Time elapsed in this book: 3 weeks
Length of their junior year: 3 years, 2 months, 3 weeks
Jessica’s love interest: None
Entertainment rating: 2/10
This book was so boring. I have no memories of reading this as a kid, probably because this book is that forgettable. The mystery revolves around people we’ve never met before, nor will we ever meet again, and it’s all so convoluted and far-fetched.
Liz and Jess are still working as interns at the newspaper. The mayoral election is coming up, and everyone’s wondering who will win: Miles Robinson (who’s been involved in local politics for year) or Russell Kincaid (no one knows much about his background and he seems shady, but he’s charismatic enough that he’s leading in the polls). On face value, this seems ridiculous, but one look at American politics today proves that Sweet Valley High was ahead of its time in predicting the political landscape.
The Sweet Valley News has its annual picnic in Ronoma County (based on the real Sonoma County?), 40 miles southeast of Sweet Valley. Liz invites Nicholas Morrow to join, since he’s been depressed ever since his sister, Regina, died. At the picnic, Nicholas and Liz go for a walk and end up at an old mansion by the sea named Bayview House. They hear a female voice singing. It’s a girl their age who’s wearing an old-fashioned dress. She introduces herself as Barbara and says she’s from Switzerland but staying there with her Uncle John for the summer while her parents are in Greece. It’s the house where her grandma used to live.
Nicholas is smitten and goes back to see Barbara the next day. A man answers the door and tells Nicholas to stay away. He’s crushed and drives to a nearby park, where he hears singing. It’s Barbara! She says her uncle is very strict and that Nicholas should never return to the house. They make plans to meet up the next evening when Barbara can slip away.
At work, Liz and Jess are assigned to help reporters with their research. Jess will work with reporter Dan Weeks to research mysterious local artist Paul Lazarow, who headed an artists’ colony in Ronoma County in the 1940’s. Liz is assigned to help Seth Miller on a feature about the mayoral candidates.
The twins and Nicholas go to Barbara’s house, where Nicholas throws rocks at the window to get her attention. Barbara comes outside and says Uncle John is busy with a visitor whose Jaguar is parked outside.
Liz helps Seth research Russell Kincaid. In an old yearbook, it says he hoped to become a painter.
Nicholas meets Barbara a few more times. She tells him how weird the house is and how the housekeeper, Josine, often mistakes Barbara for her grandmother because they look so much alike. Apparently Barbara and her grandmother share a name and also a birthday, which is coming up. Nicholas says they have to celebrate and takes her out to a restaurant. The same Jaguar he saw at Bayview House is in front of the restaurant! He doesn’t mention it to Barbara.
The next day, Nicholas sees a photo of Russell Kincaid in the newspaper and realizes he was the man driving the Jaguar!
The next time Nicholas meets Barbara, she’s crying because Rory, her dog, is missing. They search, but all they find is Rory’s collar. Barbara is convinced that Uncle John did something. When they get back to Nicholas’s car, his windshield is broken and tires are slashed. Someone does not want him there!
The twins and Nicholas go to an art show featuring works by Paul Lazarow. One of the paintings is titled “Artist’s Studio.” Nicholas realizes it’s the studio at Bayview House. There’s also a portrait of a woman who looks identical to Barbara titled “Artist’s Daughter.” They realize this must be Barbara’s grandmother!
They do some research and find out that Paul Lazarow’s daughter, also named Barbara, drowned on her 21st birthday. Another article includes a photo of Paul Lazarow with two of his students, one of whom is Russell Kincaid. The fact that these teenagers could find all this information so quickly while actual journalists basically have no idea about the history of either Paul Lazarow or Russell Kincaid is mind-blowing. Kinda says something about the research abilities of these so-called professionals. Liz finds an article that says Russell Kincaid was questioned about Barbara’s death but never charged. Another article includes a photo of Russell’s brother, who they recognize as “Uncle John.”
Liz gets a threatening phone call. The caller says she better stay away from Barbara because her birthday’s coming up and sometimes birthdays can be unlucky.
The twins and Nicholas return to Bayview House. The plan is to have one twin ring the doorbell and distract whoever answers while Nicholas sneaks Barbara out through the back. Liz trips and sprains her ankle. She slinks back to the car, but Uncle John catches her! Liz asks if he’s Russell Kincaid’s brother. Uncle John is surprised and tells her his plan: he invited Barbara to Bayview House for the summer so his brother, Russell, would think Barbara was haunting him, which would eventually expose Russell as a murderer. Apparently Russell confessed to John that he’d murdered the elder Barbara, but John doesn’t have any actual proof and doesn’t want to go to the police because… well, I guess the Ronoma County police are on par with the Sweet Valley police.
Nicholas and Jess find Barbara outside with Russell Kincaid. He’s trying to throw her over the cliffs! Russell slips and falls backward, pulling Barbara with him! Jess and Nicholas race over. Russell has plunged to the bottom but Barbara is still hanging on. They pull her up to safety.
Nicholas, Jess, and Barbara search for Liz. Inside the house, Josine cries and says she went along with Uncle John’s plan for the summer because he has a gun. She tells them he took Liz to the studio. They race over there and find not just Liz but also Rory! The dog is okay! They return to the house to check on Josine and call the police, but when they get there, they realize that Uncle John and the Jaguar are both gone!
John Kincaid is arrested on his way to Mexico. He spills the full story: the elder Barbara secretly married Jack Pearsall, another artist, and they had a baby girl. Russell was jealous that someone else married Barbara so he pushed her over the cliffs on her 21st birthday. He was questioned about her death but never convicted because Barbara’s father got sick (not sure why this affected anything, but it probably makes sense to lawyers like Ned Wakefield). When Russell decided to run for mayor of Sweet Valley, John warned him that it was close to Ronoma and people might remember this story. Russell didn’t care and then proceeded swindled his brother out of millions, so John decided to take revenge by exposing Russell as a murderer!
Josine says Barbara’s grandfather, Jack Pearsall, is still alive and living in a rest home nearby. Apparently he went crazy with grief after his Barbara died, which is why young Barbara’s mom was raised by a family friend in Europe. Barbara visits him. He still paints and can’t believe how much she looks like her grandmother. Barbara invites him to come to Switzerland and live with her family. Jack can’t believe he’s closed himself off to the world for so many years (I can’t believe this either) and they hug. Nicholas has to say his goodbyes to his brief summer love.