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A review by liamunderwood
The Lifeguard by Richie Tankersley Cusick
3.5
After recently taking a deep dive into my childhood by revisiting Welcome to Dead House, I decided to alternate between reading a Goosebumps book and reading another childhood favourite of mine - Point Horror. Most Goosebumps books are somewhat memorable, for various reasons, whilst there are really only a couple of Point Horror books that I distinctly recall. Take The Lifeguard, for example - I definitely remember reading it before, but I remembered literally none of it. Even upon re-reading it now, none of it came back to me. I think it's possibly because Goosebumps has more of a fantastical element, whilst Point Horror - if memory serves correctly - usually have more of a mystery whodunit element to them.
I actually rather enjoyed reading The Lifeguard. I don't typically overanalyze as I read (or perhaps I'm just not particularly savvy), so the mystery element did somewhat work for me. I mean, I certainly had my suspicions who the killer was, but Richie Tankersley Cusick managed to utilise at least one good red herring that had me doubting. However, on the flipside, there is one annoying trope that Richie Tankersley Cusick overuses - other characters not believing our heroine, Kelsey. The first couple of times are somewhat excusable, but it gets real tired real fast.
I did like that The Lifeguard is basically an '80s slasher movie in book form, complete with the creepy old guy who tries to warn the teens that they are in imminent danger but they all laugh it off and ignore him. This was a fun read and although light on actual horror, still rather enjoyable!
3.5/5
I actually rather enjoyed reading The Lifeguard. I don't typically overanalyze as I read (or perhaps I'm just not particularly savvy), so the mystery element did somewhat work for me. I mean, I certainly had my suspicions who the killer was, but Richie Tankersley Cusick managed to utilise at least one good red herring that had me doubting. However, on the flipside, there is one annoying trope that Richie Tankersley Cusick overuses - other characters not believing our heroine, Kelsey. The first couple of times are somewhat excusable, but it gets real tired real fast.
I did like that The Lifeguard is basically an '80s slasher movie in book form, complete with the creepy old guy who tries to warn the teens that they are in imminent danger but they all laugh it off and ignore him. This was a fun read and although light on actual horror, still rather enjoyable!
3.5/5