They Never Came Home by Lois Duncan

 

Larry Drayfus was quiet, private and very posessive of his belongings.  He was also furious with his father, who was sending him to military school after he was caught at a party where there was marijuna.  Larry’s sister Joan is a plan, tall girl, who captured the heart of Dan Cotwell, an all-around good guy.  Larry and Dan become friends and decide to do camping in the mountains early one April.  To everyone’s dismay, they do not return as planned.  Despite weeks of searching, friends and family are only able to locate Dan’s canteen.  The boys are presumed dead – drown in the river and washed away.

Joan tries to continue life without her brother – who she was never that close to – and without her boyfriend.  She befriends Dan’s younger brother Frank after she’s contacted by a Mr. Brown who claims that Larry owes him over $2,000.  Joan is afraid, but agrees to work for Mr. Brown in an attempt to pay off Larry’s debt so that her parents don’t have to deal with the shock of Larry’s financial predicament in the same year he died.

It is hard to tell anymore of the story without spoiling it.  So I will stop there.

Ok nation.  I interlibrary loaned this book because I kept reading how it was everyone’s favorite Lois Duncan book.  I’m not really sure why.  By page 20 it was completely evident what had happened and by page 50 there was practically no reason to keep reading.

I was really disappointed.  The title sounded so cool, I expected a really creepy read.  It turned out to by pretty lame.  Harsh?  Maybe.  But I was 98% disappointed.  The only redeeming quality was that the book read like a Leave It To Beaver episode because of the dialog.

Some favorite quotes include Joan telling Frank that without training she could only “take a job in a dime store or soda fountain.”  And then when Dave tells Peggy that he “doesn’t have the clothes or cash to spend on mad evenings.”  I was just waiting for Eddie Haskell to come over to see if Wally was around.

Perhaps if I had read this before the age of 27 I would have found it more exciting and full of plot twists.  Since I didn’t, it’s going to only receive 1 out of 5 stars.