Beach Party by R.L Stine

This is the first R.L Stine book I have read for teenagers, and whilst I enjoyed us, all I kept thinking the whole time I was reading the book, "I am glad that my daughter didn't have the attitude and self-righteousness of the two teenage girls depicted in this book. "It is essentially a softened-up crime novel for older kids. The two main protagonists, Karen Mandell and Ann-Marie ( a bit wishy-washy) are childhood friends who meet up again when Karen  invites Ann-Marie,who had moved to New York some years before,  to  spend some time with her back in her old stomping ground  in Venice Beach, a suburb of Los Angeles. The more physically-striking of the two, Karen finds herself sought after by two young attractive males, Jerry a seemingly well-balanced guy with great friends, and the other Vince, a leather-clad member of a gang. Karen soon discovers things are not as straightforward as she initially thought, especially after discovering that Jerry already has a girlfriend  called Renee who is non-to-pleased about their blossoming friendship, and that Jerry recently lost his brother in unfortunate accident. Karen starts getting threatening messages to stay away from Jerry, then her friend Ann-Marie starts behaving in an odd manner, and suddenly Karen finds herself being questioned about a murder. The plot,  even if slightly contrived, is not too obvious, and I think most teenage readers would enjoy this book. The only thing I find about R.L.Stine's characters is that they are not very well developed so it is hard to feel an attachment to any of them, but then again like James Patterson, he is known for his racy page-turning publications.

Mister Eternity by Maggie Hamilton

Mister Eternity by Maggie Hamilton is basically a crime book for children set in Kings Cross, Sydney. Sebastian and Josie find themselves enmeshed in mysterious events after their elderly friend, Lil, is bashed nearly to death and her home set on fire.The teenagers had been visiting her only hours before having their futures read in tea leaves. Now, they are on a quest to find out what really happened to their friend and to discover what it is people seem to be after in her apartment. An elderly gentlemen appears in Sebastian's life scribing the word "eternity"on the sidewalk outside his apartment building, and Sebastian instinctively knows that this man is part of the puzzle. Sebastian has problems of his own at home, like his mother he misses his dad and his brother Scotty who were killed in a trucking accident and now his mother is thinking of selling up and moving out of Kings Cross. Sebastian is devastated at the thought of leaving his beloved neighbourhood and dreads the idea of having to move in with his cold and authoritarian grandmother. Then, suddenly, Razor, an old friend is found murdered and the two friends know they must act quickly to save Lil who has mysteriously been moved from the hospital to an aged-care facility  called Greystaines in the outer suburbs

According to the author, Maggie Hamilton, Mister Eternity was inspired by the life of Arthur Stace, a reformed alcoholic. She has dedicated her final chapter of the book to him Further information can be found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Stace

The Cop Catchers by Terrance Dicks

This novel was withdrawn from the Rose Bay High School and still offers a good read. I found it at Vinnies. Detective Sergeant Day has vanished under mysterious circumstances. The police have been tipped off that he has been taking bribes and now he is on the wanted list. However, the Baker Street Irregulars, a group of friends, are not totally convinced. They suddenly find that they have their hands full solving the mysterious disappearance of their friend Detective-Sergeant Day as well as jewel theft, a series of truck hijackings, a missing person case, and a traffic violation when a yacht gets sailed into a seawall. Boy are they busy!

The Body in the Basement by Norah McClintock

This Canadian author was a huge fan of Nancy Drew as I was in my early teens. McClintock writes primarily for 16 year olds . This is is the first book of hers that I have read and I found it very riveting. It was the winner of the Crime Writers of Canada's Arthur Ellis Award for Best Juvenile Crime Novel. It is all about a 15 year old girl called Tash who is about to lose all she loves. After a fire, a body is discovered underneath the cafe which Tasha's parents used to own and the police start looking for the murderer. The body turns out to be her mother whom she thought had abandoned her and soon the investigation leads them straight to Tasha's dad. She is devastated but she is sure her dad didn't do it. She tries to find out who did it but it seems everyone seems to have so many secrets to hide. Click on the link under the novel to find out more about the author.

http://www.scholastic.ca/titles/norahmcclintock/aboutnorah.htm