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De strandwacht
"Je gaat niet schreeuwen, meisje, want ik heb op je gewacht." De stem klonk onvast. "Ik heb een hele tijd op je gewacht."
"Laat me los!" Kim probeerde hem weg te duwen, maar verloor zelf haar evenwicht. Ze hoorde hem lachen toen ze viel.
"Ik moet je een paar dingen vertellen, dus je kunt maar beter luisteren naar Isaäc, hoor je me? Je moet voorzichtig zijn, meisje. Ik zie wat er aan de hand is. En ik weet ook bepaalde dingen, neem dat maar van me aan. Net zoals jij bepaalde dingen weet. Jij bent een slim meisje... net als die andere, maar zij is nu dood."
"Laat me met rust of ik ga gillen. Ik meen het!" Ze ging op haar knieën zitten en begon zo hard te schreeuwen dat het buitenlicht aanging en de deur openvloog.
"Wees voorzichtig!" siste Isaäc. Een fractie van een seconde later, toen Kim weer was opgestaan, was hij verdwenen.
"Laat me los!" Kim probeerde hem weg te duwen, maar verloor zelf haar evenwicht. Ze hoorde hem lachen toen ze viel.
"Ik moet je een paar dingen vertellen, dus je kunt maar beter luisteren naar Isaäc, hoor je me? Je moet voorzichtig zijn, meisje. Ik zie wat er aan de hand is. En ik weet ook bepaalde dingen, neem dat maar van me aan. Net zoals jij bepaalde dingen weet. Jij bent een slim meisje... net als die andere, maar zij is nu dood."
"Laat me met rust of ik ga gillen. Ik meen het!" Ze ging op haar knieën zitten en begon zo hard te schreeuwen dat het buitenlicht aanging en de deur openvloog.
"Wees voorzichtig!" siste Isaäc. Een fractie van een seconde later, toen Kim weer was opgestaan, was hij verdwenen.
188 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1988
80 people are currently reading
1421 people want to read
About the author
Richie Tankersley Cusick
50 books796 followersRichie Tankersley Cusick is the bestselling young adult author of over 25 titles, including two adult horror titles, Scarecrow and Blood Roots. Her popularity grew at the height of the horror/YA boom in the late '80s/early '90s, particularly with books like Lifeguard , Trick or Treat and Teacher's Pet, just to name a few, allowing her to keep company on the bestseller paperback lists with the likes of R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike. Her fan base expanded about the time she changed publishers to Archway/Pocket Books with titles like Vampire and Someone at the Door.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 167 reviews
August 13, 2016
Kelsey Tanner goes with her mother to Beverly Island for a vacation for a couple of weeks. Her mother's boyfriend, Eric, invited them to visit him at his home on the island where he's staying for the summer, spending time with his children (his two sons, Justin and Neale, and one daughter, Beth). When Kelsey and her mother arrive at the island they are met by a distraught Eric. He tells them his thirteen-year-old daughter Beth is missing. There are search parties out looking for her. Beth's belongings (her sandals and beach towel) were found at the cove on the beach (which is very dangerous). After a few days they come to the conclusion Beth drowned, no one can find her body, and they are thinking about calling off the search.
During this time Kelsey makes some friends. She gets along with shy Justin, but Neale is cold and aloof (both boys are lifeguards at the beach). She also meets a friendly girl called Donna, and Skip, another lifeguard.
Then Kelsey finds a note in her room (she's staying in Beth's room) which says "I think someone is going to kill me". Kelsey is starting to believe maybe Beth was murdered, but is hesitant to tell the others. She is also becoming scared...one day she hears someone in her bedroom while she's alone in the house when she's about to leave the shower and notices wet footprints on the floor along with seaweed. Another time she sees a dead body that disappears later. A creepy old man with an eyepatch keeps yelling warnings at her, etc...
This was an enjoyable, eerie, and fast-paced young-adult suspense story. I liked Kelsey and the cast of characters/suspects... I also liked the suspicious/potential murderous lifeguard angle to the story, that was interesting and different. This book even had a little romance in it. A good read with great atmosphere set on an island with dangerous coves and a crumbling old lighthouse.
During this time Kelsey makes some friends. She gets along with shy Justin, but Neale is cold and aloof (both boys are lifeguards at the beach). She also meets a friendly girl called Donna, and Skip, another lifeguard.
Then Kelsey finds a note in her room (she's staying in Beth's room) which says "I think someone is going to kill me". Kelsey is starting to believe maybe Beth was murdered, but is hesitant to tell the others. She is also becoming scared...one day she hears someone in her bedroom while she's alone in the house when she's about to leave the shower and notices wet footprints on the floor along with seaweed. Another time she sees a dead body that disappears later. A creepy old man with an eyepatch keeps yelling warnings at her, etc...
This was an enjoyable, eerie, and fast-paced young-adult suspense story. I liked Kelsey and the cast of characters/suspects... I also liked the suspicious/potential murderous lifeguard angle to the story, that was interesting and different. This book even had a little romance in it. A good read with great atmosphere set on an island with dangerous coves and a crumbling old lighthouse.
October 24, 2010
this has nothing to do with this book, but i finally saw the video for it today (even though i swear i am doing homework and studying - i totally am), and it made me laugh, having always been a fan of the song. this book is also good, or it was when i was thirteen or so.
but enjoy this, please: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBRJ6j...
but enjoy this, please: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBRJ6j...
September 7, 2021
I had so many Point Horror books as a teen. I can distinctly recall this cover, but with no recollection of the plot the twist and turns were just a surprise this time around.
Whilst away on summer vacation Kelsey soon suspects that missing girl Beth might actually have been murdered.
This played more like a thriller, there’s some creepy horror moments but felt slight different to all to most of the others in the range.
An enjoyable read, though not as memorable as some of Cusick’s other novels.
I’ll have to re-read it again in another 20 years!
Whilst away on summer vacation Kelsey soon suspects that missing girl Beth might actually have been murdered.
This played more like a thriller, there’s some creepy horror moments but felt slight different to all to most of the others in the range.
An enjoyable read, though not as memorable as some of Cusick’s other novels.
I’ll have to re-read it again in another 20 years!
Read
August 8, 2019 He wouldn't hurry with Kelsey.
He'd just take his time and enjoy it.
I wish he did hurry with Kelsey, because maybe it'd make this stinker YA novel shorter. There's a mystery a foot but all you've got to do to solve it is think about who the least likely suspect is and that's your man (I figured it out within the first 50 pages). Other than that, there's not enough killing and too many scenes of "But no really! It really did happen!" which are always frustrating. Some of the night beach scenes are creepy, though generally geographically confusing. And ultimately it's one of those flawed books where the heroine doesn't really do much solving or fighting but an awful lot of things just happen to her, which I always find really disappointing.
He'd just take his time and enjoy it.
I wish he did hurry with Kelsey, because maybe it'd make this stinker YA novel shorter. There's a mystery a foot but all you've got to do to solve it is think about who the least likely suspect is and that's your man (I figured it out within the first 50 pages). Other than that, there's not enough killing and too many scenes of "But no really! It really did happen!" which are always frustrating. Some of the night beach scenes are creepy, though generally geographically confusing. And ultimately it's one of those flawed books where the heroine doesn't really do much solving or fighting but an awful lot of things just happen to her, which I always find really disappointing.
May 19, 2019
This is not just a by-the-numbers retro YA horror book since there's some heart behind it. The loss and tragedy the characters endure feel real, which marks this book above most of its peers. One of the genre's failings is a lack of depth, which is not too surprising given the short average book length and - let's admit it - the target audience. This book may be an exception. Quoting one of the grieving characters: "You can’t live your life for something that might never happen. ’Cause then one day your own life is over, and all you’ve done is live for someone else."
The killer becomes rather evident around the halfway mark after a particularly ham-fisted red herring. I have to say, among the author's books that I've read this one is the easiest to solve. Maybe because this time the author plays square?
Also, I think that the lead falling for her mother's boyfriend's son is just a bit off-putting. What if he becomes her stepbrother? In any case, it ranks among Cusick's better offerings. I'm rating it 7/10 or 3 stars out of 5.
The killer becomes rather evident around the halfway mark after a particularly ham-fisted red herring. I have to say, among the author's books that I've read this one is the easiest to solve. Maybe because this time the author plays square?
Also, I think that the lead falling for her mother's boyfriend's son is just a bit off-putting. What if he becomes her stepbrother? In any case, it ranks among Cusick's better offerings. I'm rating it 7/10 or 3 stars out of 5.
June 26, 2023
It never really takes me long to devour any of these Point Horrors even if I have read them a thousand times. It sometimes doesn't even matter if it has been years.
The details of the plots may be hazy but certain covers and writers always stick out in my memory and once I start reading everything comes back.
That's how it is with the really good Richie T. Cusick books. Which is to say almost all of them but that's just me but you can't deny early ones like this are good.
Kelsey wanted to spend her summer with her best friend Jenny and her family hiking and camping in the woods. Her mother's boyfriend Eric Connell invited her to come along to meet his kids on their summer home on Beverly Island but Kelsey is not a fan of the water.
Sunning on the beach is fine but being in the water is traumatic...it reminds her too much of her father and what happened two years ago.
It seems like a beautiful place and Kelsey's mother Marjorie says that Eric's thirteen year old daughter Beth can't wait to meet her and hang out for the summer. Eric also has two sons, more around Kelsey's age, and she thinks it will be nice for Kelsey to meet some new friends.
The moment they arrive however starts a very cruel summer.
Eric tells the two of them that Beth is missing, she might be drowned somewhere around the island in coves or taken out with the tide and the undertow on the very worst scenario. His boys, Justin and Neale, are both lifeguards and they are out searching with many others.
Kelsey can't (yet can) imagine what Eric must be going through so she decides to stay even if her mother gives her the opportunity to get a hold of Jenny at the last minute. Kelsey was to share Beth's room with her and finds a note showing the younger girl was so excited for her arrival.
Then Kelsey finds the other note. The one where Beth wrote down that someone was trying to kill her.
Kelsey meets Justin and Neale when they return from that day's search. Justin is the younger of the two and he seems shaken and hopeful that his sister will be found while Neale is the pessimist who believes they won't find his baby sister alive anywhere.
So it is clear Justin is warm and his brother is ice cold despite both of them being quite good-looking. Kelsey knows Justin is his father's favorite through her mother, the young man studious and athletic.
Neale seems to be the black sheep in his own family despite being the oldest. His own mother is dead, his sister might be as well and he has to be stuck with his dad's new girlfriend and her daughter all summer.
Can't really blame him but that doesn't mean he has to be so rude to everyone.
Kelsey has nightmares about her dad drowning constantly but the situation with Beth makes it worse that she wakes up Justin and Neale with her screaming. Kelsey goes out for a walk as it starts to get closer to dawn and finds herself at an old lighthouse where she meets an old man with an eye patch and a decrepit face.
His name is Isaac and he gives Kelsey the creeps as she is sure he was following her. Running away after the terrifying encounter, Kelsey bumps into Neale and he chews her out for being on private property and not noticing the sign about trespassing.
They are soon joined by a girl named Donna and a boy named Skip Rochford. Kelsey met him on the boat that brought her and her mother to the island and he treated her nicely when she got freaked out about being on the boat. Skip is best friends with Justin and it is clear that Donna is very interested in Skip but he can come off as an egotistical jerk.
Not only that his dad is rich and Skip just so happens to be a lifeguard as well.
The boys go on their way to their jobs so Donna shows Kelsey around the island for a tour and of course, divulges some gossip here and there. Mostly that no one is very comfortable around Neale and that last summer, a female lifeguard named Rebecca drowned trying to save someone.
They never found another body except for Rebecca's and Neale replaced her at the end of the summer season.
Things only seem to get worse as Donna and Kelsey come upon a dead girl's body but when they come back for help with Skip, it's gone. He doesn't believe their story and soon, Justin and Neale think both girls are just too emotional like Skip said.
The girls have their suspicions that crazy old Isaac may have something to do with Beth's disappearance more than anyone. It's too bad they don't look closer to home because we get glimpses into the mind of one of our very handsome lifeguards every few chapters.
He's crazy and he's a killer. Girls have disappeared before and he's the one responsible...taking lives instead of saving them.
Even though Kelsey has Donna on her side it may not be enough to keep her alive from the one person you hope you can trust...
Being her first Point Horror, RTC has that formula of her trio of handsome yet homicidal hunks or potential heartthrobs down.
Nothing more to say on that front for fear of spoilers...
We get some reveals amid all of the drama and romance and tension that lead up to a twist that is however somewhat predictable if you pay enough attention. Not that RTC doesn't do a good job of really trying to amp up our adrenaline but just seems so obvious...
The ending is sort of a covering up loose ends and explaining things type of finale but it is very bittersweet yet also hopeful that it isn't a real downer.
I'll still keep my five star rating because it is a really good story with a foreboding atmosphere amongst a setting of sun and sandy, summer beaches. Complex characters, teen drama, heartache and palpable terror...The Lifeguard is a highly recommended read.
The details of the plots may be hazy but certain covers and writers always stick out in my memory and once I start reading everything comes back.
That's how it is with the really good Richie T. Cusick books. Which is to say almost all of them but that's just me but you can't deny early ones like this are good.
Kelsey wanted to spend her summer with her best friend Jenny and her family hiking and camping in the woods. Her mother's boyfriend Eric Connell invited her to come along to meet his kids on their summer home on Beverly Island but Kelsey is not a fan of the water.
Sunning on the beach is fine but being in the water is traumatic...it reminds her too much of her father and what happened two years ago.
It seems like a beautiful place and Kelsey's mother Marjorie says that Eric's thirteen year old daughter Beth can't wait to meet her and hang out for the summer. Eric also has two sons, more around Kelsey's age, and she thinks it will be nice for Kelsey to meet some new friends.
The moment they arrive however starts a very cruel summer.
Eric tells the two of them that Beth is missing, she might be drowned somewhere around the island in coves or taken out with the tide and the undertow on the very worst scenario. His boys, Justin and Neale, are both lifeguards and they are out searching with many others.
Kelsey can't (yet can) imagine what Eric must be going through so she decides to stay even if her mother gives her the opportunity to get a hold of Jenny at the last minute. Kelsey was to share Beth's room with her and finds a note showing the younger girl was so excited for her arrival.
Then Kelsey finds the other note. The one where Beth wrote down that someone was trying to kill her.
Kelsey meets Justin and Neale when they return from that day's search. Justin is the younger of the two and he seems shaken and hopeful that his sister will be found while Neale is the pessimist who believes they won't find his baby sister alive anywhere.
So it is clear Justin is warm and his brother is ice cold despite both of them being quite good-looking. Kelsey knows Justin is his father's favorite through her mother, the young man studious and athletic.
Neale seems to be the black sheep in his own family despite being the oldest. His own mother is dead, his sister might be as well and he has to be stuck with his dad's new girlfriend and her daughter all summer.
Can't really blame him but that doesn't mean he has to be so rude to everyone.
Kelsey has nightmares about her dad drowning constantly but the situation with Beth makes it worse that she wakes up Justin and Neale with her screaming. Kelsey goes out for a walk as it starts to get closer to dawn and finds herself at an old lighthouse where she meets an old man with an eye patch and a decrepit face.
His name is Isaac and he gives Kelsey the creeps as she is sure he was following her. Running away after the terrifying encounter, Kelsey bumps into Neale and he chews her out for being on private property and not noticing the sign about trespassing.
They are soon joined by a girl named Donna and a boy named Skip Rochford. Kelsey met him on the boat that brought her and her mother to the island and he treated her nicely when she got freaked out about being on the boat. Skip is best friends with Justin and it is clear that Donna is very interested in Skip but he can come off as an egotistical jerk.
Not only that his dad is rich and Skip just so happens to be a lifeguard as well.
The boys go on their way to their jobs so Donna shows Kelsey around the island for a tour and of course, divulges some gossip here and there. Mostly that no one is very comfortable around Neale and that last summer, a female lifeguard named Rebecca drowned trying to save someone.
They never found another body except for Rebecca's and Neale replaced her at the end of the summer season.
Things only seem to get worse as Donna and Kelsey come upon a dead girl's body but when they come back for help with Skip, it's gone. He doesn't believe their story and soon, Justin and Neale think both girls are just too emotional like Skip said.
The girls have their suspicions that crazy old Isaac may have something to do with Beth's disappearance more than anyone. It's too bad they don't look closer to home because we get glimpses into the mind of one of our very handsome lifeguards every few chapters.
He's crazy and he's a killer. Girls have disappeared before and he's the one responsible...taking lives instead of saving them.
Even though Kelsey has Donna on her side it may not be enough to keep her alive from the one person you hope you can trust...
Being her first Point Horror, RTC has that formula of her trio of handsome yet homicidal hunks or potential heartthrobs down.
Nothing more to say on that front for fear of spoilers...
We get some reveals amid all of the drama and romance and tension that lead up to a twist that is however somewhat predictable if you pay enough attention. Not that RTC doesn't do a good job of really trying to amp up our adrenaline but just seems so obvious...
The ending is sort of a covering up loose ends and explaining things type of finale but it is very bittersweet yet also hopeful that it isn't a real downer.
I'll still keep my five star rating because it is a really good story with a foreboding atmosphere amongst a setting of sun and sandy, summer beaches. Complex characters, teen drama, heartache and palpable terror...The Lifeguard is a highly recommended read.
October 27, 2021
One-Line Review: Everyone should know how to swim. Teach your kids.
Full Review:
This is a truly odd book. It's one of the first Point Horrors I owned, back when I was 8 or 9, but I couldn't really get into it well back then. I know I read it - I can tell from the cover that it's been read a lot, LOL - but I didn't really remember it very well.
Richie Tankersley Cusick is an interesting writer. Her writing style is more subtle than some of the other Point Horror authors like Diane Hoh or R.L. Stine, perhaps a little more sophisticated, and as a result I think she probably appeals more to teenagers than to the preteen crowd. She's not as heavy-handed on the imagery as some of the authors, and that means that (for me, at least) her plot points don't stay in the memory for that long. There's no single image, in this book or any other of hers, that stands out for me years later the way the jellyfish in the bed (in R.L. Stine's Beach Party), the girl who gets locked in a coffin (in Diane Hoh's The Train) or the leather-clad biker who terrorises a girl trapped in a phone booth (in Carol Ellis' My Secret Admirer) do. Yet this is not necessarily a bad thing; the lack of that sometimes overwhelming imagery means that most of her books feel fresh and new each time I read them.
As far as The Lifeguard goes, I enjoyed it very much. The plot is average: Kelsey arrives on a small island for a vacation with her mother, to stay with mom's boyfriend and his kids, only to find that the thirteen-year-old daughter is missing and that there have been a couple of suspicious drownings recently. The parents are absent for most of the book - this is a recurring theme in teenage horror novels - and Kelsey is left in the company of mom's boyfriend's two sons: sweet, shy Justin and dark, intense Neale, as well as two other island kids, bubbly Donna and arrogant-but-charming Skip. Due to a note she finds in her room (that says, "I think someone is going to kill me"), Kelsey becomes convinced that Beth, the missing daughter, has been murdered. She just doesn't know by whom. And then the terror starts, with wet footprints on her rug when she thinks she's alone in the house, a body that appears and disappears, and a crazy old man who keeps showing up and yelling warnings.
While it's a little light on depth - although to be fair, you can't expect too much from a 200-page teenage book - Ms Cusick has a way of creating likeable characters that you want to root for. Combine this with a creepy, almost gothic feeling that weaves its way through the narrative, and a sense of loneliness during the scenes that feature Kelsey alone that contrasts nicely with the cheerful comfort of the supporting characters, and you have a very enjoyable, somewhat haunting read.
Verdict: An excellent YA novel that is probably at least partly responsible for the success of Point Horror in the early 90s.
Full Review:
This is a truly odd book. It's one of the first Point Horrors I owned, back when I was 8 or 9, but I couldn't really get into it well back then. I know I read it - I can tell from the cover that it's been read a lot, LOL - but I didn't really remember it very well.
Richie Tankersley Cusick is an interesting writer. Her writing style is more subtle than some of the other Point Horror authors like Diane Hoh or R.L. Stine, perhaps a little more sophisticated, and as a result I think she probably appeals more to teenagers than to the preteen crowd. She's not as heavy-handed on the imagery as some of the authors, and that means that (for me, at least) her plot points don't stay in the memory for that long. There's no single image, in this book or any other of hers, that stands out for me years later the way the jellyfish in the bed (in R.L. Stine's Beach Party), the girl who gets locked in a coffin (in Diane Hoh's The Train) or the leather-clad biker who terrorises a girl trapped in a phone booth (in Carol Ellis' My Secret Admirer) do. Yet this is not necessarily a bad thing; the lack of that sometimes overwhelming imagery means that most of her books feel fresh and new each time I read them.
As far as The Lifeguard goes, I enjoyed it very much. The plot is average: Kelsey arrives on a small island for a vacation with her mother, to stay with mom's boyfriend and his kids, only to find that the thirteen-year-old daughter is missing and that there have been a couple of suspicious drownings recently. The parents are absent for most of the book - this is a recurring theme in teenage horror novels - and Kelsey is left in the company of mom's boyfriend's two sons: sweet, shy Justin and dark, intense Neale, as well as two other island kids, bubbly Donna and arrogant-but-charming Skip. Due to a note she finds in her room (that says, "I think someone is going to kill me"), Kelsey becomes convinced that Beth, the missing daughter, has been murdered. She just doesn't know by whom. And then the terror starts, with wet footprints on her rug when she thinks she's alone in the house, a body that appears and disappears, and a crazy old man who keeps showing up and yelling warnings.
While it's a little light on depth - although to be fair, you can't expect too much from a 200-page teenage book - Ms Cusick has a way of creating likeable characters that you want to root for. Combine this with a creepy, almost gothic feeling that weaves its way through the narrative, and a sense of loneliness during the scenes that feature Kelsey alone that contrasts nicely with the cheerful comfort of the supporting characters, and you have a very enjoyable, somewhat haunting read.
Verdict: An excellent YA novel that is probably at least partly responsible for the success of Point Horror in the early 90s.
October 16, 2019
I got this in a four-book box set. I almost didn’t read it, but last night the book I started was rough, so I scrapped it and went back to the Point collection.
This is the best book I have read in the collection so far. The story kept me guessing who the guilty party was right up to the end, even to the last few pages. There were a series of bait and switch moments.
The description was pretty good as well, and I liked the characters also. It was just an overall fun book. As long as you know what you’re getting into going in (this is juvenile to YA horror) then you will be pleasantly surprised.
This is the best book I have read in the collection so far. The story kept me guessing who the guilty party was right up to the end, even to the last few pages. There were a series of bait and switch moments.
The description was pretty good as well, and I liked the characters also. It was just an overall fun book. As long as you know what you’re getting into going in (this is juvenile to YA horror) then you will be pleasantly surprised.
January 29, 2024
Well, this was not RTC's finest offering. Aside from the overzealous and extremely annoying use of ellipses, em dashes, and italicized words in the dialogue, there was basically nothing to this book. The characters ran around having repetitive conversations but never really said anything. The plot was so thin and the atmosphere was nonexistent. Like, yikes. I think she was asleep when she wrote this.
April 19, 2018
I first read this when I was about twelve, thirteen, something like that, and believe it or not it's still one of my favourites. I wouldn't recommend it to any literary snobs out there, and I'm not even sure I'd recommend it to anyone, full stop. But I have read it numerous times (I said 3 here at GoodReads but no doubt it could be more than that). And I will continue to read it now and then when the mood takes me.
Like most Point or Point-style books, it's got its unconvincing moments. The way the kids talk is definitely not the way I talked in high school (DEFINITELY not enough naughty words used), but of course they couldn't have got away with being more realistic or they wouldn't have been published. I guess what I love most about this book is...and here I may disappoint many or all...but the thing I love most is the romantic interest. He's not the obvious one, in fact he's the most hated character in the book by all the other characters. With good reason, as he has his surly moments (really his entire existence is one big surly moment). But I LOVE HIM.
And the major spoiler - I love how the book ends. It makes me all giddy and happy like a little teenaged girl. Which I was when I first read it.
Like most Point or Point-style books, it's got its unconvincing moments. The way the kids talk is definitely not the way I talked in high school (DEFINITELY not enough naughty words used), but of course they couldn't have got away with being more realistic or they wouldn't have been published. I guess what I love most about this book is...and here I may disappoint many or all...but the thing I love most is the romantic interest. He's not the obvious one, in fact he's the most hated character in the book by all the other characters. With good reason, as he has his surly moments (really his entire existence is one big surly moment). But I LOVE HIM.
And the major spoiler - I love how the book ends. It makes me all giddy and happy like a little teenaged girl. Which I was when I first read it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 30, 2018
This story is about Kelsey who travels with her mum to an island for the summer to stay with her mum's boyfriend, his daughter and two sons. On arrival they find out that his daughter has gone missing.
We also learn that there have been some mysterious drownings recently despite all the beaches being manned by lifeguards. I suspected every character at some point, including the actual killer, but I was still surprised at the reveal. There are also a couple of sections written from the killer's perspective which I thought were really interesting.
Seeing as I haven't read this in a good 20-odd years I was very pleasantly surprised to find this so engaging and enjoyable! Cusick is a great writer and I really enjoyed her storytelling. Sure, it's a bit cheesy and dated but it is 90s YA so I think that's to be expected!
We also learn that there have been some mysterious drownings recently despite all the beaches being manned by lifeguards. I suspected every character at some point, including the actual killer, but I was still surprised at the reveal. There are also a couple of sections written from the killer's perspective which I thought were really interesting.
Seeing as I haven't read this in a good 20-odd years I was very pleasantly surprised to find this so engaging and enjoyable! Cusick is a great writer and I really enjoyed her storytelling. Sure, it's a bit cheesy and dated but it is 90s YA so I think that's to be expected!
November 25, 2014
Nostalgia read.
Kelsey arrives on the island to meet her mother's boyfriend family. But she soon finds out that the youngest of his children has disappeared and is presumed drowned. With three handsome lifeguards surrounding her, Kelsey should be safe from the water, or is she???
I used to love reading these. Except this time around I found the plot didn't make much sense. There has to be clear motives for everyone's actions, particularly evil ones, and instalove is better left aside.
Kelsey arrives on the island to meet her mother's boyfriend family. But she soon finds out that the youngest of his children has disappeared and is presumed drowned. With three handsome lifeguards surrounding her, Kelsey should be safe from the water, or is she???
I used to love reading these. Except this time around I found the plot didn't make much sense. There has to be clear motives for everyone's actions, particularly evil ones, and instalove is better left aside.
November 27, 2023
2.5 stars
Hysteria that went nowhere, The Lifeguard has been sitting on my TBR for awhile, waiting for the day when I was craving some nostalgic vintage YA horror—sadly it didn't quite deliver.
With its isolated island setting and the appealing, if VERY on-the-nose concept of a lifeguard being a potential serial killer, it was incredible how boring The Lifeguard turned out to be; I found the killer on the lose plot very one-noted (rinse and repeat of the female protagonist witnessing something, and no one believes her), and the misdirection basically ineffective (everyone was a suspect except for one character who had no flaw—guess how that went down). Richie Tankersley Cusick's melodramatic writing was at times charmingly campy (exactly what I was seeking), but also choppy and annoyingly disorienting—finding myself re-reading paragraphs not realizing which dialog belonging to whom, and when the scene has changed.
The kitschy vibe was there, but unfortunately The Lifeguard just didn't engage (aside from a few chilling chapters from the killer POV). I loved its old-school cover art, just wished the content inside was equally compelling.
Hysteria that went nowhere, The Lifeguard has been sitting on my TBR for awhile, waiting for the day when I was craving some nostalgic vintage YA horror—sadly it didn't quite deliver.
With its isolated island setting and the appealing, if VERY on-the-nose concept of a lifeguard being a potential serial killer, it was incredible how boring The Lifeguard turned out to be; I found the killer on the lose plot very one-noted (rinse and repeat of the female protagonist witnessing something, and no one believes her), and the misdirection basically ineffective (everyone was a suspect except for one character who had no flaw—guess how that went down). Richie Tankersley Cusick's melodramatic writing was at times charmingly campy (exactly what I was seeking), but also choppy and annoyingly disorienting—finding myself re-reading paragraphs not realizing which dialog belonging to whom, and when the scene has changed.
The kitschy vibe was there, but unfortunately The Lifeguard just didn't engage (aside from a few chilling chapters from the killer POV). I loved its old-school cover art, just wished the content inside was equally compelling.
November 15, 2018
I think The Lifeguard should be sold in a combo pack with Peter Benchley's Jaws so us horror buffs can have summer beach reads that aren't YA romances. What do you think? Both a solid mystery and a spooky story of murder, The Lifeguard is sometimes too juvenile but a good book. And if you think the stalker dude on the front cover is scary, wait until you find out the stuff inside!
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.
Kelsey is one of those preppy 1980's teen girls who pop up time and time again in these thriller books and slasher movies. Invited to a secluded and beautiful island, it's a chance to have fun, meet up with guys and enjoy the beach. No, this is not "I Know What You Did Last Summer", but you may notice some similar themes and characters including a lighthouse perv who keeps showing up. Kelsey begins to wonder about Beth, who went missing in the same area after a note appears under her pillow.
There's something weird about the island. There are a number of unexplained drownings and cold cases, and although Kelsey does start to fit in and make new friends, she's put off by Neale, one of the lifeguards who is very hostile and wants nothing to do with her. Kelsey's mother has brought her to the island so she can get better acquainted with Eric, mommy's new rich boyfriend. The whole family is a little weird, and it isn't long before things start to really get intense.
I liked this book a lot. I do remember it from middle school because it was always in the library, but this was my first time reading it and it was a good mystery. I think teen readers will enjoy it more because the characters are mostly of that age group. There's a lot of Kelsey swooning over "hot guys" too and that's not my cup of tea. But The Lifeguard is good, and I would totally read it again. My favorite character was the creepy lighthouse keeper because he was so effectively weird and spooky.
Favorite scene: the discovery of a corpse which mysteriously disappears soon after. DAMN! That's awesome!
Peeve(s): if I wanted to fantasize about lifeguards I'd watch Baywatch.
Loose ends: none to speak of. Would like to read more in the Point series, though. These are classic teen thrillers and I'll be seeking out more.
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.
Kelsey is one of those preppy 1980's teen girls who pop up time and time again in these thriller books and slasher movies. Invited to a secluded and beautiful island, it's a chance to have fun, meet up with guys and enjoy the beach. No, this is not "I Know What You Did Last Summer", but you may notice some similar themes and characters including a lighthouse perv who keeps showing up. Kelsey begins to wonder about Beth, who went missing in the same area after a note appears under her pillow.
There's something weird about the island. There are a number of unexplained drownings and cold cases, and although Kelsey does start to fit in and make new friends, she's put off by Neale, one of the lifeguards who is very hostile and wants nothing to do with her. Kelsey's mother has brought her to the island so she can get better acquainted with Eric, mommy's new rich boyfriend. The whole family is a little weird, and it isn't long before things start to really get intense.
I liked this book a lot. I do remember it from middle school because it was always in the library, but this was my first time reading it and it was a good mystery. I think teen readers will enjoy it more because the characters are mostly of that age group. There's a lot of Kelsey swooning over "hot guys" too and that's not my cup of tea. But The Lifeguard is good, and I would totally read it again. My favorite character was the creepy lighthouse keeper because he was so effectively weird and spooky.
Favorite scene: the discovery of a corpse which mysteriously disappears soon after. DAMN! That's awesome!
Peeve(s): if I wanted to fantasize about lifeguards I'd watch Baywatch.
Loose ends: none to speak of. Would like to read more in the Point series, though. These are classic teen thrillers and I'll be seeking out more.
July 21, 2022
A fun summer whodunit mystery thriller. Someone is drowning girls at the beach and Kelsey and her friends are next.
When Kelsey gets to the island, Beth is already missing. Trying to find Beth, Kelsey will become the target of a serial killer that has been drowning girls in this summer paradise beach.
This was an enjoyable fast paced read with some twists and turns that will make you consider nearly everyone a possible suspect.
Perfect for: People looking for a quick summer read, some 90s nostalgia and a murder mystery to solve.
When Kelsey gets to the island, Beth is already missing. Trying to find Beth, Kelsey will become the target of a serial killer that has been drowning girls in this summer paradise beach.
This was an enjoyable fast paced read with some twists and turns that will make you consider nearly everyone a possible suspect.
Perfect for: People looking for a quick summer read, some 90s nostalgia and a murder mystery to solve.
July 7, 2021
Expected great things from this Point Horror book given it's incredibly awesome front cover! Sadly it didn't live up to my expectations. Not a lot happens and there's no real explanation as to what the motivations were for the killer. I know these books are written for young teens but I also found the writing style made it difficult to understand what was actually happening at times!
May 9, 2019
I first read this book in the summer before 8th grade. I'd ordered it from one of those school book orders (Troll, Arrow, etc.) in 1988. This was the first book that had me so completely hooked that I could not put it down! I'd hear people say that about books before, but never experienced it until The Lifeguard.
I still own my original yellowed paperback, but I was thrilled to see it as a Kindle book. I was always worried I'd lose that old dingy paperback, with my name scrawled inside in big loopy middle school girl writing complete with the "i" in Melissa dotted with a circle.
As for the story, maybe I'd see the ending coming if I'd only read it now, but I was completely blindsided when I first read it. I read the entire book over and over. I wished they'd make a television series where the story could continue. I wanted more of the other characters. Do Skip and Donna end up together? My 13 year old heart needed to know.
What's funny is that for the longest time, I considered this my favorite book. Of course, I couldn't admit that to very many people. It may not be my favorite book at 42 years old, but it definitely holds a special place in my heart to this day.
I still own my original yellowed paperback, but I was thrilled to see it as a Kindle book. I was always worried I'd lose that old dingy paperback, with my name scrawled inside in big loopy middle school girl writing complete with the "i" in Melissa dotted with a circle.
As for the story, maybe I'd see the ending coming if I'd only read it now, but I was completely blindsided when I first read it. I read the entire book over and over. I wished they'd make a television series where the story could continue. I wanted more of the other characters. Do Skip and Donna end up together? My 13 year old heart needed to know.
What's funny is that for the longest time, I considered this my favorite book. Of course, I couldn't admit that to very many people. It may not be my favorite book at 42 years old, but it definitely holds a special place in my heart to this day.
April 9, 2019
I rated this 2 on the Good Reads scale but on the Point Horror scale it’s a solid 3.5.
I have SO MANY questions.
Why did her mother just leave her after a traumatic event and while another girl was missing?
Why did Justin listen in on the phone when he already knew she was suspicious as he had left the note?
Why did no one care that a 13 year old was missing?
Why was there a weird cave under a lighthouse, surely that was a major structural issue?
How was Justin so shit at killing people?
I guess we will never know.
I have SO MANY questions.
Why did her mother just leave her after a traumatic event and while another girl was missing?
Why did Justin listen in on the phone when he already knew she was suspicious as he had left the note?
Why did no one care that a 13 year old was missing?
Why was there a weird cave under a lighthouse, surely that was a major structural issue?
How was Justin so shit at killing people?
I guess we will never know.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 26, 2022
Plotholes galore!
Where are the freaking parents??!
People are dying on this island but that doesn't stop tourism here, I guess!
A rare fail from author RTC, but at least there are hunky lifeguards!
Where are the freaking parents??!
People are dying on this island but that doesn't stop tourism here, I guess!
A rare fail from author RTC, but at least there are hunky lifeguards!
July 10, 2021
An interesting read. Not bad. I actually figured out who the killer was about halfway, maybe sooner, through the book, but I could be sure until the end. It was worth the read and entertaining.
January 22, 2025
This was so nostalgic! There's just something about Point Horror that no matter how cliche, I can't help but enjoy it as it brings me back to my childhood!
This one hit all the beats for what you'd expect in Point Horror and yeah, I saw the ending a mile off but that's beside the point! (Ha!)
Love the pre-technology days of dealing with house phones and no way of researching things easily. Makes for a much more interesting story!
This one hit all the beats for what you'd expect in Point Horror and yeah, I saw the ending a mile off but that's beside the point! (Ha!)
Love the pre-technology days of dealing with house phones and no way of researching things easily. Makes for a much more interesting story!
August 3, 2025
One of my favourites from childhood. Still very enjoyable as an adult. A few icks from the initial victim being 13 yet meeting the 17/18 year old for a date and the MCs love interests inexplicably being her future step siblings - as per the wishes of her very weird and clueless mum. One of the least annoying point horror main characters though.
July 24, 2021
En relecture des romans Frissons de mon adolescence ☺️
July 31, 2022
This was pretty great. I enjoyed all the mystery of this story. I never read Richie Tankerlsy Cusick as a teen and she is shaping up to be a new favorite of point horror.
January 4, 2021
Remember, in my previous review; I told you that Summer 2020 was the summer of reminiscing? Well, this little book brought me all the way back to my R.L Stine days of 120-page books and Goosebumps where things go bump in the night. The Lifeguard was a book suitable for two things, keeping you guessing and alternating POV. I'm sad to say that's about it. I know this book is old, and so I shouldn't hold it to the quality of books today, nor should I be about to pop off like I'm about to, but well, I am.
SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! (This part should be read after you finish the book, but it doesn't give away too much information and so get ready boys and girls for a rant and some TEA!)
SO BOOM, we have Kelsey Tanner, our main character, and well an absolute idiot. Okay, that sounds harsh, but reading this as a kid then again as an adult has my head reeling. You are telling me that Kelsey just found out that her mom's boyfriend's daughter is missing. You get a note from her saying someone is trying to kill her, and you say oh well, this must be a joke. GIRLLLLLLLLLL bye. Did a few brain cells fall loose when you were rocking on that boat? Because baby, I can't.
My next issue with this book is the way Kelsey is portrayed. She is so in love with one brother, and she claims that he calms all her fears and make her feel warm and toasty. He's her peace and sanity blah blah blah. Then she is saved by another brother at the end and kisses him. GIRLLLLL, so he saves your life now you got to give him the cooch, and you are so in love. I get so frustrated when female characters are displayed as this type of floozy. I know the author didn't try to make Kelsey seem that way, but I've had a lifetime of books, shows, and movies displaying women as hoppers, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes when I read the closing scene between Kelsy and her savior. He was so scary, aggressive, rude, snarky, and a little rough with her, but no girl drop them panties. You got you a good one, boo.
Why did no one believe Kelsey nor Donna in this freaking book? Someone is telling you that they think someone killed your sister, weird things have been happening, they saw a body, but now the body is gone, someone attacked Kelsey and was in her room, but nope they are all delusional. If someone had some type of information about a missing person, and weird things have been happening to everyone. Wouldn't you listen? Apparently, not these idiotic boys. Like did Kelsey and Donna need to be the scooby doo gang to get someone to believe them?
My second to last point is, why are we not addressing the potential incest in this book?? If Kelsey's mom marries Eric, that will make Justin and Neale, her stepbrothers. So why is everyone out here smacking lips? Even her mom was cheering her on like baby girl either mama has to give up Eric or Kelsey has to break it off with her future stepbrother. Here I am reading this book as a kid so happy Kelsey got a boo, and now that I am an adult, I'm like honey; this is incest!!
Also, the book failed to capitalize off the revealing of the killer. We were waiting so long to figure out who he was only to get a quick ending. We should have found some crazy diary entries, got a testimony from the sister, got the killer explanation dialogue, and the aftermath of having a family member being a serial killer. There could have been at least an epilogue giving us more. We stuck through the mystery; therefore, readers deserved a better payoff. The ending was rushed, and it showed.
All in all, this book is great in suspense, and despite my critiques, I did finish it in a few hours, so it does have promise. I am an over-analyzer, so that's my burden to bear, but I wouldn't say I will be rereading this book, which is disappointing because I loved it so much as a kid. I guess some books are better left in the past.
SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! (This part should be read after you finish the book, but it doesn't give away too much information and so get ready boys and girls for a rant and some TEA!)
SO BOOM, we have Kelsey Tanner, our main character, and well an absolute idiot. Okay, that sounds harsh, but reading this as a kid then again as an adult has my head reeling. You are telling me that Kelsey just found out that her mom's boyfriend's daughter is missing. You get a note from her saying someone is trying to kill her, and you say oh well, this must be a joke. GIRLLLLLLLLLL bye. Did a few brain cells fall loose when you were rocking on that boat? Because baby, I can't.
My next issue with this book is the way Kelsey is portrayed. She is so in love with one brother, and she claims that he calms all her fears and make her feel warm and toasty. He's her peace and sanity blah blah blah. Then she is saved by another brother at the end and kisses him. GIRLLLLL, so he saves your life now you got to give him the cooch, and you are so in love. I get so frustrated when female characters are displayed as this type of floozy. I know the author didn't try to make Kelsey seem that way, but I've had a lifetime of books, shows, and movies displaying women as hoppers, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes when I read the closing scene between Kelsy and her savior. He was so scary, aggressive, rude, snarky, and a little rough with her, but no girl drop them panties. You got you a good one, boo.
Why did no one believe Kelsey nor Donna in this freaking book? Someone is telling you that they think someone killed your sister, weird things have been happening, they saw a body, but now the body is gone, someone attacked Kelsey and was in her room, but nope they are all delusional. If someone had some type of information about a missing person, and weird things have been happening to everyone. Wouldn't you listen? Apparently, not these idiotic boys. Like did Kelsey and Donna need to be the scooby doo gang to get someone to believe them?
My second to last point is, why are we not addressing the potential incest in this book?? If Kelsey's mom marries Eric, that will make Justin and Neale, her stepbrothers. So why is everyone out here smacking lips? Even her mom was cheering her on like baby girl either mama has to give up Eric or Kelsey has to break it off with her future stepbrother. Here I am reading this book as a kid so happy Kelsey got a boo, and now that I am an adult, I'm like honey; this is incest!!
Also, the book failed to capitalize off the revealing of the killer. We were waiting so long to figure out who he was only to get a quick ending. We should have found some crazy diary entries, got a testimony from the sister, got the killer explanation dialogue, and the aftermath of having a family member being a serial killer. There could have been at least an epilogue giving us more. We stuck through the mystery; therefore, readers deserved a better payoff. The ending was rushed, and it showed.
All in all, this book is great in suspense, and despite my critiques, I did finish it in a few hours, so it does have promise. I am an over-analyzer, so that's my burden to bear, but I wouldn't say I will be rereading this book, which is disappointing because I loved it so much as a kid. I guess some books are better left in the past.
May 28, 2025
I read this with my book club that I run on Instagram where we revisit Point Horror and other books from our childhood - @talespointhorrorbookclub
Tagline - Don’t call for help. He may just kill you.
Memorable For -
Blurb - Kelsey’s summer vacation will be perfect—a holiday on Beverly Island, where she’ll get to know her mom’s new boyfriend, Eric, and enjoy the perks of a sun-drenched beach and gorgeous
Some Thoughts - The Lifeguard – giving a bad name to all Lifeguards since 1991 😂
Poor Kelsey gets dragged on a holiday from hell by her mom (who btw abandons Kelsey for the mainland and does not worry about all these drownings and dead bodies). But fear not Kelsey is actually a pretty decent PH girl even if she does shout at the sea! She gets dragged (literally) and gas lot by the boys in this book but she still ploughs on! RTC does as always ramps up the tension and is very descriptive in her writing. This is a classic murder mystery/thriller set on an isolated island with a pretty good ending and twists and turns along the way!
Other highlights include questions over why people actually were still allowed to visit the island, bodies and people not getting so much as another mention, Skip 🤢 and his animal head gym room, something hard hitting peoples legs in the sea 😉 and a very confusing ending!
Tagline - Don’t call for help. He may just kill you.
Memorable For -
Blurb - Kelsey’s summer vacation will be perfect—a holiday on Beverly Island, where she’ll get to know her mom’s new boyfriend, Eric, and enjoy the perks of a sun-drenched beach and gorgeous
Some Thoughts - The Lifeguard – giving a bad name to all Lifeguards since 1991 😂
Poor Kelsey gets dragged on a holiday from hell by her mom (who btw abandons Kelsey for the mainland and does not worry about all these drownings and dead bodies). But fear not Kelsey is actually a pretty decent PH girl even if she does shout at the sea! She gets dragged (literally) and gas lot by the boys in this book but she still ploughs on! RTC does as always ramps up the tension and is very descriptive in her writing. This is a classic murder mystery/thriller set on an isolated island with a pretty good ending and twists and turns along the way!
Other highlights include questions over why people actually were still allowed to visit the island, bodies and people not getting so much as another mention, Skip 🤢 and his animal head gym room, something hard hitting peoples legs in the sea 😉 and a very confusing ending!
May 12, 2017
Another childhood reread.
This one, for me, is not as good as the others I've reread so far. Mainly due to the protagonist, Kelsey, being a soppy moron. I'm sure I would not have thought this when I first read it many moons ago, but as an adult, it seems some things in this novel just don't make sense. Like the parents just buggering off to the mainland and leaving the kids by themselves without telling them. In fact, the complete lack of parental and adult responsibility at all in this book is quite astonishing. Don't even get me started on the note that Kelsey finds.
Anyway, an ok read but not one I would rave about in the Point Horror series.
This one, for me, is not as good as the others I've reread so far. Mainly due to the protagonist, Kelsey, being a soppy moron. I'm sure I would not have thought this when I first read it many moons ago, but as an adult, it seems some things in this novel just don't make sense. Like the parents just buggering off to the mainland and leaving the kids by themselves without telling them. In fact, the complete lack of parental and adult responsibility at all in this book is quite astonishing. Don't even get me started on the note that Kelsey finds.
Anyway, an ok read but not one I would rave about in the Point Horror series.
November 5, 2007
I first read this Christopher Pike style book at some point in elementary school and have re-read it several times since. It's not the best written book and it's certainly not literary, but it's a fun novel with intriguing characters and I will likely read it several more times :). P.S. "Don't call for help. He may just kill you."
July 30, 2022
3.5 stars. It’s point horror, it’s a short fun book, where any romance happens quickly, and loads of red herrings are in play! The ending of this book was a little confusing, but as always with these books very enjoyable for the point horror book club. Not one of my favourites but I still enjoyed this summer read.
August 6, 2014
This was a 'back in the day' read... but you know what? It's STILL on my shelf. That says something right there! And this got the JLA stamp of approval as a book she loved growing up. Awesomesauce!
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