Duncan is best known for her novels of suspense for teenagers. Some of her works have been adapted for the screen, the most famous example being the 1997 film I Know What You Did Last Summer

I Know What You Did Last Summer

I Know What You Did Last Summer is a 1997 American horror film. The film stars Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prinze Jr. The screenplay was written by Kevin Williamson, writer of Scream, and very loosely based on Lois Duncan's popular novel of the same title...

, adapted from her novel of the same title

I Know What You Did Last Summer (novel)

I Know What You Did Last Summer is a suspense novel for young adults by Lois Duncan.-Plot summary:High school senior Julie James receives a mysterious note from an elusive stalker that says "I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER!", sinisterly reminding her of the previous summer when she and her...

. She has stated her distaste in interviews at her young adult novel becoming a horror comedy film.

In 1989 the youngest of Duncan's children, Kaitlyn Arquette, was murdered in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...

, under suspicious circumstances. Who Killed My Daughter?

Who Killed My Daughter?

Who Killed My Daughter? is a 1992 non-fiction book by Lois Duncan. It is mainly about Duncan's search for her daughter's murderer. 18-year-old Kaitlyn Arquette was shot to death on July 16, 1989 while coming home from a friend's house...

relates the facts and conjecture about the still unsolved case. Duncan has said her "dream is to write a sequel to Who Killed My Daughter? to give our family's true life horror story a closure. Of course, for that to be possible, Kait's case must be solved."

The 1971 children's book Hotel for Dogs

Hotel for Dogs

Hotel for Dogs is a novel by Lois Duncan. It was adapted into a film of the same name by Nickelodeon Movies for DreamWorks Pictures, released on January 16, 2009. When the book was originally released in 1971, Andi's name was Liz, and Friday's name was Sadie. The book was re-released December 1,...

has been made into a movie

Hotel for Dogs (film)

Hotel for Dogs is a 2009 American children's comedy film based on the 1971 Lois Duncan novel of the same name. The film, directed by Thor Freudenthal and adapted by Jeff Lowell, Bob Schooley, and Mark McCorkle, stars Johnny Simmons, Emma Roberts, Jake T. Austin, Lisa Kudrow, Kevin Dillon, Kyla...

, released in 2009, starring Emma Roberts

Emma Roberts

Emma Rose Roberts is an American actress, model and singer. She is the daughter of actor Eric Roberts and niece of Julia Roberts. Roberts became known for her role as Addie Singer in the Nickelodeon television series Unfabulous. She released her debut album, which also served as the show's...

. Duncan herself appears as an extra in the crowd scene.

Works

The following is a partial list of Duncan's works, in chronological order of first publication:

• Love Song for Joyce (1957)
• Debutante Hill (1957)
• A Promise for Joyce (1958)
• The Littlest One in the Family (1959) - picture book
• The Middle Sister (1960)
• Silly Mother (1962) - picture book
• Game of Danger (1962)
• Giving Away Suzanne (1962) - picture book
• Season of the Two-Heart (1965)
• Point of Violence (1966)
• Ransom (1966)
• They Never Came Home (1968)
• Major Andre, Brave Enemy (1968)
• Peggy (1970) - historical novel
• Hotel for Dogs
  Hotel for Dogs
  Hotel for Dogs is a novel by Lois Duncan. It was adapted into a film of the same name by Nickelodeon Movies for DreamWorks Pictures, released on January 16, 2009. When the book was originally released in 1971, Andi's name was Liz, and Friday's name was Sadie. The book was re-released December 1,...
  
  (1971)
• A Gift of Magic (1971)
• I Know What You Did Last Summer (1973)
• When the Bough Breaks (1974)
• Down a Dark Hall
  Down a Dark Hall
  Down A Dark Hall is a novel for young adults by Lois Duncan. It is a supernatural/suspense novel and is her only gothic fiction. It tells the story of a girl who starts at a boarding school where she is one of only four students.- Plot summary :...
  
  (1974)
• Summer of Fear
  Summer of Fear
  Stranger in Our House is a 1978 television horror film directed by Wes Craven and starring Linda Blair...
  
  (1976)
• Killing Mr. Griffin
  Killing Mr. Griffin
  Killing Mr. Griffin is a novel for young adults by Lois Duncan.It is about a group of teenage students at Del Norte High School who plan to kidnap their strict English teacher, Mr. Griffin. The book was adapted to film in 1997, sharing the same title as the book, starring Jay Thomas, Mario Lopez,...
  
  (1978)
• How to Write and Sell Your Personal Experiences (1979) - non-fiction
• Daughters of Eve (1979)
• Stranger with My Face
  Stranger with My Face
  Stranger With My Face is a young adult horror novel by Lois Duncan, first published in 1981. It was adapted into a television film of the same name...
  
  (1981)
• Chapters: My Growth as a Writer (1982) - autobiography
• The Terrible Tales of Happy Days School (1983) - picture book
• From Spring to Spring (1983) - picture book
• The Third Eye
  The Third Eye (Lois Duncan novel)
  The Third Eye is a 1991 novel for young adults by Lois Duncan. It is a supernatural/suspense novel which tells the story of a girl with a psychic gift. In the United Kingdom the book was re-titled The Eyes Of Karen Connors.-Plot summary:...
  
  (1984)
• Horses of Dreamland (1985) - picture booklalala

• Locked in Time
  Locked In Time
  Locked in Time is a novel by Lois Duncan, first published in 1985. This book is categorized as a suspense novel for young adults. The story centers around a seventeen-year old girl who attends a boarding school and whose mother recently died...
  
  (1985)
• The Twisted Window (1987)
• Wonder Kid Meets the Evil Lunch Snatcher (1988) - children's chapter book
• Songs from Dreamland (1988) - picture book/musical CD (vocals by Duncan's daughter, Robin Arquette Burkin)
• The Birthday Moon (1989) - picture book
• Don't Look Behind You
  Don't Look Behind You
  Don't Look Behind You is a 1990 young adult thriller novel by Lois Duncan.-Plot summary:Because of April's father's work in the Federal Investigation Bureau, a hitman in a black camaro is after her family so they have to be put under the Federal Witness Protection Program...
  
  (1989)
• Who Killed My Daughter?
  Who Killed My Daughter?
  Who Killed My Daughter? is a 1992 non-fiction book by Lois Duncan. It is mainly about Duncan's search for her daughter's murderer. 18-year-old Kaitlyn Arquette was shot to death on July 16, 1989 while coming home from a friend's house...
  
  (1992) - non-fiction
• The Circus Comes Home (1993) - picture book with photos by Duncan's father, Joseph Steinmetz
• Psychic Connections (1995) - non-fiction
• The Magic of Spider Woman (1996) - picture book
• Night Terrors (1996) - anthology (1996)
• Gallows Hill
  Gallows Hill (novel)
  Gallows Hill is a supernatural thriller novel for young adults by Lois Duncan. It was her first and so far only young adult novel written after the death of her daughter. It was written eight years after her previous young adult novel, Don't Look Behind You...
  
  (1997)
• Trapped! (1998) - anthology
• The Longest Hair in the World (1999) - picture book
• I Walk at Night (2000) - picture book
• On the Edge (2000) - anthology
• Song of the Circus (2002) - picture book
• (Seasons of the Heart) (2007) - poetry
• News for Dogs (2009)- fiction- sequel to Hotel for Dogs
• (A Visit with Lois Duncan) DVD -- (2008)
• Movie for Dogs (2010)- fiction- sequel to News for Dogs

External links

• Lois Duncan's website
• TeenReads.com interview
• Lois Duncan novelist