I Know What You Did Last Summer (novel)
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| Author | Lois Duncan |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Young adult fiction, thriller |
| Published | October 1973 Little Brown |
| Media type | Print (hardcover & paperback) |
| Pages | 199 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | (first edition, hardback) |
| OCLC | 640901 |
| LC Class | PZ7.D9117 Iak |
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1973) is a suspense novel for young adults by Lois Duncan. It was later adapted into the film of the same name.
In an unnamed town, high-school senior Julie James receives a sinister note from an elusive stalker telling her "I Know What You Did Last Summer". The note refers to events of the previous year when Julie, her boyfriend Ray Bronson, Ray's best friend Barry Cox, and Barry's girlfriend Helen Rivers, accidentally ran over and killed a young boy named Daniel Gregg after driving home from a party in the mountains to celebrate Ray and Barry's high-school graduation. After promising to never tell anyone, they drifted apart: Barry went to the local college, Helen dropped out of school, Ray went to California, and Julie continued to attend school. Now, having received the note, Julie fearfully visits Helen. They call Barry but he is sure it's just a prank; anyone who did know about their crime would go to the police instead of leaving notes. This calms the girls. Ray returns home to Julie, but she doesn't want to continue their relationship because she is dating a new kid, Bud.
Shortly after the fateful night, Helen had won a beauty contest and a spot as Channel 5 Golden Girl, the studio's new TV personality, much to the fury of her sullen, envious older sister Elsa. Helen is suntanning at her luxury-apartment complex, The Four Seasons, when she meets Collingsworth "Collie" Wilson, just out of the army. After this encounter, she finds a magazine cutout of a boy riding a bicycle taped to her apartment door.
Ray brings in the mail at his house and he has received a newspaper clipping about Daniel Gregg, son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Gregg. He was the foursome's hit-and-run victim last summer. The book takes us into Ray's memory in which his father commented on Ray's popular football friend Barry (and the first time Ray's father met Barry) and cheerleader girlfriend Julie. Ray painfully remembers calling for help after the accident.
On Memorial Day, Barry receives a call; after he hangs up he walks out of his University frat house to meet his caller. It's dark, he has trouble seeing, and he is shot. When Ray finds out, he calls St. Joseph's Hospital to ask about him and is told he's in surgery. Helen is in the TV studio when she finds out about Barry; when Collie finds out, he picks her up there and takes her to the hospital. However, Barry's mother accuses Helen of calling Barry and shooting him, and ejects her and Collie from the hospital. After Julie finds out, she receives a phone call from Ray asking if they could discuss what has been happening; she meets him, but the only thing they agree on is that the shooter wasn't Helen. Julie suggests going to the Greggs' to see if their tormentor is one of Daniel's family members.
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