Terror by Night

The Partridge Family #5

by Vic Crume

Downbeat for danger!

The Partridge Family is all set for a great vacation.

But fun soon turns to fear when night comes to their lonely beach house on the New England coast.

Somebody or some thing is out to get them...and when Keith tries to find out why, the rock stars' vacation becomes a nighmare...

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Tv, Young Adult, Childrens

125 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Partridge Family are thinking about taking a vacation and their manager, Reuben Kincaid, has found the just right spot---a big beach house by the Atlantic Ocean (with a cove) called Haunt Port, in Massachusetts, where they can relax and also rehearse for an upcoming concert.

They arrive in town and get directions to the beach house. While they stay there they encounter some strange townsfolk, and get caught up in a mystery involving stolen treasure.

I never realized that there were Partridge Family books. Since I've always liked the show I got curious to read one. There wasn't much character development or plot (it was a short story, only 125 pages). But I still enjoyed it.

A quick, fun, cheesy read from the 70's.

[Aimée · Rating 3 out of 5]

What can I say... I was in love with David Cassidy and watched the Partridge Family every week. It was fate that I would read the books too.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this is a Partridge Family book. Sure, the title is vague and borrowed from a Sherlock Holmes film, but once it gets going, there are plenty of things one expects from such a book; mysterious goings–on, witches, smugglers, misunderstood oddball locals who turn out to be very nice (and one in a bikini). Of the first 5 Partridge Family books (that's all I stumbled upon at an antique store one day), this is by far the most well–written. The first 3 have a horrible author, and #4 was much better. Not once did I run into any irritating writing habits from the author.

The only liberty he might have taken was to change their dog Simone into a poodle, probably for the "poodles are worth a lot of money" angle that was a tiny part of the story. No, Simone was a slightly mutt–looking bearded collie, like Tiger Brady.

[Arwen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I admit it I read some junky books from time to time. I didn't even watch the Partridge family growing up, but for some reason I really dig these books. I can't even remember which is which except for the very first one I read where Kieth and Danny get trapped in a cave.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's fun to read mindless fluff written in 1971. There were references to forgetting to wind a watch, black and white TVs and Vietnam vets returning home.

[Sheryl]

Tight little straightforward mystery with the bare minimum of character development to accomplish its goals. A cozy for kids. I would've liked a bit more investigation into the locals, particularly the relationship between Pru and her contemporaries, but these books always keep a pretty tight focus on the Partridges so I didn't expect it. And there's enough here to understand the current situation.

[Dalaina Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was better than the other I liked the mystery of the house this time. But if my dog went missing I’d be looking for it daily not sitting around talking about it. And duh you can tell if it’s a poodle by looking at it. Dumbest line was Keith calling the poodle thief out. Dummy Builder?? Wtf lol I laughed . And Keith was very judgmental when he met Pru and drooled all over Jane. Sheesh …..that is all.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for nostalgic value, maybe 1 star for writing? As a huge fan of The Partridge Family, this was a really fun read. I could hear the characters voices just as if I was watching the tv show. Guessing this book was a scrapped tv script they adapted into a novel.

[Patrick Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

Definitely YA fare -- and bad even by YA standards of the time. It's a (sort of) fun, 100% innocent story of a family vacation gone wrong, but it's neither well written nor well plotted. And with the possible exception of Pru, there's not one character with any hint of identity whatsoever. What was the point of the toads? Or the kidnaped dog? Or the secret hiding place? Or the elaborate plan to mislead the sheriff about mental powers and how the Partridges found the treasure in the first place? Or half a dozen other blind alleys this takes you down before the rushed conclusion? I get that this was never intended to be great literature, but there are a lot of pop culture novels from this era that are better than this. I wouldn't bother unless you're particularly obsessed with the Partridge Family or '70s artifacts in general.