Final Friends #01: The Party

New opportunities for friendship, love and rivalry are created when two high schools merge in this first book of the Final Friends trilogy. Sweet-tempered Alice throws a huge party to break the ice between the two groups of students. The fun ends, however, when Alice is found dead, an apparent suicide; her best friends suspect foul play. By the novel's end, over a dozen relatively unobjectionable teenagers have been introduced: at least one of them is a twisted murderer whose identity and motives will only be revealed in the trilogy's final volume. In fact, this book elaborately sets up all the action but goes no further; the real plot supposedly will be found in the future episodes. A number of the characters are similar to those found in the author's earlier thrillers, but readers who enjoy Pike's characteristic blend of romance, murder and mayhem will have to look forward to the leisurely unraveling of a complex plot filled with red herrings. Ages 13-up. (September)