Killing Mr. Griffin (Hippo books) [Import] [Paperback]

Lois Duncan (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd; New Ed edition (August 17, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590700707
• ISBN-13: 978-0590700702
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (228 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Lois Duncan was born in Philadelphia, PA, and grew up in Sarasota, FL.
She knew from early childhood that she wanted to be a writer. She submitted her first story to a magazine at age 10 and became published at 13. Throughout her high school years she wrote regularly for young people's publications, particularly Seventeen.

As an adult, Lois moved to Albuquerque, NM, where she taught magazine writing for the Journalism Department at the University of New Mexico and continued to write for magazines. Over 300 of her articles and stories appeared in such publications as Ladies Home Journal, Redbook, McCall's, Good Housekeeping, and Reader's Digest, and for many years she was a contributing editor for Woman's Day.

Lois is the author of over 50 books, ranging from children's picture books to poetry to adult non-fiction, but is best known for her young adult suspense novels, which have received Young Readers Awards in 16 states and three foreign countries. In 1992, Lois was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award, presented by the School Library Journal and the ALA Young Adult Library Services Association for "a distinguished body of adolescent literature." In 2009, she received the Katharine Drexel Award, awarded by the Catholic Library Association "to recognize an outstanding contribution by an individual to the growth of high school and young adult librarianship and literature."

Six of her novels -- SUMMER OF FEAR, KILLING MR. GRIFFIN, GALLOWS HILL, RANSOM, DON'T LOOK BEHIND YOU and STRANGER WITH MY FACE -- were made-for-TV movies. I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER and HOTEL FOR DOGS were box office hits.

Although young people are most familiar with Lois Duncan's fictional suspense novels, adults may know her best as the author of WHO KILLED MY DAUGHTER?, the true story of the murder of Kaitlyn Arquette, the youngest of Lois's five children. Kait's heartbreaking story has been featured on such TV shows as Unsolved Mysteries, Good Morning America, Larry King Live, Sally Jessy Raphael and Inside Edition. A full account of the family's on-going personal investigation of this still unsolved homicide can be found on the Internet at http://kaitarquette.arquettes.com.

Lois Duncan's personal web page is at http://loisduncan.arquettes.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Five Star Book!(and well worth it), November 6, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Killing Mr. Griffin (Mass Market Paperback)

It all starts when a former college professor turns to highschool teaching. He is rather strict with his students, which makes many of his students dislike him. He teaches an advanced course, so mostly seniors are in it for college credits. Although, there is one junior named Susan McConnell in Mr. Griffin's class. Mr. Griffin won't tell anyone except his wife, but he thinks Susan is one of the best, if not, the best student in his class. He fears telling her that because he believes her work will get sloppy and she will think she can slide right through the course. Susan has a crush on a handsome senior named David Ruggles. This gets her into trouble. A few of David's friends think it would be funny if they played a joke on Mr. Griffin. So, David, Jeff Garrett, Mark Kinney, and Betsy Cline decide to kidnap him and teach him a lesson. They decide they could use Susan to lure Mr. Griffin into their trap, when Susan starts to lure him, Mr. Griffin tells her how much he appreciates her as a student and her work. Susan feels guilty, but its too late. All they wanted to do is teach him a lesson, they never wanted to kill him. I would recommend this book to people from the ages 13 and up. In my opinion, I do not believe that this book is appropriate for children younger, because even I cried when I read it. This book is especially good for teenagers who think they have problem teachers, and would like an answer to some questions about how teachers really think. This book may not be appropriate, however, for people who cannot stand a little devastation and fear. Lastly, I would recommend this book to people who like mystery, suspense, and horror.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good suspense., June 4, 2005

By 

R. Christenson "SpaceComics.com" (Pine, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Killing Mr. Griffin (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm more of a movie watcher than a book reader (though I do read about two dozen novels a year), and this book reminded me of several recent movies along the same vein, about teenagers plotting a prank or smaller crime that spirals out of their control, like Mean Creak, Murder By Numbers, and even parts of Heathers and Sleepers. I've never seen the film version of Killing Mr. Griffin, but now that I've finished the book, I'm anxious to get the DVD.
The story is about five high school students who plan to scare their English teacher by kidnapping him, to get even for his strict grading. It all goes wrong when the teacher dies of heart failure while they have him tied up. The plot was very well crafted, especially the details of how their cover-up unravels. It's skillfully written to maintain suspense through the length of the book. The teenage characters are realistic and interesting, taking me back to my own high school days (over 20 years ago), and the difficult characterization of the victim is handled perfectly. You can easily believe he's a good man, undeserving of his fate, and at the same time see how the students could hate him. I welcomed a bit of commentary on the state of our education system from his point of view.
If there's any imperfection in this book, to me, it's the relatively abrupt ending and brief denouement. The long-term consequences of the crime are not explored, and I'd like to know what became of the students - how they're finally punished. I guess there's a balance and too much of that could become boring, but still it seems it might leave some readers with the impression the kids got off too lightly.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a suspenseful read.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Killing Mr. Griffin, By: Lois Duncan, July 7, 2001

By 

Missy (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Killing Mr. Griffin (Mass Market Paperback)

The novel Killing Mr. Griffin written by Lois Duncan is a great murder-mystery story. Its a horror story involving high school students and a revenge plot of their English teacher. But the plan all goes wrong. Duncan's way of describing and making things seem real, keeps you on the edge of your seat. She places clues throughout the story to keep you guessing whats going to happen next.

Some how Susan gets involved with the cool group and becomes wrapped up in a murder case. The main characters are Susan, Mark, Jeff, David, and Betsy. Susan is the shy lonely student, Mark is the guiet cool guy, Jeff is the jock, Betsy is the head cheerleader, and David is the president of the senior class. They all have different reactions and feelings throughout the whole novel. This is a great novel, so go get it and read it.