I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan

Yes, the hit 1997 film was based on this classic teen novel from 1973 by Lois Duncan, although it greatly amped up this simple suspense story.

"With slowly growing horror she stared at the letter, at the one black sentence that peered up at her from the smudged paper, 'I know what you did last summer.'"

Sixteen-year-old Julie James received her handwritten letter and knew it was about the night that changed everything. She had been a bubbly cheerleader on a moonlit drive with her boyfriend Ray, friend Barry, and his girlfriend Helen when they hit a boy on his bike. They didn't stop and decided to never speak of it again. A frivolous student, Julie began studying and was ready to go to college. Ray took off to California but returned when he got his letter. A year later, the pact of silence was being tested. Julie is conflicted to see Ray back, as she is sort of dating Bud, just back from Vietnam. Helen is now a TV spokesmodel and in her own apartment, thinking she will marry Barry but he wants to break up. When they receive more anonymous threats, Ray and Julie visit the boy's family and learn the damage they caused. Barry wants to remain silent, but after he is attacked and hospitalized, Ray is sure they should alert authorities and tell the whole story.

The film adaptation (changing the location to a fishing village and adding a death count) energized the genre, but compared with the film poster featuring a bloody metal hook, this is quite tame and appropriate for young audiences. The book features no deaths and at worst mentions a few beers and a little pot the night of the accident. It is a timeless story comparable to or better than several current adult domestic suspense thrillers I've read.

I hope Duncan got a piece of the franchise juggernaut, including two sequels, a legacy reboot, an unofficial Indian remake, and a TV series, although she stated she was appalled that her novel became a slasher series.

The book is continually reprinted, with many editions to choose from. Several of her other books have been filmed, including Hotel for Dogs, Killing Mr. Griffin (an American Library Association Best Book of the Year), and Summer of Fear (adapted into a 1978 film by Wes Craven).

1973 / Paperback / 199 pages