I Know What You Did Last Summer

Last summer, four terrified friends made a secret desperate pact to conceal a shocking secret. But now, someone has learned the truth. The horror is starting again. There is an unknown avenger out there who is stalking them in a deadly game. Will he stop at terror - or is he out for revenge?

I Know What You Did Last Summer Book Cover

GOT U COVERED 📕

Author: Lois Duncan

Published: 1973

Tagline: They thought it was over

Description: A girl looking into the distance [overlayed] and a boy riding his bike in front of an oncoming car.

With slowly growing horror she stared at the letter, at the one black sentence that peered up at her from the smudged paper.

I’m going to be sick, she thought. Her legs felt weak, and she reached out and caught hold of the edge of the table to steady herself. - pg. 9

SYNOPSIS 📖

Lois Duncan’s suspenseful thriller, I Know What You Did Last Summer, delves into the dark secrets and haunting guilt of four teenagers. After a fateful night that ends in a tragic accident, friends Julie, Helen, Ray, and Barry make a pact to bury their deadly mistake and never speak of it again. However, their desperate attempt to move on is shattered when an anonymous assailant begins delivering chilling messages that hint at a menacing knowledge of their past. As fear mounts and suspicion increases, the teenagers must confront their buried horrors before they become the next victims of a relentless pursuer.

She fought back the tears that were just beneath the surface. “We didn’t just kill a little boy. We wrecked a whole family!” - pg. 103

THOUGHTS 💭

Many will know the ominous title from the 90’s slasher film, but very few know that it started as a book by a successful author. At least I didn’t. 1973 was 20 years before my time, so no surprise there, but what was surprising was that the book and film aren’t similar in tone either. Going in I was expecting the typical teen mystery, thriller I’ve become accustomed to. Instead, we get a book that is less about the kills and deals with a lot of loss. Loss of: life, relationships, and of self.

In the opening chapter, we meet Julie James who just got her acceptance letter ✉️ to study at Smith University. Her mom clues the reader in that Julie changed a lot within a year and became very studious, she can even point to the day that Julie started to change. Julie, of course, would rather not think of that day. The thought alone makes her sick to her stomach. Instead, she wants to get away from everything and everyone that reminds her of the past, and Smith University is her ticket out to start over. But you can never run away from the past, because amongst the received mail is an anonymous letter addressed to Julie, which reads “I Know What You Did Last Summer”.

There’s something so spooky about that line because it feels invasive and accusatory, but also has you wondering 🤔 what do they know and how much do they know? Some secrets are fun to keep, while others can have dire repercussions. I don’t know if I could ever live with a secret so heavy without it driving me mentally insane, not to mention the fact that someone knows - I think I’d be living in constant paranoia. There’s a reason why this trope works so well within horror and thrillers, even shows like Desperate Housewives and Pretty Little Liars had this trope in their mystery plot and I remember it being effective there too. 

The letter is what brings the characters all together again as we learn more about each of their lives, as well as how their relationships have changed since the accident. 

• Julie James: as mentioned, Julie has become more studious and is set to study at Smith University where she’ll be far from the past. She has exiled herself from the group and is only close with her mom, although that relationship has also suffered as a result of guilt from the accident. She’s dating a guy named Bud, who is some ex-military guy, but it’s not that serious to her. Her focus is starting a new life.

• Barry Cox: he lives on campus at the University’s fraternity house. He and Helen see each other, but he isn’t serious about her the way she is about him, although you can tell he has a special spot for her. In the book he gets near-fatally injured by the unknown assailant, which alerts the group that they are in more danger than they realised. Barry also has an overbearing mother who can’t seem to let go of her perfect little boy.  

• Helen Rivers: she has had plenty of success after the accident. After winning a competition for Channel Five and becoming their Golden Girl, which is a spokesmodel for the TV network, she has been able to move away from her humble family beginnings and her bitchy, resentful sister. Helen has her apartment, car, and booming career, however she wants something she can’t have - Barry Cox. She befriends a neighbour named Collingsworth Wilson who becomes somewhat of a support system for her.

• Ray Bronson: After Julie stopped dating him, he spent some time in California on the West Coast working with some guy and his fishing boat. He still has very strong feelings for Julie and is intent on regaining her love.  

Out of the four characters, I’d say Helen is the most realised and fleshed out. I guess that’s why in the film adaptation she also has the most characterisation.

Lois Duncan is a really good writer. Her writing style is quite aspirational and made me think of how I could use this book to pick up tips for a novel I’d like to write one day. There’s an easiness and authenticity in how portrays characters and their interactions with each other. Nothing feels forced or misplaced when trying to write these teens, and she’s able to tap into all kinds of emotions that read authentic to the personality of those characters. It has me curious to read more of her work. 

The pacing of this book is at a good steady speed, so much so that it made me believe that more was happening than there truly was. There aren’t necessarily any character arcs or plot lines unfolding. It’s more about these characters trying to grapple with the consequences of their actions. The conflict of this story is more an internal conflict within the four and the way some of it is written, their internal dialogue is a more honest view of how they are feeling vs how they are behaving. There is a mystery element, but a weak one and it’s not like they spend their days sleuthing and playing detective.

The standout chapter in the book is when Ray and Julie go undercover to visit the family of the boy they ran over. They just encounter the sister, Megan, who is the only one at home, but we learn what happened to her other family members: mom, dad, and brother, and how the accident severely affected them. To lose a child and brother who was that young is an unimaginable pain I could never know, so it tugged on some of my heartstrings while reading it. 

Another element of this book that snuck into the fold, was the parents of the four teens having to deal with loss in their way. Not necessarily due to a death, but rather the distance they feel between them and their child. I would say this subtle theme is present with Julie, Barry, and Helen’s parents. They all have a moment in the book where they confront their parenting and the present result thereof. 

The ending of the book ends a little abruptly and isn’t the strongest wrap-up of a story. However, there is a twist that I wonder if most readers will catch immediately. 

Overall, this book is a good read and a definite recommendation for me, but if you are looking for horror elements akin to the film then you’ll be very disappointed. This book doesn’t offer all that much when it comes to thrills and chills. The only element of danger involves Barry but it’s nothing remotely like the film. But I think you’ll be pleasantly wrapped up in these teens and how they’ve been able to move on from such a harrowing burden on them. 

I grade this book a B-