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Deadly Stranger
Without their parents knowledge, Kelly and Lauren sneak off on a ski weekend that quickly becomes a deadly nightmare when the handsome hitchhiker they pick up turns out to be a demented lunatic intent on killing them. Original.
189 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 24, 2023
The story begins with two best friends, Kelly and Lauren, who go on a ski trip for spring break. They allow a stranger named Marshall to hitch a ride from them, but it soon becomes apparent that this man is a murderer. I loved the contrast between the two protagonists and thought it was pretty realistic as opposed to other books from this era. (Kelly is less popular and more level-headed, Lauren comes from a rich family and is more attractive, etc.) I also appreciated how fast-paced this was. The tension definitely builds very quickly and the book doesn't even bother to try to keep you guessing - everything is laid out for the reader very early on. This was far more intense than probably any other young adult 90's horror book I've read, and while it isn't without flaws (like the characters being a little too naive) I would definitely recommend this. I give this a 4/5, but definitely closer to a 5 than a 3. I can't wait to check out some more of the books in the Nightmares series.
October 13, 2021
I like to read 90s YA every now and then, even though I found a lot of it lacking even back in the day (I was spoiled by L.J. Smith and could never find that same emotional connection in other stories). But the books are quick reads and sometimes interesting. I found DEADLY STRANGER to be more well-written than most, with tons of action and a hot villain. WIN.
This still lacked an emotional connection for me, but the book held my interest. I could actually see it as a thriller movie. The dialogue was actually pretty decent, and if you've read any 90s YA, you'll know the teens often speak in a weird old-fashioned style (it was old-fashioned even to teens reading at the time of publication) that belied the age of the authors. Kelly and Lauren felt realistic, and even Marshall, the villain, was surprisingly enjoyable.
I'm giving this three stars, but it's still one of the better "vintage" YA books I've read in a while (L.J. Smith is still my 90s queen.)
This still lacked an emotional connection for me, but the book held my interest. I could actually see it as a thriller movie. The dialogue was actually pretty decent, and if you've read any 90s YA, you'll know the teens often speak in a weird old-fashioned style (it was old-fashioned even to teens reading at the time of publication) that belied the age of the authors. Kelly and Lauren felt realistic, and even Marshall, the villain, was surprisingly enjoyable.
I'm giving this three stars, but it's still one of the better "vintage" YA books I've read in a while (L.J. Smith is still my 90s queen.)
December 18, 2015
It took 2 years to find the name of this book. I wrecked my brain trying to think of the title of the book! I just remembered the cover of it. I was glad I found it after I posted the description in the "Whats the name of that book?" message board. Credit goes to Brandi for posting the name of it. I went right to my local library and put the book on hold that day. When it arrived at my library I read it in 1 day not being able to put it down. This is one of my favorite young adult books!
October 14, 2013
great book read it as a teen now in my 20s i wanted reread after a gap of more than 10 years, kelly rocks! read this if u like road movies or books
May 9, 2025
I'm going to go ahead and round this up to three stars because I liked it at first and then it was just okay.
I had to buy a reprint version from Amazon because I could not find a reasonable priced copy on Thriftbooks. Clocks in at 181 pages.
The back of the book has a few spoilers, but the cover already gives the biggest one.
Kelly and Lauren are heading out to Colorado to go skiing on their last Spring Break of senior year in high school. When Kelly gets picked up by Lauren in her blue Ford Mustang, she learns that Lauren's dad grounded her.
All because she didn't get a good SAT score.
Lauren's dad is supposed to inform Kelly's dad, so she is in a rush to leave because now their trip is a forbidden one. While Lauren would rather go to Florida like all early 1990s Spring Breakers and go visit the MTV Beach House, Kelly wants to go skiing.
Kelly describes herself as looking much younger while Lauren is the sexier one especially now with her new Demi Moore haircut. The besties know they will be in trouble with their parents when they get back, yet it turns out to be the least of their problems...
A severe thunderstorm with hail and tornado sirens goes off and they take shelter under an overpass, Lauren's mustang suffering some light hail damage. Back on the road, they drive past a truck that zoomed past them before the storm produced hail and Lauren decides to offer him a ride seeing that his vehicle has broken down.
The young man introduces himself as Marshall, a pre-med student from Indiana on his way to meet some friends in Denver. Lauren finds him gorgeous, but Kelly isn't taken in by his good looks and charm...there is something unsettling about his blue eyes. They offer to find a gas station so Marshall can get a tow truck to come and get his car, but they don't find a decent place as it starts to get darker.
They rent rooms at a motel where the girls bunk in one room with Marshall in another. Kelly falls asleep quickly but finds Lauren gone later that evening though she is back in her bed the following morning as Kelly showers. She comes out to find Lauren packing up her things in the car and Marshall in their room.
Kelly orders him out before Lauren gets back where her friend tells her that they are going to drop Marshall off at the nearest gas station. He got a hold of friends to pick him up, so he won't be going with them to Denver to Kelly's inner delight and Lauren's disappointment.
The girls get gas and go to leave but Kelly leaves her purse, so Lauren turns the car back to the station and decides to grab some munchies inside. Kelly watches Lauren comes back out in shock with Marshall in tow and a gun in his hand, ordering Kelly to drive. Terrified, Kelly follows his orders and sees what looks to be a body on the ground inside the store.
The girls are now riding with a killer and have no choice but to go along with his demands or have their brains blown out. Kelly has no idea how long Marshall will let her and Lauren live but she tries her best to discover a way they can get help.
Bodies pile up along the way and there are a few times you think Kelly and Lauren will get away from Marshall, but he proves to be quite a resourceful villain. Kelly shines as the heroine because her youthful looks have others underestimating her, including her bestie Lauren, yet she even impresses Marshall with her guts.
Lauren gets a few moments but ultimately, she is the character I like the least. Kelly says she is smart, but she didn't tell her best friend she couldn't go on a road trip and then did the dumbest thing in picking up a hitchhiker. Marshall's first instance in killing someone sends her into shock that Lauren isn't coherent for almost a day and then she blames Kelly for wanting to go skiing.
Also, it is implied but then confirmed that Lauren slept with Marshall...the last part in a trifecta of stupidity. I sound harsh but everything I stated is truly dumb.
The climax of Deadly Stranger is pretty good but then we get some ending fatigue and a sort of cheesy jump scare. There are also some unanswered questions regarding events that happen in story and some of them are important but perhaps only to me, so I digress.
A thrill packed ride yet a few of the tires fall a little flat.
I had to buy a reprint version from Amazon because I could not find a reasonable priced copy on Thriftbooks. Clocks in at 181 pages.
The back of the book has a few spoilers, but the cover already gives the biggest one.
Kelly and Lauren are heading out to Colorado to go skiing on their last Spring Break of senior year in high school. When Kelly gets picked up by Lauren in her blue Ford Mustang, she learns that Lauren's dad grounded her.
All because she didn't get a good SAT score.
Lauren's dad is supposed to inform Kelly's dad, so she is in a rush to leave because now their trip is a forbidden one. While Lauren would rather go to Florida like all early 1990s Spring Breakers and go visit the MTV Beach House, Kelly wants to go skiing.
Kelly describes herself as looking much younger while Lauren is the sexier one especially now with her new Demi Moore haircut. The besties know they will be in trouble with their parents when they get back, yet it turns out to be the least of their problems...
A severe thunderstorm with hail and tornado sirens goes off and they take shelter under an overpass, Lauren's mustang suffering some light hail damage. Back on the road, they drive past a truck that zoomed past them before the storm produced hail and Lauren decides to offer him a ride seeing that his vehicle has broken down.
The young man introduces himself as Marshall, a pre-med student from Indiana on his way to meet some friends in Denver. Lauren finds him gorgeous, but Kelly isn't taken in by his good looks and charm...there is something unsettling about his blue eyes. They offer to find a gas station so Marshall can get a tow truck to come and get his car, but they don't find a decent place as it starts to get darker.
They rent rooms at a motel where the girls bunk in one room with Marshall in another. Kelly falls asleep quickly but finds Lauren gone later that evening though she is back in her bed the following morning as Kelly showers. She comes out to find Lauren packing up her things in the car and Marshall in their room.
Kelly orders him out before Lauren gets back where her friend tells her that they are going to drop Marshall off at the nearest gas station. He got a hold of friends to pick him up, so he won't be going with them to Denver to Kelly's inner delight and Lauren's disappointment.
The girls get gas and go to leave but Kelly leaves her purse, so Lauren turns the car back to the station and decides to grab some munchies inside. Kelly watches Lauren comes back out in shock with Marshall in tow and a gun in his hand, ordering Kelly to drive. Terrified, Kelly follows his orders and sees what looks to be a body on the ground inside the store.
The girls are now riding with a killer and have no choice but to go along with his demands or have their brains blown out. Kelly has no idea how long Marshall will let her and Lauren live but she tries her best to discover a way they can get help.
Bodies pile up along the way and there are a few times you think Kelly and Lauren will get away from Marshall, but he proves to be quite a resourceful villain. Kelly shines as the heroine because her youthful looks have others underestimating her, including her bestie Lauren, yet she even impresses Marshall with her guts.
Lauren gets a few moments but ultimately, she is the character I like the least. Kelly says she is smart, but she didn't tell her best friend she couldn't go on a road trip and then did the dumbest thing in picking up a hitchhiker. Marshall's first instance in killing someone sends her into shock that Lauren isn't coherent for almost a day and then she blames Kelly for wanting to go skiing.
Also, it is implied but then confirmed that Lauren slept with Marshall...the last part in a trifecta of stupidity. I sound harsh but everything I stated is truly dumb.
The climax of Deadly Stranger is pretty good but then we get some ending fatigue and a sort of cheesy jump scare. There are also some unanswered questions regarding events that happen in story and some of them are important but perhaps only to me, so I digress.
A thrill packed ride yet a few of the tires fall a little flat.
August 12, 2026
I read this book when I was young, maybe late elementary-middle school age? I found it at my library (I owe so much of myself to that place) in the YA horror section, along with the Lois Duncans and Christopher Pikes and R.L. Stine's Fear Street novels. And I loved it. It's stuck with me all these years. I've sought it out and re-read it several times since then.
I'm always a little afraid that it won't hold up, that I'll be a little bit disappointed by each subsequent re-read. So far, that hasn't happened, though. Something about it just ... I don't want to say it satisfies me, considering the topic, but it satisfies my need for a good story.
It's just believable enough to be creepy without being totally terrifying. I wouldn't say it's totally relatable, because I've certainly never been in a similar situation ... there's no way my parents would've even allowed me to go on a trip with just my best friend and no real adults. But it's plausible that the events of the story could happen. Not likely, sure, and thank God for that, but plausible. There are some terrible people in this world. I can imagine the terror the girls would've gone through, even though I have thankfully never had to experience it. It's exciting in the way a good horror novel/thriller should be.
I should also mention that it turns out the author was local to me. I didn't know that when I read the book. I don't remember if I learned soon after I read it; if so, I forgot again. I didn't really learn that fact until the last 10 years or so. It does add a little extra love of the story for me. I don't know the author at all, though I do know local people with the same last name. I don't know if they're related. But still, there's a bit of pride in knowing that someone who grew up in the same small town wrote something so good.
I have a feeling this is a book that's going to continue to stick with me, for all the right reasons, and I'm really glad that I found it all those years ago.
I'm always a little afraid that it won't hold up, that I'll be a little bit disappointed by each subsequent re-read. So far, that hasn't happened, though. Something about it just ... I don't want to say it satisfies me, considering the topic, but it satisfies my need for a good story.
It's just believable enough to be creepy without being totally terrifying. I wouldn't say it's totally relatable, because I've certainly never been in a similar situation ... there's no way my parents would've even allowed me to go on a trip with just my best friend and no real adults. But it's plausible that the events of the story could happen. Not likely, sure, and thank God for that, but plausible. There are some terrible people in this world. I can imagine the terror the girls would've gone through, even though I have thankfully never had to experience it. It's exciting in the way a good horror novel/thriller should be.
I should also mention that it turns out the author was local to me. I didn't know that when I read the book. I don't remember if I learned soon after I read it; if so, I forgot again. I didn't really learn that fact until the last 10 years or so. It does add a little extra love of the story for me. I don't know the author at all, though I do know local people with the same last name. I don't know if they're related. But still, there's a bit of pride in knowing that someone who grew up in the same small town wrote something so good.
I have a feeling this is a book that's going to continue to stick with me, for all the right reasons, and I'm really glad that I found it all those years ago.
May 16, 2021
3.5 stars.
This was... fine. I did enjoy the writing and Kelly as an MC, but the plot wasn’t horrory enough for me and became solid action about 20% of the way in. I wanted Marshall to be pretending he was good for a bit longer - it was just bam he’s a baddie and they’re trying to escape.
I love hitchhiker stories but I just wanted him to be scarier rather than just annoyingly unkillable.
This was... fine. I did enjoy the writing and Kelly as an MC, but the plot wasn’t horrory enough for me and became solid action about 20% of the way in. I wanted Marshall to be pretending he was good for a bit longer - it was just bam he’s a baddie and they’re trying to escape.
I love hitchhiker stories but I just wanted him to be scarier rather than just annoyingly unkillable.
April 10, 2015
Great and diverting thriller book for its suspense and action scenes. The book's plot isn't original but mostly typical so fans of thriller enjoying these run of the mill would find home in this.
Several times I held my breath as I read which is rare for me to feel suspense in this book and the book does a good job for that.
I really liked the main character as she seems more level headed and determined in saving herself and her friend which makes her strong for having some courage of doing actions that not only helps them escape from danger but risk them in danger as well.
With a likeable main character, high amounts of suspense, and decent action scenes, these points make the book very enjoyable and highly recommended for those into thrillers in general.
Several times I held my breath as I read which is rare for me to feel suspense in this book and the book does a good job for that.
I really liked the main character as she seems more level headed and determined in saving herself and her friend which makes her strong for having some courage of doing actions that not only helps them escape from danger but risk them in danger as well.
With a likeable main character, high amounts of suspense, and decent action scenes, these points make the book very enjoyable and highly recommended for those into thrillers in general.
June 9, 2010
I was going to blow out this book but then it reminded me why I didnt pitch it the first time....Marshall never wated to die he just kept on coming back for more puinishment! I hope Coale will like this one...So it was not garage sale foder it is on my save shelf...
October 27, 2016
Another one of my favourite thrillers from my youth! This is an action-packed tale about two girls who pick up a hitchhiker and face the deadly consequences. Kelly is a strong female lead character who kicks butt! I still love it now.
June 27, 2016
I read this when I was in Secondary school, I love this book!
February 8, 2024
This book was literally a wild ride! A road trip turns into a disaster when the main characters are traveling to Colorado for a ski trip and a new player enters the game...Overall, this was a very engaging and well-written book for teens and adults, and I wish I'd known about it sooner! Fits well into the Point Horror / Fear Street genres. I can't believe this is M.C. Sumner's only thriller novel, and it's a shame he didn't write more similar to this.
March 2, 2021
The thrills never stopped in this book!! I finished this in a couple of hours it was so good. The end was AWESOME! Definitely recommended!
August 28, 2022
Got to love a good hitchhiker story
March 26, 2024
Youtube
May 24, 2024
Another series to add to the collection. I absolutely adore the vibes given from these books.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews