Down the Rabbit Hole: An Echo Falls Mystery (Echo Falls Mystery, 1)

Welcome to Echo Falls.Home of a thousand secrets, where Ingrid Levin-Hill, super sleuth, never knows what will happen next.

Ingrid is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or at least her shoes are. Getting them back means getting involved in a murder investigation rivaling those solved by her idol, Sherlock Holmes, and Ingrid has enough on her plate with club soccer, school, and the plum role of Alice in the Echo Falls production of Alice in Wonderland. But much as in Alice's adventures down the rabbit hole, things in Ingrid's small town keep getting curiouser and curiouser. Her favorite director has a serious accident onstage (but is it an accident?), and the police chief is on Ingrid's tail, grilling her about everything from bike-helmet law to the color of her cleats. Echo Falls has turned into a nightmare, and Ingrid is determined to wake up. Edgar Award?nominated novelist Peter Abrahams builds suspense as a smart young girl finds that her small town isn't nearly as safe as it seems.

Grade 6-9–An avid reader of Sherlock Holmes, Ingrid Levin-Hill, 13, is also a fleet-footed soccer player with a knack for stage acting–skills that come in handy when she finds herself caught in a police investigation following the murder of an eccentric woman. The deceased was associated with the Prescott Players, a local theater troupe in which Ingrid lands the title role in a production of Alice in Wonderland. Plot scenes incorporate play rehearsals, family life, middle school, and soccer games along with plenty of intriguing twists and mounting tension. Taking courage from her crusty grandfather, who refuses to sell his farm to an affluent developer, Ingrid acts with aplomb as she secretly undertakes a series of suspenseful adventures to track down the killer. She also maintains the cool-headedness to enjoy the friendship of the police chief's son, Joey Strade, while keeping the officers who'd like to question her at bay. Ingrid's poise, however, is tempered by her self-doubt and troubled dreams, making her a believable human. She and the other main characters are all solidly drawn, including the newest member of her family, a droopy-eyed dog named Nigel. Deft use of literary allusions and ironic humor add further touches of class to a topnotch mystery.–Susan W. Hunter, Riverside Middle School, Springfield, VT
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*Starred Review* Gr. 7-10. Thriller writer Abrahams crosses into youth territory in this rich, smoothly written mystery with a protagonist whose character is as substantial as her name and whose home and school experiences have the feel of real, sometimes messy middle-class life. When Ingrid Levin-Hill, 13, decides to run to soccer practice rather than wait for her ride, she gets lost in a not-so-nice part of town. Luckily, Cracked-Up Katie, one of Echo Falls' oddballs, calls her a cab. Convinced that full disclosure will only cause a lecture, Ingrid keeps her secret. Imagine her shock when she learns that Katie has been murdered--and Ingrid's cleats are at the crime scene. It isn't long before Ingrid starts feeling like Alice in Wonderland plunging down the rabbit hole. Homey details add enormously to the texture of the backdrop, and characters, including adults, are fully realized: Ingrid's not above a snotty comeback when she is feeling ornery or sees through adult pretense; curmudgeonly Grampy puts VO in his tea and defies convention by teaching Ingrid target shooting; and there's more to Joey Strade than his clumsy crush on Ingrid. Abrahams is concerned with adult motivations here, and his irony occasionally seems too arch for kids. But there's also plenty of excitement and just-right humor (Mom's constant concern about Ingrid's retainer is classic) as Ingrid's Alice-like curiosity pilots her, in bumbling stops and starts, right into the arms of a killer. Great start for the Echo Falls series. Stephanie Zvirin
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