Fear Street: The Wrong Number

I remember this being one of my favorite books in the series, and the reread did not disappoint!

I remember loving this story so much as a kid; in fact, it may have been the first book in the series that I read (after borrowing - and potentially stealing! - The New Girl from my best friend.

Two friends are making prank phone calls to boys in their class, when one of the girl's ne'er-do-well brother catches them and decides to up the ante. He dubs himself the Phantom of Fear Street and calls in a bomb threat to the local bowling alley. The girls are nervous but excited about their new clandestine hobby.

However, the next time they are making calls, then end up interrupting a murder on Fear Street. After they go to investigate, they are confronted by the killer, make a daring escape, and then the brother is arrested! The police don't believe their story of a masked intruder, so Deena and Jade need to do some detective work of their own to prove Chuck's innocence.

This one is a fun one, but again the final conclusion seems a little bit rushed - and far too convenient. It turns out that the snarky detectives who haven't believed a word the girls have said have actually suspected the murdered woman's husband all along, and end up rushing in just as the girls are about to be finished off by a maniacal Mr. Faberson and his chainsaw. Stine really is upping the ante with each new book in the series, although thankfully no one needs to murder a dog in this one.