Pool Party (American Edition)
Reviews
Sharon and her mother live at and operate Ocean House, a beachfront resort with a reputation for being haunted. When someone sends out invitations for a pool party at her house, Sharon is uneasy but decides to go ahead with it. At the event, four people disappear without a trace and evidence begins to point to her ex-boyfriend, Dan. When her current boyfriend, Phil, coaxes her into having yet another party to clear up any negative suspicions about Ocean House, she reluctantly gives in, only to have another person disappear. The bodies are found in shallow graves and the police begin to suspect Sharon as well as Dan. The real murderer is eventually found out, but not before Sharon's life is nearly ruined. This is an average mystery with a fairly convoluted plot that may leave some readers with more questions than answers. The dialogue is sometimes silly, but YAs who love thrillers may enjoy the mysterious twists. The story has romance, a weeping "ghost," a doll that changes facial expressions, a buried treasure, and more.
Carrie A. Guarria, The School Library Journal Review
Prolific Charlottesville author Linda Cargill keeps turning out inventive thrillers for young adults. Her latest are Pool Party and Hang Loose. In the former, somebody's bumping off some popular high school seniors; in the latter, a nut with a noose wants to rope in our heroine.
``You teen-agers,'' mutters one presiding adult precognitively, ``will be the death of me yet.''
Artfully horripilate Halloween fare!
Bill Ruehlmann, The Virginian-Pilot
Sharon and her mother live at and operate Ocean House, a beachfront resort with a reputation for being haunted. When someone sends out invitations for a pool party at her house, Sharon is uneasy but decides to go ahead with it. At the event, four people disappear without a trace and evidence begins to point to her ex-boyfriend, Dan. When her current boyfriend, Phil, coaxes her into having yet another party to clear up any negative suspicions about Ocean House, she reluctantly gives in, only to have another person disappear. The bodies are found in shallow graves and the police begin to suspect Sharon as well as Dan. The real murderer is eventually found out, but not before Sharon's life is nearly ruined. This is an average mystery with a fairly convoluted plot that may leave some readers with more questions than answers. The dialogue is sometimes silly, but YAs who love thrillers may enjoy the mysterious twists. The story has romance, a weeping "ghost," a doll that changes facial expressions, a buried treasure, and more.
Carrie A. Guarria, The School Library Journal Review
Prolific Charlottesville author Linda Cargill keeps turning out inventive thrillers for young adults. Her latest are Pool Party and Hang Loose. In the former, somebody's bumping off some popular high school seniors; in the latter, a nut with a noose wants to rope in our heroine.
``You teen-agers,'' mutters one presiding adult precognitively, ``will be the death of me yet.''
Artfully horripilate Halloween fare!
Bill Ruehlmann, The Virginian-Pilot
