Time elapsed in this book: 3 weeks
Length of their junior year: 2 years, 10 months, 1 week
Jessica’s love interest: None
Entertainment rating: 5/10
The second Sweet Valley High Super Thriller has arrived! This one is set in the same summer as Double Jeopardy, the first Super Thriller. I know this because the twins are still working as interns at the local newspaper, Steven’s friend Adam Maitland is still living with them for the summer, Jeffrey’s off at summer camp, and the plot of Double Jeopardy is recapped in here to give this book continuity. It is not, however, the same summer as the Super Editions were set in. Just so we’re clear on the (muddled as usual) timeline.
The cover of this book feels “meh” to me. Not only are their outfits awful, but it somehow feels like their figures were traced instead of painted with the same attention to detail as the usual covers. I suppose the nondescript building in the background doesn’t help. The plot is also kinda “meh,” probably because the mystery mostly revolves around people we don’t know or care about.
Everyone at the Sweet Valley News is talking about what’s happening in New York, where mobster Frank DeLucca is on trial for murder and racketeering. DeLucca was caught at the scene of a crime, but the prosecutors don’t have enough evidence against him to get a guilty verdict (begging the question of why is he on trial? But I’m no lawyer like Mr. Wakefield, which… well, that probably makes me more of an expert on these things). Anyway, everyone fears that if someone doesn’t come forward to testify soon, he’ll get off.
The twins meet Darcy Kaymen, a new intern at the paper. She’s their age and just moved to Sweet Valley from Ohio. She takes an instant disliking to Liz but cozies up to Jess, bonding over the fact that they both wish they were working at a designer clothing store or somewhere more exciting. Apparently the newspaper will accept anyone as an intern, regardless of their passion or interest.
Jess goes to the Beach Disco with Darcy while Liz fields a phone call from Jeffrey, who just taught his whole bunk how to canoe. I love how Liz’s boyfriend is usually written out of Super Editions and Super Thrillers so Liz can find a new love interest and cheat. Gotta keep things interesting!
On the news, it’s announced that a doctor named William Ryan will testify against DeLucca the next morning. Because sure, this is how trials work; people just show up out of the blue and testify the next day. At work the next day, everyone is glued to the TV, where the broadcaster recaps Dr. Ryan’s testimony. Thanks to him, DeLucca is found guilty! Liz asks what will happen to Dr. Ryan. Mediocre reporter Seth (who believed all the crazy stories Jess fed him in Double Jeopardy without factchecking anything) tells Liz that he’ll likely be put in Witness Protection and given a new identity.
Darcy does her best to embarrass Liz at work. She turns in a story that Liz was proofreading and points out mistakes that Liz hadn’t gotten to yet. She informs everyone that Liz writes a gossip column for her school paper. She blames Liz for jamming the copier and for hogging a dictionary. Liz hates her. Darcy asks Liz to get coffee for one of the reporters, saying he likes it with cream and sugar when he actually wants it black. Liz falls for this and heads downstairs to the cafe, where she meets a new barista named Eric. He just moved there from Ohio with his dad and says he’ll be a senior at Sweet Valley High in the fall. Liz offers to give him a tour of the city. She heads back upstairs with a smile, but when she gives the coffee to Dan, he tells her he wanted it black. Liz can’t believe she fell for that (I can’t believe it either…. come on, Liz! You’re a reporter! Factcheck what your nemesis tells you!).
Later, Darcy gets coffee and comes back gushing about the hot new employee. Jess is immediately intrigued and checks out Eric too. Darcy decides to call a friend in Cincinnati to see if she knows anything about Eric.
Friday night, Liz gets a call from Jeffrey. They chat a bit, and Liz wonders if she should mention Eric to Jeffrey but decides against it. I think the fact that Liz wonders if she should mention Eric means she knows, at least subconsciously, that she’s on the verge of cheating.
Liz picks Eric up for the tour of Sweet Valley and immediately suggests they go to Miller’s Point, so he can see the whole valley. She tells him it’s “a notorious parking spot,” which definitely could give him the wrong (or the right) impression. They keep things platonic, but the chemistry is there. Eric lets Liz read a poem he’s written, and Liz gives him a short story to read. They exchange praise about what a good writer the other is!
Darcy tells Jess that another new intern is going to start soon at the newspaper, a Stanford student named Andy Sullivan. She wants to get to know him. Jess asks what happened to her crush on Eric. Darcy says that Eric’s cute, but he’s too jumpy anytime you ask him personal questions.
Eric has a date with Liz. They go to a movie and walk out with his arm around her. Liz wonders why her pulse quickens every time Eric touches her. (I don’t have to wonder; I know why.) Liz thinks someone is following them. Eric gets scared, but it turns out to be a false alarm. They sit down on a bench. Eric looks deep in her eyes and tells her he’s been writing love poems. Liz holds a finger to his lips and he kisses it.
The next day, Darcy goes to the coffee shop to chat with Eric and sees that he’s working on a poem titled “For Her.” She asks if it’s about her. Eric hesitates, then says yes. Darcy snatches the paper and struts up to the office. She tells the twins that Eric is clearly into her. Liz can’t believe that Eric wrote Darcy a love poem! She’s pissed and doesn’t want to talk to Eric again. She’s outraged at this despite her having a boyfriend he doesn’t know about.
Darcy tells Jess that her friend in Ohio didn’t know Eric but that a girl in a nearby town was murdered four days before Eric moved to town and the description of the suspect fits Eric. Darcy says they have to learn everything they can about Eric because he could be dangerous!
Eric asks Liz why she’s been avoiding him. She tells him that he shouldn’t have written a poem for another girl. Eric explains that the poem was actually for Liz. Liz is relieved.
Mr. Wakefield has been helping Eric’s dad, Mr. Hankman, with a business contract and invites them over for a barbecue. Their neighbors, the Beckwiths, also join. At the barbecue, Mr. Beckwith tells Mr. Hankman that he looks familiar. Mr. Hankman gets nervous and says they’ve never met, but Mr. Beckwith keeps trying to figure out why he knows him. It’s uncomfortable for everyone involved. Mr. Beckwith does not know how to read a room and just keeps pushing.
Darcy and Jess decide they need to get Eric’s notebook to see if he’s written a confession in it. Jess drops by Eric’s house pretending to be Liz and asks to borrow it. Eric thinks “Liz” is acting weird but loans her the notebook. When Jess leaves, she’s followed by a Mercedes. A man gets out, takes the notebook, and tells her to stay away from her boyfriend.
Jess goes to the Dairi Burger with Darcy and other friends. Eric is there too and comes over to say hi. Winston and Aaron appear, chatting about how Jeffrey is hopefully going to lead the school’s soccer team to victory in the fall. Eric asks who Jeffrey is, and they explain that he’s Liz’s boyfriend. Eric is stunned and leaves. Jess worries what an angry Eric might do!
Liz goes to the Beach Disco that night to meet Eric, but he never shows. She doesn’t know what’s going on. A Mercedes follows her when she leaves. Eventually, a man gets out and introduces himself as an FBI agent who’s looking for Eric.
On Monday, Liz accompanies Seth to some interviews and then heads back to the office. She runs into Eric, and he doesn’t look happy. Eric says they need to talk. Alone. He takes her arm and leads her off.
Jess and Darcy are nearby and try to warn Liz that Eric might be a murderer and that he knows about Jeffrey! They rush toward her, but just then Mr. Beckwith (who works nearby) comes out of the coffee shop and shouts that a kid is choking and needs immediate medical attention! He tells Jess to call an ambulance and shout for a doctor.
Jess races over to the nearest pay phone and runs into Mr. Hankman. She explains what’s going on, and he charges into the building. He takes a sharp knife, plastic straw, and dish towels and performs an emergency tracheotomy on the boy. Mr. Beckwith announces to everyone present that he knows why he recognized Mr. Hankman! Mr. Hankman is actually Dr. Ryan, the one who testified against DeLucca! Mr. Beckwith says he must be in the witness protection program! I can’t facepalm hard enough at this. Why did he need to make a public declaration like this?!? ZERO chill.
Mr. Hankman admits he’s Dr. Ryan and says they’ll need to move now that their cover has been blown. Thanks, Mr. Beckwith. Later, at the Hankman/Ryan house, Liz has a moment alone with Eric to say her goodbyes. Eric says his name is actually Michael Ryan and that everything he told her about himself and his love for poetry is true. He asks if she is in love with Jeffrey, and Liz says that she’s confused because she loves Jeffrey but that she’s in love with Eric/Michael too. He leans in to kiss her… and someone kicks the door in. It’s the man who told Liz he was an FBI agent! Liz activates the “Good Neighbor” system, which is installed in every house in the neighborhood and sends a silent alarm to six houses nearby plus the police. The neighbors come over, bursting down the door and tackling the gunmen! Eric/Michael’s notebook falls out of the one guy’s pocket, which confuses Eric/Michael since he thought Liz had it. Jess later explains that she though Eric/Michael was a murderer (the real killer was actually caught the night before, in case anyone cares… I did not).
Eric/Michael gives the notebook to Liz as something to remember him by. They embrace and after he leaves, Liz finds that the notebook contains a goodbye poem. She hugs the notebook to her chest and wonders how she’ll tell Jeffrey about this. I’d bet against that conversation ever taking place.