Short, economical and a good suspenseful read although, having just re-read this, I'm not sure if I guessed so early on, when I first read this many years ago, the major twist about the villain. This time the suspense element for me was when the protagonist was going to work it out. Duncan does drop the clues in fairly unobtrusively and a younger reader probably would not spot them too early on.

The characterisation of the villain might not go down too well with Wiccans as it's based on the stereotyped view of witchcraft/witches; I think the author could've just as easily had it that the villain was doing her ill deeds with mundane methods such as poison although the 'big reveal' scene does pivot on the villain's own belief about whether or not witches from the Ozarks appear in photographs. Anyway, it's quite a good read for a teen or pre-teen audience, although allowances need to be made for the 1970s setting, mainly the fact that photographs have to be developed chemically as this is long before digital technology. ( )

Another fun read by Lois Duncan. This leans more towards psychological thriller with supernatural elements. I prefer books where there is some mystery element up until the end, that's why it took me 3 days to read around 219 pages.
The reader is fully aware pretty early on that things are not what they seem and the rest of the book is just following the main character trying to piece things together. I did find it frustrating at times because I realized certain things waaaay before the main character did, but this book is so short that I don't think it's detrimental. ( )

"It's been four years now since that summer. It's still with me. Maybe it always will be."
Summer of Fear
by Lois Duncan

This is one creepy story and it is perfect to read in the summer, particularly if you want something that will make your skin crawl.

For a YA mystery, Summer of Fear is genuinely scary and a bit haunting. Of all Duncan's books this maybe the scariest.

It is also one that I rated fairly low. Why?

Because I simply could not STAND the villain. I mean I had such issues with her I really..I mean it was just so hard to read about her. I wanted to punch her and that isn't a good thing.

I will warn you there is ANIMAL CRUELTY in this book which is another reason it gets such a low rating from me. I love Duncan. I grew up with her books. This one is a no from me but it isn't because it's not a good read. It is to creepy, I hate animal deaths in books and the villainess made me want to smack her.

This is YA. Rachel and her parents are horrified when they hear that the parents of Rachel's cousin Julia have died in a car wreck. This leaves Julia with no family and so Rachel's family takes her in.

Rachel is excited. Julia is her age and Rachel figures they can be friends. That is..until she meets Julia..

Julia is like nobody Rachel has ever met. She is mysterious and very creepy. Rachel can easily see this. So why does everyone else think Julia is such an amazing person...

Do not underestimate the creepy factor in this one. It's there. But it is not my favorite by Duncan but that is because of the reasons I mentioned above. In fact I so disliked Julia, it prevented me from really enjoying this book. That has not happened with many of Duncan's books.

SPOILERS:

I can't help it. Through the book, everyone turns on Rachel and it does not help that there is a brutal animal death in this book so I would automatically take points off for that. I hate that writers so often use this plot devise.

I did do a reread to see if I liked it any better in adulthood and I do not.

The bottom line is Duncan is probably my favorite YA author but this one gets a hard pass from me. ( )

Another fun read by Lois Duncan. This leans more towards psychological thriller with supernatural elements. I prefer books where there is some mystery element up until the end, that's why it took me 3 days to read around 219 pages.
The reader is fully aware pretty early on that things are not what they seem and the rest of the book is just following the main character trying to piece things together. I did find it frustrating at times because I realized certain things waaaay before the main character did, but this book is so short that I don't think it's detrimental. ( )

This was summer reading for me during middle school ... many years ago. I remember not being able to put it down and becoming fascinated with the paranormal and magik worlds. Interests I carry to this day. ( )