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Sweet Valley High Super Thrillers #4
Deadly Summer
Revenge...
Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield are working as summer interns at The Sweet Valley News when they hear that a patient has escaped from a nearby psychiatric hospital. Assigned to research the man's past for an article, the twins discover that Donald Redman was once a student at Sweet Valley High.
They learn that his fellow students tormented him and that after a disturbing incident involving one of those students, Redman was expelled. He vowed to get revenge for his humiliation.
Now a fugitive, Redman sees Elizabeth and mistakes her for the popular, beautiful girl who hurt him most all those years ago. When their paths cross in the deserted high school stadium, he knows he finally has his chance to get even! Can he be stopped before it's too late?
Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield are working as summer interns at The Sweet Valley News when they hear that a patient has escaped from a nearby psychiatric hospital. Assigned to research the man's past for an article, the twins discover that Donald Redman was once a student at Sweet Valley High.
They learn that his fellow students tormented him and that after a disturbing incident involving one of those students, Redman was expelled. He vowed to get revenge for his humiliation.
Now a fugitive, Redman sees Elizabeth and mistakes her for the popular, beautiful girl who hurt him most all those years ago. When their paths cross in the deserted high school stadium, he knows he finally has his chance to get even! Can he be stopped before it's too late?
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
5 people are currently reading
281 people want to read
About the author
Francine Pascal
1,139 books1,848 followersFrancine Paula Pascal was an American author best known for her Sweet Valley series of young adult novels. Sweet Valley High, the backbone of the collection, was made into a television series, which led to several spin-offs, including The Unicorn Club and Sweet Valley University. Although most of these books were published in the 1980s and 1990s, they remained so popular that several titles were re-released decades later.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
September 22, 2024
I don’t know if it’s because the last Super Thriller I read (gothic romance in a cliffside mansion) was such a dud, but this edition was really fun and exciting and I was so into it?
The girls are seemingly nearing the end of their newspaper internship but not without a big story — a former SVH student has escaped the psych ward and has returned for revenge! He’s a skilled bomb maker and has delusions of Elizabeth resembling one of his past tormentors, Melanie. You know how this is going to go down.
There’s also an entire b-plot about Lila and Jessica being obsessed with ouija boards and trying to trick Liz, which was kind of amazing.
Bomb threats! Fake illnesses! End of summer events! The Droids cameo! Jealous boyfriends! A truly spectacular ending! Bruce…a hero?
The girls are seemingly nearing the end of their newspaper internship but not without a big story — a former SVH student has escaped the psych ward and has returned for revenge! He’s a skilled bomb maker and has delusions of Elizabeth resembling one of his past tormentors, Melanie. You know how this is going to go down.
There’s also an entire b-plot about Lila and Jessica being obsessed with ouija boards and trying to trick Liz, which was kind of amazing.
Bomb threats! Fake illnesses! End of summer events! The Droids cameo! Jealous boyfriends! A truly spectacular ending! Bruce…a hero?
May 19, 2019
These Wakefield twins are at it again. This time with a murderous psychopath and a devious Ouija Board.
I think people in Sweet Valley need to stop hanging out or talking with these Wakefield’s. They bring nothing but fire and brimstone to peoples lives.
This one was really entertaining because there was so much going on and it was fun to keep track of all the deviousness.
I think people in Sweet Valley need to stop hanging out or talking with these Wakefield’s. They bring nothing but fire and brimstone to peoples lives.
This one was really entertaining because there was so much going on and it was fun to keep track of all the deviousness.
August 28, 2017
This one isn't so much about a Deadly Summer as it is the Ouija board. Which isn't terrifying (unless you are Linda Blair, I suppose).
Lila has a new Ouija board and says they are the new fad. (In the 80s? Okay). But scoffing, practical Liz doesn't believe in that kind of junk. So she basically calls Lila a fool for believing in it, which sends Lila into "payback" mode. Of course, she enlists Jess's help. Jess is into it - at first. There is an upcoming concert (of course there is) called Endless Summer and Lila, with her insider connections, just happens to know it will be postponed. So this is the first thing they "tell" Liz on the Ouija board. Then Jess finds Liz's diary and searches for gossip on Jeffrey (this is the Jeffrey era). Next time they use the board, it "tells" Liz that she has a surprise coming from Jeffrey. Naturally, Liz just thinks Jess stole her diary (because she did). Liz goes looking for her diary but can't find it, and Jess is still swearing on her life that she has no idea where it is. So Jess drags Liz to the board once more, where it tells Liz to look in the fridge. Bam! There's the diary.
But Lila hasn't had quite enough. She wants to come up with something big. And, naturally, this something big will have great benefit to her. The board will "tell" Liz that Bruce is sick. Like, terminally ill sick. And because Liz can't leave people alone, she will immediately sidle up to him... leaving Lila free to go after Jeffrey, whom she's wanted since he moved to Sweet Valley. At this point, Liz finally believes the board. Bruce, rapist that he is, doesn't mind the attention from Liz. I'm sure it's a change for him to not just be taking everything he wants. He calls her "Goldilocks." Barf.
Though it is very much a side plot in this one, this is another summer where the twins are working at the Sweet Valley News. It's slow-going until it comes out that delusional Donald Redman has escaped from the psychiatric ward. It really isn't even relevant until the very last part of the book. Also, Liz has been innocently baby-sitting for the Bartels all summer. Or maybe not so innocently, because Elsa Bartel, the mom, is the SISTER of Donald Redman. Redman stops by the house one night while Liz is baby-sitting. Then she sees him again after a bomb scare in the stadium. She starts to think that maybe the man in the paper and the man she has been seeing everywhere are the same person, but she wants to be sure. So she calls Elsa about the man who showed up but, instead of telling Liz that she is related to Redman, she insists to Liz that she has a case of mistaken identity.
Meanwhile, Jess is trying to defuse the devious plot of Lila's by confessing the truth to Bruce. This only makes Bruce want to pursue Liz harder (of course it does). But! Surprise! Jeffrey is back in town early from camp. That was his surprise to Liz. And, boy, it certainly does surprise her. He catches her in the kitchen with none other than Bruce Patman. Like the audience, Jeffrey is thoroughly confused by this situation. So begins the Bruce vs. Jeffrey take-down. While at the assembly Bruce and Jeffrey fight over who should get Liz drinks. Liz thinks she should either be flattered or pissed at them. But probably she's mostly flattered, because she's Liz.
Then, the night of Redman's "foolproof" plan, Jeffrey comes to pick Liz up for a date. Only Lila gets to him first and tells him that she went out with Bruce (who called last minute saying he "couldn't go on"). She tells him they are at the tennis courts at school. You can imagine how wonderful things are for Jeffrey when he finds that Bruce and Liz have moved to a more intimate location... inside. He confronts Liz, who can't deal with either of them anymore. Meanwhile, Redman is watching this all go down in the background while whispering sweet nothings to the homemade bomb he is holding. He believes Liz is Melanie, a girl who wronged him in the past. He sneaks off to the supply closet, which has now become holding grounds for his entire bomb operation. Liz also thinks this closet might be a good place to get away from Bruce and Jeffrey. Wrong. She opens the door to find Redman, who promptly kidnaps her in the closet. But then he seems to want Bruce and Jeffrey to find her, so he lures them in there too. Basically, they scream and plead for their lives and try to talk their way out of it while hoping that someone will rescue them.
And, wouldn't you know? Jess and her twintuition are still free. She and Lila play with the Ouija board, which "tells" Jess that Liz is in major trouble at the SVH stadium. She runs out the door in hysterics, but they are stopped by Elsa Bartel, who tells them the truth about everything. They call the police and head to the school.
Jessica doesn't want to wait for the police to arrive (of course not), but Elsa tells her that's what's best. As soon as they show up, they put listening devices around the school so that they can hear Redman. They try to talk sense into him, but that obviously doesn't work. So, instead, they have Elsa talk to him. But because Redman has had a psychotic break, he doesn't believe it's her. So Jeffrey and Bruce tackle him, getting the bomb remote out of his hands. It skids under a cabinet. Bruce grabs Redman's homemade bomb and takes off with it, and Redman follows him. Liz and Jeffrey get the remote in time, but just as they turn the bomb off, the stadium explodes.
They think Bruce is killed - there is no way he could have survived that. But, luckily, Liz and Jeffrey get outside to find Bruce all right, albeit quite scuffled up. It turns out that Redman stole the bomb from him just before it went off (he thought that he was immune to the bomb's explosion). Jessica finally reunites with Liz and offers her tearful apology for messing with her because of the Ouija board. Liz should warn her to be careful because next time it could end up like The Exorcist but, sadly, she doesn't.
Quotes:
"Lila had just returned from London and brought back a Ouija board, which, according to her, was the latest craze in England."
(England? Really?)
"Her heart was pounding. An escaped psychopath was real, hard news."
(Since when? This town is full of 'em!)
"Redman looked like a completely normal and attractive man. There was nothing at all in his appearance to show that he was dangerously off-balance."
(Ted Bundy looked normal and attractive too. Except for his eyes.)
"This had to be the most exciting thing that had happened in Sweet valley in a long time, Jessica decided."
(They must not have encountered a sociopath for an entire week).
"And she hadn't told him why she was being so friendly to Bruce, either. She sensed that Jeffrey was hurt and mystified, but there was nothing she could do about it."
(Um, yes, Liz. There is.)
Jessica: But what if the police can't get him? I mean, so far they've been unable to track him down. Are they that incompetent?
(Yes, Jessica. They are.)
Lila has a new Ouija board and says they are the new fad. (In the 80s? Okay). But scoffing, practical Liz doesn't believe in that kind of junk. So she basically calls Lila a fool for believing in it, which sends Lila into "payback" mode. Of course, she enlists Jess's help. Jess is into it - at first. There is an upcoming concert (of course there is) called Endless Summer and Lila, with her insider connections, just happens to know it will be postponed. So this is the first thing they "tell" Liz on the Ouija board. Then Jess finds Liz's diary and searches for gossip on Jeffrey (this is the Jeffrey era). Next time they use the board, it "tells" Liz that she has a surprise coming from Jeffrey. Naturally, Liz just thinks Jess stole her diary (because she did). Liz goes looking for her diary but can't find it, and Jess is still swearing on her life that she has no idea where it is. So Jess drags Liz to the board once more, where it tells Liz to look in the fridge. Bam! There's the diary.
But Lila hasn't had quite enough. She wants to come up with something big. And, naturally, this something big will have great benefit to her. The board will "tell" Liz that Bruce is sick. Like, terminally ill sick. And because Liz can't leave people alone, she will immediately sidle up to him... leaving Lila free to go after Jeffrey, whom she's wanted since he moved to Sweet Valley. At this point, Liz finally believes the board. Bruce, rapist that he is, doesn't mind the attention from Liz. I'm sure it's a change for him to not just be taking everything he wants. He calls her "Goldilocks." Barf.
Though it is very much a side plot in this one, this is another summer where the twins are working at the Sweet Valley News. It's slow-going until it comes out that delusional Donald Redman has escaped from the psychiatric ward. It really isn't even relevant until the very last part of the book. Also, Liz has been innocently baby-sitting for the Bartels all summer. Or maybe not so innocently, because Elsa Bartel, the mom, is the SISTER of Donald Redman. Redman stops by the house one night while Liz is baby-sitting. Then she sees him again after a bomb scare in the stadium. She starts to think that maybe the man in the paper and the man she has been seeing everywhere are the same person, but she wants to be sure. So she calls Elsa about the man who showed up but, instead of telling Liz that she is related to Redman, she insists to Liz that she has a case of mistaken identity.
Meanwhile, Jess is trying to defuse the devious plot of Lila's by confessing the truth to Bruce. This only makes Bruce want to pursue Liz harder (of course it does). But! Surprise! Jeffrey is back in town early from camp. That was his surprise to Liz. And, boy, it certainly does surprise her. He catches her in the kitchen with none other than Bruce Patman. Like the audience, Jeffrey is thoroughly confused by this situation. So begins the Bruce vs. Jeffrey take-down. While at the assembly Bruce and Jeffrey fight over who should get Liz drinks. Liz thinks she should either be flattered or pissed at them. But probably she's mostly flattered, because she's Liz.
Then, the night of Redman's "foolproof" plan, Jeffrey comes to pick Liz up for a date. Only Lila gets to him first and tells him that she went out with Bruce (who called last minute saying he "couldn't go on"). She tells him they are at the tennis courts at school. You can imagine how wonderful things are for Jeffrey when he finds that Bruce and Liz have moved to a more intimate location... inside. He confronts Liz, who can't deal with either of them anymore. Meanwhile, Redman is watching this all go down in the background while whispering sweet nothings to the homemade bomb he is holding. He believes Liz is Melanie, a girl who wronged him in the past. He sneaks off to the supply closet, which has now become holding grounds for his entire bomb operation. Liz also thinks this closet might be a good place to get away from Bruce and Jeffrey. Wrong. She opens the door to find Redman, who promptly kidnaps her in the closet. But then he seems to want Bruce and Jeffrey to find her, so he lures them in there too. Basically, they scream and plead for their lives and try to talk their way out of it while hoping that someone will rescue them.
And, wouldn't you know? Jess and her twintuition are still free. She and Lila play with the Ouija board, which "tells" Jess that Liz is in major trouble at the SVH stadium. She runs out the door in hysterics, but they are stopped by Elsa Bartel, who tells them the truth about everything. They call the police and head to the school.
Jessica doesn't want to wait for the police to arrive (of course not), but Elsa tells her that's what's best. As soon as they show up, they put listening devices around the school so that they can hear Redman. They try to talk sense into him, but that obviously doesn't work. So, instead, they have Elsa talk to him. But because Redman has had a psychotic break, he doesn't believe it's her. So Jeffrey and Bruce tackle him, getting the bomb remote out of his hands. It skids under a cabinet. Bruce grabs Redman's homemade bomb and takes off with it, and Redman follows him. Liz and Jeffrey get the remote in time, but just as they turn the bomb off, the stadium explodes.
They think Bruce is killed - there is no way he could have survived that. But, luckily, Liz and Jeffrey get outside to find Bruce all right, albeit quite scuffled up. It turns out that Redman stole the bomb from him just before it went off (he thought that he was immune to the bomb's explosion). Jessica finally reunites with Liz and offers her tearful apology for messing with her because of the Ouija board. Liz should warn her to be careful because next time it could end up like The Exorcist but, sadly, she doesn't.
Quotes:
"Lila had just returned from London and brought back a Ouija board, which, according to her, was the latest craze in England."
(England? Really?)
"Her heart was pounding. An escaped psychopath was real, hard news."
(Since when? This town is full of 'em!)
"Redman looked like a completely normal and attractive man. There was nothing at all in his appearance to show that he was dangerously off-balance."
(Ted Bundy looked normal and attractive too. Except for his eyes.)
"This had to be the most exciting thing that had happened in Sweet valley in a long time, Jessica decided."
(They must not have encountered a sociopath for an entire week).
"And she hadn't told him why she was being so friendly to Bruce, either. She sensed that Jeffrey was hurt and mystified, but there was nothing she could do about it."
(Um, yes, Liz. There is.)
Jessica: But what if the police can't get him? I mean, so far they've been unable to track him down. Are they that incompetent?
(Yes, Jessica. They are.)
June 22, 2012
Combining my love of Nancy Drew with my love of Sweet Valley, this became a book I read on repeat when I was about thirteen or fourteen. Best part? Learning that a Fiat convertible was the car of choice for cool teens in 1989. (May also be responsible for my longtime desire to intern at a newspaper; yet to be realized.)
January 21, 2021
This was probably my favorite SVH super thriller of the first 4! The mystery was very thrilling and I really enjoyed the subplot with Liz + Bruce too.
October 24, 2010
I just simply love them. The only thing better than a sweet valley high story was the epicness of the super thriller! More bang for your buck if you will.
November 25, 2022
Decided to take a nostalgic walk down memory lane while revisiting my childhood bookcase in Cincinnati. Naturally, 5+ stars for the Wakefield twins.
December 31, 2023
A fun re-read from my childhood 🥺 Watch out for the escaped madman who likes to see things get blowed up!
January 27, 2018
Summer is a has been teen star,whose mother took all her money about to lose the family home she agrees to a reality show. The show is about a PI with all kinds of made up cases. Summer stumbles onto a real life case and works to solve that while filming the reality show. It didn’t seem to have enough of either the reality show or the murder case to be interesting.
January 26, 2021
Probably my favorite of the Super Thrillers so far, this one takes Jessica and Liz outside of the Sweet Valley News office more often than not, and they get to act like proper teenagers again- going to movies and concerts and playing with Ouija boards... But wait! An escaped mental patient is terrorizing Sweet Valley with various bomb threats. When a random character we've never heard of is a large part of the book as a woman that Elizabeth babysits for, everyone's spidey senses should go a little itchy because she turns out to be a pivotal character (no spoilers) in helping to capture the madman. In the meantime, Ned and Alice seem to be rather blase about letting their teenaged daughters running around to all the places having big gatherings considering the string of bomb threats happening EVEN WHEN THEIR DAUGHTERS ARE IN THE SAME PLACES AS THE BOMB THREATS. Add in an excellent side plot involving Lila scheming once again to get Jeffrey French all to herself, and you get a damned fun, typically stupid SVH book. Three stars.
February 4, 2016
Wow. This was my favorite series in 5th grade. Teen fiction has come a long way!
April 2, 2021
review coming soon
February 23, 2024
Spoiler-filled synopsis ahead.
This thing features an escaped lunatic/evil genius referred to as the Mad Bomber (it was capitalized and everything!) who’s very into terrorizing Sweet Valley, particularly Liz, as she looks just like the mean girl who made fun of him back in high school. And, as if that isn’t enough excitement for one Super Thriller, it’s also got Lila’s most devious Jeffrey-stealing scheme yet: she uses a Ouija board to convince Liz that Bruce Patman is secretly dying of a terminal illness (and Liz goes aha! So that’s why he’s always such a dick to everyone! Secret terminal illness. Lol), figuring that when Liz predictably starts spending all her waking hours comforting poor, brave, sick little Bruce, Jeffrey will get all jealous and the two will finally split up, at which point Lila will be there for Jeffrey in his time of need. Doesn’t quite work out that way, of course, but it is definitely her best—by which I mean most batshit ridicuous—underhanded plot to date! Gotta love how over-the-top stupid this one was, everything about it was freakin adorable <3
This thing features an escaped lunatic/evil genius referred to as the Mad Bomber (it was capitalized and everything!) who’s very into terrorizing Sweet Valley, particularly Liz, as she looks just like the mean girl who made fun of him back in high school. And, as if that isn’t enough excitement for one Super Thriller, it’s also got Lila’s most devious Jeffrey-stealing scheme yet: she uses a Ouija board to convince Liz that Bruce Patman is secretly dying of a terminal illness (and Liz goes aha! So that’s why he’s always such a dick to everyone! Secret terminal illness. Lol), figuring that when Liz predictably starts spending all her waking hours comforting poor, brave, sick little Bruce, Jeffrey will get all jealous and the two will finally split up, at which point Lila will be there for Jeffrey in his time of need. Doesn’t quite work out that way, of course, but it is definitely her best—by which I mean most batshit ridicuous—underhanded plot to date! Gotta love how over-the-top stupid this one was, everything about it was freakin adorable <3
July 10, 2019
Thrilling story involving a Ouija board, an escapes lunatic, and mistaken identity!
December 27, 2019
Still bonkers. The mystery plot was frustrating but the Bruce subplot was entertaining, if creepy.
August 11, 2024
Not a Sweet Valley High book making me tear up at the end. Lol!
Full confession: Kid me thought that I was too cool to read the Sweet Valley books. I was a horror and adventure girl. Lol! I was missing out. This book was so much fun. I can't wait to spend more time with the Wakefield twins.
Full confession: Kid me thought that I was too cool to read the Sweet Valley books. I was a horror and adventure girl. Lol! I was missing out. This book was so much fun. I can't wait to spend more time with the Wakefield twins.
April 14, 2020
This was a pretty good book. It was a little boring after a while, but it's basically about a crazed bomb man whos after Sweet Valley and mistakes Elizabeth for one of his old crushes who constantly made fun of him. He wants revenge and threatens to blow up the whole city multiple times.
September 25, 2025
A very easy read, but from this series, i expect a little mystery rather than chapter after chapter of the Oujia Board Saga. So basically Jessica is always the twin that finds something fun and new every other week to obsessed about while Elizabeth is the serious, studious, twin. Perhaps the author wants the reader to see Jessica as that boring, girly, fun girl who’s never serious and spends her time gossiping and playing around while Elizabeth is the hard working person with big dream ? But at this point, it almost feels like the narrative is too forced. At this point, Elizabeth seems naive and too rigid ( oh, no - the logical and practical Liz vs believing an ouija board ??? So important!!! ) and Jessica’s jokes and attempts to convinced her sister is so pointless. And the “super thriller” ? Not so much. Too cliched, too slow, with unnecesaary sub-plot.
June 21, 2013
I remember the cover just not the story.
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August 1, 2013Graded By: Erin
Read the drinking game and review here.
Read the drinking game and review here.
July 31, 2013
This book was definitely disturbed. The author made it very realistic to picture this psychopaths mind and it's inner workings or lacks there of.
March 7, 2016
A 3 for nostalgia. Man. I forgot that Lila was kind of a jerk.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews