I first read this Christopher Pike style book at some point in elementary school and have re-read it several times since. It's not the best written book and it's certainly not literary, but it's a fun novel with intriguing characters and I will likely read it several more times :). P.S. "Don't call for help. He may just kill you." ( )

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Kelsey Tanner goes with her mother to Beverly Island for a vacation for a couple of weeks. Her mother's boyfriend, Eric, invited them to visit him at his home on the island where he's staying for the summer, spending time with his children (his two sons, Justin and Neale, and one daughter, Beth). When Kelsey and her mother arrive at the island they are met by a distraught Eric. He tells them his thirteen-year-old daughter Beth is missing. There are search parties out looking for her. Beth's belongings (her sandals and beach towel) were found at the cove on the beach (which is very dangerous). After a few days they come to the conclusion Beth drowned, no one can find her body, and they are thinking about calling off the search.

During this time Kelsey makes some friends. She gets along with shy Justin, but Neale is cold and aloof (both boys are lifeguards at the beach). She also meets a friendly girl called Donna, and Skip, another lifeguard.

Then Kelsey finds a note in her room (she's staying in Beth's room) which says "I think someone is going to kill me". Kelsey is starting to believe maybe Beth was murdered, but is hesitant to tell the others. She is also becoming scared...one day she hears someone in her bedroom while she's alone in the house when she's about to leave the shower and notices wet footprints on the floor along with seaweed. Another time she sees a dead body that disappears later. A creepy old man with an eyepatch keeps yelling warnings at her, etc...

This was an enjoyable, eerie, and fast-paced young-adult suspense story. I liked Kelsey and the cast of characters/suspects... I also liked the suspicious/potential murderous lifeguard angle to the story, that was interesting and different. This book even had a little romance in it. A good read with great atmosphere set on an island with dangerous coves and a crumbling old lighthouse. ( )

Read this in middle school, it was fairly good. I believe I read it in a day. ( )