Lois Duncan writes macabre, suspenseful novels for young adults that have made her a favorite with teen readers and adult critics alike. Though her portrayals of average suburban high-school students and their encounters with the sociopathic or the paranormal have sometimes been faulted for various thematic flaws, her work has matured along with the readership she began writing for in the 1950s. Although some critics accuse Duncan of being melodramatic, she has found an eager audience of young adults. Through her use of action, deft characterization, and other-worldly elements, Duncan weaves stories that capture the reader's attention. In most of Duncan's books, her heroines--almost all of her lead characters have been high school females--are confronted with a dark event of some sort that unsettles their placid world. "It is a mark of Duncan's ability as a writer that the evils she describes are perfectly plausible and believable," noted...