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Down the Rabbit Hole (Echo Falls #1)

3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 · rating details · 3,161 ratings · 574 reviews

Welcome to Echo Falls, home of a thousand secrets.

Ingrid is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or at least her shoes are. And getting them back will mean getting tangled up in a murder investigation as complicated as the mysteries solved by her idol, Sherlock Holmes. With soccer practice, schoolwork, and the lead role in her town's production of Alice in Wonderland, Ing...more

Paperback, 407 pages

Published April 25th 2006 by HarperCollins (first published April 12th 2005)

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Nov 14, 2009 RandomAnthony rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ok, I taught middle school on the south side of Chicago (with a brief stint on the west side, to be completely accurate) from August of 1993 to June of 1997. I taught four years in the city, and I think those are the right years. I don’t have my resume in front of me. Anyway, I taught fifth through eighth grade communications in ninety minute blocks. When I first arrived at the small parochial school down south I speed-read a slew of YA novels so I could teach them come September. In turn I asso...more

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Aug 04, 2011 Watermelon Daisy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

(UPDATE: Upon re-read, I noticed it wasn't more than a 3-star book. But I keep this review for those who want a positive review of it. :) )

I was pleasantly surprised at how this book has become one my favourite novels of all time. Literally. The mystery and the suspense was amazing throughout the story, though a little a predictable, it wasn’t something which I predicted completely. Which is unusual because I usually have a set of ideas of what’ll happen in every mystery, and it didn’t come true...more

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Mar 17, 2012 Kwoomac rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, contemporary-lit, creepy, fast-read, mystery, reviewed, young-adult

i haven't come across a lot of mysteries aimed at the YA audience. This one was perfectly servicable. Ingrid is a 13 year old girl. She play soccer, acts in the local troupe, generally gets good grades. Completely believable. Then she decides to investigate a murder of a woman she knows marginally. Although I do enjoy murder mysteries, I never quite get why someone wants to butt into a murder investigation. Interviewing people you don't know, sneaking around at night, breaking into places. I don...more

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Dec 06, 2011 Miriam rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, theater

The Wonderland references were disappointingly superficial, but otherwise this was a fine mystery about a young girl connected by happenstance to a murder investigation.

Thirteen-year-old Ingrid is afraid of being late for soccer practice, so she unwisely decides to walk from her orthodontist's office to the field, not knowing what a crappy part of town she'll be passing through. "Cracked-up Katie" notices her, and brings her into her house so that she can call the girl a taxi. That night Ingrid...more The Wonderland references were disappointingly superficial, but otherwise this was a fine mystery about a young girl connected by happenstance to a murder investigation.

Thirteen-year-old Ingrid is afraid of being late for soccer practice, so she unwisely decides to walk from her orthodontist's office to the field, not knowing what a crappy part of town she'll be passing through. "Cracked-up Katie" notices her, and brings her into her house so that she can call the girl a taxi. That night Ingrid hears on the news that Katie has been killed -- and realizes that she has left her distinctive red Puma cleats at the victim's house. She sneaks out in the middle of the night to retrieve them, and happens to be there at the same time that someone else is sneaking in to steal a playbill of "Dial M for Murder" from Katie's youthful acting days. When the police arrest two drunken neighbors of Katie's, Ingrid is the only one who knows they weren't the ones who broke in, but she doesn't want to confess to being there herself. She decides to investigate on her own, and ends up being drawn into the old secrets of the town's prominent families.

At the same time, Ingrid has to cope with normal life: family disagreements, unfair teachers, first romance, community theater, a new dog, sports. I thought the strongest aspect of the book was Abrahams' depiction of the confusions and stresses of this age, and the ways in which they are often misunderstood or underestimated by adults. The weakest element was the initial plot point of Ingrid not calling -- and in fact lying to -- the police in the first place. Aren't upper middle class suburban white folks usually pretty trusting of the cops? Plus Ingrid is friends with the investigating detective's son, which I would think would make it easier to confess, rather than harder as depicted in the story. But, I guess one advantage of having a juvenile protagonist is that you can get away with having them show some poor judgment.

Experienced mystery lovers may be a little disappointed; I found the murderer pretty easy to guess and didn't find any surprises in the plot. Still, a fun read overall. Not rushing to pick up more by this author, though.(less)

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Aug 17, 2007 Tracie rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Middle School grades

Shelves: middle-school, high-school, contemporary-lit, mystery

I enjoyed this book so much I found myself talking out loud to the main character - and I'm not a big mystery fan.
Ingrid is a middle school soccer player and aspiring actress with busy parents and a brother who is the only freshman on the football team. Waiting impatiently for her parents after her orthodontist appointment, Ingrid decides to hoof it to soccer practice - and ends up in the seedy side of Echo Falls where she meets Cracked-Up Katie, a local seen as looney by the kids in town. Ka...more

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Oct 01, 2009 Joan rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

It was a good mystery, but I had a hard time caring about the main character or any of the other characters for that matter. I love mysteries and I was really hoping to get hooked on this series because there is a lack of good mysteries for this age group.
In my humble opinion, there are too many references to alcohol for young teens. For instance, grandpa has to add VO to his cup of tea and older brother in high school comes home late after football game smelling like grandpa (implying that he t...more

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Aug 04, 2011 Dalton Lynne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Overall, this was a pretty good book, but I have to preface this review with a confession: when I delve into YA fiction, I expect it to match the excellent work of J.K. Rowling. I think Harry Potter spoiled me somewhat.

Anyway, I found myself really enjoying this first installment in the Echo Falls series. The characters and writing style appealed to me, and I look forward to returning for more in the books that follow. The only reason I had to notch a star off the review was because I knew imme...more

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Jan 25, 2009 Jaemi added it · review of another edition

Shelves: mysteries, series, ya-fiction

I think I actually plowed through this book faster than a Harry Potter. I'm really hoping, since "An Echos Falls Mystery" is in the title...maybe that means more will be forthcoming. Our little sleuth, Ingrid Levin-Hill, is a real treat. And if she can come out as well as she did while still in the midst of a lot of teenage craziness (you know, those ideas that should never work, but somehow you manage to get out the other side anyway), by the time she hits her 20's she could be giving her idol...more

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Jun 04, 2013 Jackie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams is about a thirteen year old girl named Ingrid who lives in Echo Falls. One day, after her orthodontist appointment, her parents are late to pick her up and she CAN’T miss soccer practice, so she decides to run there. A few wrong turns later, Ingrid gets completely lost and ends up by the housing projects. Ingrid wanders aimlessly for a few minutes, and then someone emerges from one of the houses. It’s Cracked-up Katie. She sees Ingrid and invites her insi...more Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams is about a thirteen year old girl named Ingrid who lives in Echo Falls. One day, after her orthodontist appointment, her parents are late to pick her up and she CAN’T miss soccer practice, so she decides to run there. A few wrong turns later, Ingrid gets completely lost and ends up by the housing projects. Ingrid wanders aimlessly for a few minutes, and then someone emerges from one of the houses. It’s Cracked-up Katie. She sees Ingrid and invites her inside her home while she calls Ingrid a cab. Ingrid decides to go ahead and take this strangers act of kindness. When she get’s there, she finds her mom waiting in the rain with a relieved but angered face and soccer is canceled.

A few days later Katie is murdered. But there's another problem. While at Cracked-up Katie’s house, Ingrid left her bright red soccer cleats there. Later, in the middle of the night, Ingrid returns to Katie’s house to retrieve them but almost gets caught. And even though the pictures are blurry, the cops were able to tell that a pair of red soccer shoes were missing missing in comparison from the crime scene photos at the night of the murder. And like Chief Strade always says (the chief of Echo Falls police department and father of one of Ingrid’s best friends), the committers always return to the crime scene. And on top of all of this, she was just cast as the lead role in Alice in Wonderland.
Ingrid is a funny relatable character that can bring wit to every situation, good or bad. Even though she makes some questionable choices, I think she is a good role model to other fellow thirteen year old girls because she has everyone at heart and has an incredible sense of humor. I really enjoyed this book because it is really funny, has various exciting climaxes making the book impossible to be boring, appeals to young teens like myself, and has a really adorable sounding dog named Nigel in it. I would recommend this book to any teen (although girls might be able to connect to this book stronger because the main character is a female) who is looking for an easy read that will make them laugh. Overall I give this book a 8 1/2 out of ten. Enjoy!(less)

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Feb 21, 2013 Aubrey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Down The Rabbit Hole
By:mPeter Abrahams
407 pages
Mystery

Ingrid is a middle school soccer player and aspiring actress with busy parents and a brother who is the only freshman on the football team. Waiting impatiently for her parents after her orthodontist appointment, Ingrid decides that she’s going to walk to soccer practice. After a wrong turn she ends up in the seedy side of Echo Falls where she meets Cracked-Up Katie, a local seen as looney by the kids in town. Katie invites Ingrid in while sh...more Down The Rabbit Hole
By:mPeter Abrahams
407 pages
Mystery

Ingrid is a middle school soccer player and aspiring actress with busy parents and a brother who is the only freshman on the football team. Waiting impatiently for her parents after her orthodontist appointment, Ingrid decides that she’s going to walk to soccer practice. After a wrong turn she ends up in the seedy side of Echo Falls where she meets Cracked-Up Katie, a local seen as looney by the kids in town. Katie invites Ingrid in while she calls a cab to take her to soccer but the next day Katie turns up murdered. And Ingrid discovers she's missing her soccer cleats - the last time she saw them was Katie's. Are they still there and does that make her a suspect? As events stack up, Ingrid decides the only way to clear her name is to solve the mystery herself just like Sherlock Holmes. After lots of sleuthing, Ingrid figures it out the man who is the Mad Hatter in the play did it. After he almost drowns Ingrid, because she solved the murder he slips and tumbles off the falls and dies. Then Ingrid must tell the story over and over again to the police, her family, friends and everyone in town.

I really liked this book because it was very suspenseful thus quite hard to put down. All the clues in the end added up and made sense with out being too obvious about who murdered Kate. The book had a satisfying conclusion with Ingrid explaining to the police how she figured it out, so it was also explaining to the reader. I found this book suspenseful because once Ingrid was close to solving one problem or uncovering one clue another would come. There were rarely any uneventful parts in this book. The plot line of this story was great because it revolved around Ingrid’s interests and gave her a good reason to solve the murder. She left her soccer cleats at the crime scene. She steals them back and must solve the murder involving clues she gets because she’s an actress for the Prescott players. Kate was once a Prescott Player also. Over all this was a good suspenseful book. I would recommend it to any one who likes murder mysteries, or mysteries in general.(less)

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Dec 13, 2012 Alex rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: down-the-rabbit-hole

I was surprised about how much I loved this book! At first I wanted to ask Mr. Welsh if I could change books! I usually don’t like third-person books but this book was great! I took me only about one day to read it. This book was one of those books that made you stick to the pages, with its excellent plot, how good the author portrays each character in the book, and the mystery of the book. The genre is mystery and if you’re into mystery books and in between the ages of 10-15, I highly recommend...more I was surprised about how much I loved this book! At first I wanted to ask Mr. Welsh if I could change books! I usually don’t like third-person books but this book was great! I took me only about one day to read it. This book was one of those books that made you stick to the pages, with its excellent plot, how good the author portrays each character in the book, and the mystery of the book. The genre is mystery and if you’re into mystery books and in between the ages of 10-15, I highly recommend this book to you. One thing I loved about this book is that as you progress through the book, the plot becomes more intriguing, and the author introduces you to more suspects, friends, and some hidden secrets about the victim. I also, loved how good the voice was for each character. But one thing I didn’t like about this book was that the beginning was way too boring and detailed that I nearly put it down when I read the 3rd page. It is mainly in the first 2 chapters that it overloads in too much side detail that is totally irrelevant to what the main character is doing in the book. Also, to me, Peter Abraham (the author) took a long time to get to the main plot of the story. The overload on detail starts to simmer down in chapter 3 and that’s when the real plot begins and it starts to turn into a quick read.
Now I am going to give you a brief preview of the book without giving away the too much details. This book takes place at Echo Hill, a town somewhere in the U.S.A (the author doesn’t say where). The main character in this novel is an eighth-grader named Ingrid Levin-Hill. She is really into mystery books and a big reader of Sherlock Holmes. The author brings you into the book right before Ingrid’s dentist appointment. Then after her dentist’s appointment, she needs to go to her soccer practice so she waits for her mom who hasn’t shown up yet and it is 20 minutes later then she usually comes. Then after some thinking and wondering what she decides that she could just run to her practice which is only about 5 minutes away. But along the way she gets lost and then, well you’ll just have to read the book to find out.
Overall, this book was a great quick read and a high recommendation to any reader who is interested in mystery novels.
(less)

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Sep 29, 2012 jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Thirteen year-old Ingrid lives in the town of Echo Falls, Conn., plays soccer in a league, performers with the local theater company, forgets to wear her orthodontist appliance most nights and admires Sherlock Holmes most of all. An attempt at independence finds her lost in the bad part of town, where she's found by the local drunken crazy known as "Cracked-up Katie", who insists on helping Ingrid. As appalled as Ingrid is to have actually talked to the woman and been in her filthy house waiting...more

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Sep 03, 2012 Robert rated it 3 of 5 stars

I Liked this book and would of given it four stars , but reading about how much Ingrid does not like her math class or her brother bath room habits. got vary old vary fast .Now on to the review .

Ingrid Levin-Hill is a normal 13-year-old girl . She is a star soccer player , budding young actress , and has braces. She running late for soccer practice, she decided to run to practice from the Orthodontics. On the way she gets lost and run into" Crack Up Katie ". Katie offer to call a taxi for Ingri...more

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Jun 20, 2012 The-vault rated it 3 of 5 stars

By Peter Abrahams. #1 in the Echo Falls Mysteries. Grade B+

Down The Rabit Hole made me anticipate something like Alice in Wonderland. My instincts were wrong. It actually relates to the mystery surrounding the murder of a lady, Katherine Kovac, and how Ingrid (our protag) gets mixed up in this whole matter and decides to solve it.

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 ti...more By Peter Abrahams. #1 in the Echo Falls Mysteries. Grade B+

Down The Rabit Hole made me anticipate something like Alice in Wonderland. My instincts were wrong. It actually relates to the mystery surrounding the murder of a lady, Katherine Kovac, and how Ingrid (our protag) gets mixed up in this whole matter and decides to solve it.

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.

Ingrid Levin-Hill, a thirteen year old has all the problems which a normal thirteen year old. She has braces, can't miss out a single soccer practice and now she has to worry about whether or not she would get selected in the Prescott play on Alice in Wonderland, as Alice. But these problems are small compared to the mess she has landed herself in. She left her red Puma cleats at Katherine Kovac's place, the evening before she was murdered! The cops think it's a valuable clue, but Ingrid has to bring it back before her parents come to know that she had been hanging out with Cracked-up Katie. However, doing so might cause Chief Strade (who is also the father of her new and nice friend, Joey) to suspect her as the murderer.

This one is meant for slightly younger readers, so perhaps that is why the mystery doesn't actually begin until the twentieth chapter (our of thirty). However, once I put this fact aside, I must confess I really enjoyed this book. She reminded me of a younger version of Nancy Drew and drew me in from the beginning. And the best part is not the mystery, it is how carefully and delicately the author has portrayed the thoughts and feelings and changes in a young girl's life. The writing is terrific; very sharp.

Ingrid walked over to a bench on the sidelines and sat down. Cold rain soaked her hair, her shoulders, her back. A thought came, a little late, like maybe she should have stayed in the taxi and had the driver take her home. What was the route from soccer to her house, 99 Maple Lane? Through the line of trees at the end of the field, Ingrid could see the red cross marking the helicopter pad on the hospital roof, and beyond that the spire of the Congregational church. From the church, you went by the village green and turned right at the corner with the Starbucks. Or was it the next corner, the one with the candy shop? Ingrid didn’t know, but it was getting dark now. Time to go.

The book also moves at an even pace, keeping the reader engrossed. The last few pages are the best, and the climax amazing.

My main problem was how the bad guy is trying to kill our heroine, a thirteen year old girl. Super creepy. But I suppose the target readership here is mature 10+ readers, who are not really going to think this through...so I will let it go.

Will be enjoyed by the fans of this genre and by readers wanting to revisit their favourite childhood books.

Originally reviewed at : www.the-vault.co.cc (less)

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Jun 11, 2012 Heidi rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm not typically a YA reader, but every so often one of those books will capture me. Actually, I would consider this more of a children's novel (Harry Potter ages) than YA, mainly because (a) it's not all about romance, (b) nobody is anorexic/doing drugs/abused/bullied by mean girls/any other after-school-special plot, and (c) the female character was strong without having to be a superhero.

8th grader Ingrid has a busy life: she's on the primary soccer team, she's starring in the community play...more

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May 14, 2012 Aoife rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, amateur-sleuth, crime, it-could-have-been-worse

I do have an unfortunate problem when it comes to amateur-sleuth mysteries: I do love them but I also like a minimum amount of realism, really only a minimum amount, e.g. when it comes to the investigations of the sleuth vs. those of the police. I'd either like to have some reason why the police doesn't mind the sleuth meddling with their investigation (and, no, this doesn't need to be the most convincing reason ever, Carola Dunn basically gives us 'Daisy is good with people and her Scotland Yar...more I do have an unfortunate problem when it comes to amateur-sleuth mysteries: I do love them but I also like a minimum amount of realism, really only a minimum amount, e.g. when it comes to the investigations of the sleuth vs. those of the police. I'd either like to have some reason why the police doesn't mind the sleuth meddling with their investigation (and, no, this doesn't need to be the most convincing reason ever, Carola Dunn basically gives us 'Daisy is good with people and her Scotland Yard-husband occasionally takes advantage of the fact that everybody seems to confide in her and I'm completely happy with that), the police is for some reason unable to investigate (hey there remote cottages, cut of from the outside world) or the police is prejudiced and too stupid to catch the real killer (though I'm not the biggest fan of those either but that's another topic). I do not like sleuths who keep information from the police for no good reason and Ingrid doesn't really have any good reasons for not telling the police that she was the last person to see the murder-victim alive. Yes, it would mean admitting that she had lied to their parents but that doesn't seem like a terrible big deal considering all the circumstances. It might seem like that for the 13 year old Ingrid is supposed to be but apart from her incredible stupidity in that aspect she never acts like a 13 year old. She always seems much more mature in every aspect that I simply couldn't belive how she did never realise that continuing with the (growing number of) lies would have much worse consequences than admitting to having been quite stupid for a while. Instead she decided to do more and more stupid things on every single page till I wished that in the end everything would come out so that her parents would ground her till she turns 18. (view spoiler). It also felt quite often as if her actions had the worst possible consequences abut nd then no consequences at all (e.g. she pretends to be sick so that she can do some sleuthing instead on that day, the sheriff sees her, she lies and claims she's working on a school-project, sheriff tells his son who's in school with Ingrid, son asks Ingrid about that project and then...nada. Ingrid is telling more and more lies but instead of getting trapped in her own web when people catch her telling a lie she just smiles and stutters a bit and then everbody seems to loose interest in her)

Apart from all the I found the mistery quite predictable. I figured out who the bad guy was, when he appeared the second time. I didn't get everything 100% right but it was close enough. The mystery itself could also have been told on about 150 pages less but it got padded with narration about Ingrid's parents, her brother, school, soccer, theatre, dogs...I mean I get that a YA-novel needs some of that but it feels like it includes every single stock YA-character:
- well-meaning but overprotective mother
- well-meaning but over-ambitous and often absent father
- football-player big brother
- evil math-teacher
- evil soccer-coach
- rich bitch classmate
- crazy grandpa
- best friend with divorced parents (who stayed totally colourless)
- first crush (see above)
And none of the characters developed any depth. Perhaps not quite as many and instead developed those more.(less)

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Jan 13, 2012 Joshua Gross rated it 3 of 5 stars

I had a hard time with the juvenile writing style, intended to appeal to young adults and just kind of got on my nerves. However, things moved along quite quickly, there were lots of interesting things happening, and it was holding my interest. However, there wasn't much to the mystery and the villain is almost immediately recognizable to the reader, if not necessarily the protagonist. Stephen King said in his review that he liked the fact that the reader knew more about what was going on than t...more

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Dec 27, 2011 Catherine rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: adolescent-books

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 18, 2011 Sharon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: juvenile-fiction, mystery

A dark, fascinating small-town mystery featuring a spunky amateur sleuth, 13-year-old Ingrid Levin-Hill, who is starring in a local production of Alice in Wonderland and, in the classic set-up of seeing something she shouldn't have, accidentally entangles herself in a local murder mystery. Like Alice in the story, Ingrid starts following the trail as it leads to more and more secrets in her sleepy town, some of them buried for years.

I enjoyed this a lot and it will be a great, suspenseful myster...more

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Sep 10, 2010 Ruhama rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen

The first book of the Echo Falls Mystery series.

Ingrid enjoys red, soccer and acting. She dislikes math, the orthodontist and her older brother (who is an up and coming football star). Her dislike of getting her teeth straighten starts the entire story, as she decides to walk to soccer practice after her appointment, only to get lost. She ends up meeting ‘Cracked-Up Katie’ and when Kate is found murdered a few days later, Ingrid must do everything she can to hide the fact she was at Kate’s house...more

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Aug 08, 2010 Hattie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Down The Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams
I love the title "Down The Rabbit Hole" by Peter Abrahams. It proved the perfect title because throughout the mystery students and some of the people in the town are practicing a play. The play is "Alice in Wonderland." Ingrid is one of the stars in the play along with Chloe, a girl who just makes Ingrid's stomach turn with nausea. Thank goodness Ingrid can play soccer to get her mind away from all the problems that seem to shoot out of nowhere after she mee...more

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Aug 04, 2010 Jo rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: middle-grade, mystery

My opinion of children's mysteries hinges a lot upon one issue: how are the authoritarian figures in the child detective's life gotten rid of so that aforementioned child detective can go on a Grand and Dangerous adventures? This may seem trite, but boy oh boy, does it make a difference.

Authors seem to go about this in several different ways. There's always the old "I lost my cat" routine, ala Encyclopedia Brown. These neighborhood mysteries tend to be much tamer, with more brainwork and less ac...more My opinion of children's mysteries hinges a lot upon one issue: how are the authoritarian figures in the child detective's life gotten rid of so that aforementioned child detective can go on a Grand and Dangerous adventures? This may seem trite, but boy oh boy, does it make a difference.

Authors seem to go about this in several different ways. There's always the old "I lost my cat" routine, ala Encyclopedia Brown. These neighborhood mysteries tend to be much tamer, with more brainwork and less action. Or, the child detective can sneak around behind his or her parent's back, which usually includes a fair amount of lying and deceit, and thus runs the risk of making the character unlikeable. Or, the author can always orphan the poor child, or grace him or her with parents who don't seem to mind if their child gets kidnapped once or twice a week. For a rousing mystery, I personally prefer orphaning and disinterested parents. Not ideal, but I'm not sure what the right solution is. I've read very few authors who excelled at getting parents out of the way by other methods.

So what does Peter Abrahams do with his detective? Ingrid turns out to be a detective of the lying, sneaking variety, and it just doesn't work for me. Abrahams has to work hard to justify her actions. Why doesn't she go to the police? Well, because she's afraid of getting in trouble, and eventually because she doesn't want to disappoint everyone she knows with her various crimes committed in pursuit of the mystery. That works up to a point, but eventually it becomes old. Ingrid has to know that at some point all her "crimes" will be uncovered--whether or not she solves the case on her own--and it becomes ridiculous for her not to take her mystery to the police. To put it plainly, she completely lost my sympathy. There's a fine line between a plucky detective and an annoying reckless one.

Although I don't think Abrahams did very well with this issue, he did plenty of other things right. There is much excitement to be had--if you can get past the aspect of the book I've mentioned--and it is decently written on the whole.(less)

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Mar 02, 2010 Cindy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 10-10-10, mysteries, teen

Ingrid is a pretty typical junior high student. She's noticed a few cute boys, she hates math, she doesn't get along well with her big brother, she's tired of her braces, she loves soccer.

It's the soccer and braces that accidentally sort of get her into trouble. After an orthodontist appointment, she decides to walk to practice and winds up lost in an unfamiliar neighborhood. A friendly but odd woman invites Ingrid in to call a cab.

That would have been the end of the story, except that the woman...more

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Mar 19, 2013 Bev Hankins rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: american-mystery, mystery, ya, mcpl-book

This was a fairly enjoyable book. It had a lot of action and it swept me right along. I did spot the culprit early on, but that didn't bother me too much. I liked Ingrid and I think Abrahams did a good job making her a fairly realistic teenager--although I do think the chief of police (father to Ingrid's soon-to-be first boyfriend--if I'm not misreading the signs) is a bit slow on the uptake in several scenes where he finds her out wandering about (looking for clues) when she obviously should ha...more

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Oct 27, 2009 Jess rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: jr/sr high school mystery buffs, especially those who say it isn't a mystery unless someone's dead

Recommended to Jess by: Rob Reid in Reid's Readalouds

Shelves: z_09, mystery-suspense, ya

Ingrid, fan of Sherlock Holmes, soccer, and acting, accidentally leaves her bright red soccer cleats in Cracked-Up Katie's house. This isn't the end of the world until Katie turns up murdered.

I found this when I was looking for something to read to my sixth graders for Halloween. Hating scary stories myself, I figured I'd get away with someone eerie or tension filled. Rob Reid listed it as a readaloud and the portion he selected was perfect, expect for the drunks peeing against the house.

Here'...more

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Jul 05, 2011 Stevecrandell rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: grades-8-9, mystery

This is a classic mystery, with lots of opportunities to guess whodunit. There’s several interesting twists, and a very exciting finish, but the plot takes a while to develop, with too many “is it a clue?” fragments.

That points to the main problem. Abrahams hasn’t identified his target audience very well. The central character, Ingrid Levin-Hill, is 13 years old, and the sentence structure is MS appropriate. Very few high schoolers would stick with this past the first pages. But there’s too man...more

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May 17, 2012 Samantha rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book was only a so-so book. Obviously, it was a bit below my reading level (written for ages 9-12), but I felt that the book lacked a lot of common morals. It presents many situations of lying without consequences, murder with more of a karma consequence, breaking and entering, stealing, and what could almost be defined as abuse, all without any direct consequences. I feel that it's wrong to present something like this to a child. Content tends to bother me less than morals do, and that is...more

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Apr 24, 2012 Elise rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: kids aged 12-14

My son is reading this book in his 7th grade class, and since his reading comprehension sometimes needs a little help, I try to read the book along with him.

I was rather disappointed.

Ingrid is an interesting character, and I thought the novel had real possibilities. It is a fine book for 7th graders to read. I did like the Alice-in-Wonderland subtext, and appreciated the Sherlock Holmes references.

But there were some things that bothered me. For example, Ingrid's parents don't show up after pla...more

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Jan 05, 2010 Beck rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook, contemporary, crime

The reader gives Ingrid a very definite, very early teenager-y, character. Interesting because the book is much about acting, and the reader has definitely taken lines like "yeah" and injected further meaning through tone. (I like how audiobooks sometimes help you read between the lines.)

I have a personal pet peeve that comes up in this, as it did in the Linwood Barclay novel and nearly every mystery/suspense it seems: it drives me crazy when characters could just go to the authorities (whether...more

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Oct 31, 2011 Diana Renn rated it 5 of 5 stars

What an engrossing mystery! Great ingredients: a small New England town with secrets, a community theatre putting on Alice in Wonderland, and a young thespian/soccer player/Sherlock Holmes buff, Ingrid Levin-Hill, who must solve the mystery to get herself out of hot water. Soon after the story opens, escaping a rainstorm, Ingrid is invited into the home of Cracked-Up Katie, a local eccentric who lives on the wrong side of the tracks. The next day, Katie turns up murdered, and to her horror, Ingr...more

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About Peter Abrahams

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Peter Abrahams is the author of numerous novels, including End of Story, Oblivion, and Lights Out, which was nominated for an Edgar best novel award. He also writes the best-selling Echo Falls series for younger readers. He lives on Cape Cod.

Peter Abrahams is also writing under the pseudonym Spencer Quinn (Chet...more

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“Mom had the kind of love for her that you could feel, like it was part of the atmosphere” — 20 people liked it

“Ingrid shrugged...like Marie Antoinette hearing about the starving peasants.” — 6 people liked it

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