Trick or Treat

by Richie Tankersley Cusick

Book Overview

From the author of The Lifeguard comes the exciting suspense novel about Martha. Not long after Martha moved into the Bedford house, the phone calls began: Trick or treat, Martha. You're dead. Elizabeth Bedford had been murdered one year earlier, on Halloween night, in the very same room. The murderer was never found, and now the killer is back--for Martha.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0590424564
• ISBN13: 9780590424561
• Release Date: January 1989
• Publisher: Scholastic
• Length: 209 Pages
• Weight: 0.28 lbs.
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

Trick or Treat book description

Book description on back of book: "Martha knew there was something evil about the house she was moving into. It was so cold...and creepy. And it wasn't just the house that was giving her a weird feeling. Martha was sure someone was following her...watching her every move. Then the practical jokes began--the scarecrow with the carving knife in its head, the fire. And the phone calls: 'Trick or Treat, Martha...you're dead.' It was October, but these were no Halloween tricks. Someone would be coming home this year with more than just a bag of treats. And Martha was the prize. Trick or Treat" This is one of the first books by Richie Tankersley Cusick that I read, and I still enjoy reading it. I love the setting, which is a "haunted" house outside of a small town, around Halloween. Martha and her dad and her new stepmom and stepbrother Conor move into this deserted house. After living in the big, lonely house for about a week, their parents go on their honeymoon, so Conor and Martha are all alone. Martha is terrified of the new house, because she thinks weird things are happening. To make matters worse, at her new school she is not doing so well. Luckily she has made a few friends: Blake, a cute guy who seems to like her, and his cousins Greg (who works at their school and is Martha's advisor), and Wynn, who is Martha's age. Martha finds out from her new friends that a girl named Elizabeth Bedford who was her age and looked a little like Martha was killed in her bedroom in the Bedford house, but no one ever found out who the killer was. I really liked this book because it was a scary, easy read that I couldn't put down, and the ending is so surprising. Richie Tankersley Cusick's other books are just as good. Try: The Lifeguard, The Mall, Someone at the Door, Vampire, and Scarecrow.

Great reading for young people looking for a scare

And I'm not talking down to young people. I still like this book a lot, but I read it over and over when I was in middle school. I was also reading Stephen King at this time, so it's not like I couldn't handle scary stuff; this book is really creepy. I remember getting chills down my back more than a few times. Very atmospheric; the groundfog and autumn leaves practically blow off the page into the room you're in. Fast-paced Halloween fun.

One of my favorite books!

I first read this book about 9 years ago and loved it. I'm 24 now, and re-read Trick or Treat a few times a year. I think all of Ms. Cusick's books are great, but this one has to be the best of them all...Silent Stalker is a close second though! I would recommend this book to anyone! It's got the perfect mix of suspense and romance...

TERRIFIC !

This book was terrific. I also believe that martha should have went with Conor. This book seemed like a horror story in the beggining then it turnd to more like a mystery.I believe this because most of the book was trying to find out who killed Elizabeth. But it also had some chilling points to it like all the strange phone calls Martha gets in the house. And why they never found Daniell's body but they found his car in the river with the murder weapon.

Great for Ye Faint of Heart..............

I think this book was one of the best I have ever read! I don't usually like scary stories but this was perfect because it scared me but didn't scare me so much that I stopped reading.I wanted to know who did it so much that I read this book in 3hrs. 30mins! I was a little dissapointed that Martha Did'nt go out with Conor after their ordeal though... Anyway I'ts one of my Favorite books ever! I wish there was a sequel!