing to keep me focused, an interesting circle of friends whose different personalities sometimes complement, sometimes clash. There isn't a primary main character but head hopping is kept to a minimum. There is a false death scare or two, but it's forgivable since it gave me my happy ending.

I didn't guess what the villain would be, or who, until later. Even when the villain is revealed, the unveiling of how the villain is accomplishing the deaths is unique. Where Pike comes up with this stuff, I have no idea, his imagination seems endless at times.

The ending pages had a neat twist as well to give a nod of the ironic hat. Fans of Pike will probably enjoy this one.

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