Στην τρύπα του λαγού : Μια μυστηριώδης υπόθεση στο Έκο Φολς

Echo Falls #1

by Peter Abrahams, Πέτρος Χατζόπουλος (translator)

Η Ίγκριντ είναι ένα δεκατριάχρονο κορίτσι που μοιράζει το χρόνο του ανάμεσα στη φανατική ανάγνωση των ιστοριών του Σέρλοκ Χολμς, το ερασιτεχνικό θέατρο και τη μοιραία πλήξη που αισθάνεται ένας έφηβος ζώντας σε μιαν ήσυχη, ειδυλλιακή κωμόπολη όπως το Έκο Φολς: σπίτι, γονείς, μελέτη, σχολείο...
Μέχρι την ημέρα που, άθελά της, θα γίνει ο τελευταίος άνθρωπος που είδε ζωντανή την Κέιτι Κόβακ, μια ξεχασμένη ηθοποιό. Άθελά της, θα αφήσει στο σπίτι της δολοφονημένης Κέιτι ένα ίχνος που πρέπει πάση θυσία να αφαιρέσει αν δε θέλει η αστυνομία να τη συμπεριλάβει ανάμεσα στους υπόπτους. Κι άθελά της, επιστρέφοντας μια νύχτα στον τόπο του εγκλήματος, θα νιώσει την καυτή ανάσα του δολοφόνου - που επιστρέφει πάντα, ως γνωστόν, στον τόπο του εγκλήματος. Και θα πάρει την απόφαση να εξιχνιάσει το μυστήριο μόνη της.
Όμως το μυστήριο πυκνώνει με κάθε καινούριο στοιχείο, κι όσο κι αν πασχίζει, η Ίγκριντ βρίσκεται απλώς ολοένα και πιο μπλεγμένη σε μια δίνη από μυστικά και ψέματα που ίσως να θέτουν σε κίνδυνο και την ίδια της τη ζωή...

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Fiction, Middle Grade, Teen, Crime, Childrens

363 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

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

Peter Abrahams is an American author of crime fiction for both adults and children.
His book Lights Out (1994) was nominated for an Edgar Award for best novel. Reality Check won the best young adult Edgar Award in 2011. Down the Rabbit Hole, first in the Echo Falls series, won the best children's/young adult Agatha Award in 2005. The Fan was adapted into a film starring Robert De Niro and directed by Tony Scott (1996).
His literary influences are Vladimir Nabokov, Graham Greene, and Ross Macdonald. Stephen King has referred to him as "my favorite American suspense novelist".
Born in Boston, Abrahams lives in Falmouth, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. He is married and has four children including Rosie Gray. He graduated from Williams College in 1968.

Peter Abrahams is also writing under the pseudonym Spencer Quinn (Chet and Bernie Mysteries).

Reviews

[RandomAnthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 associate most YA books with quick, joyless perusal just before the next day’s discussion. Come to think of it, well, that’s probably how my students read the books, too. My bad, St. Ailbe’s classes of 93 through 97. Anyway, I’ve had little desire to pick up YA books since the Hatchet, Number the Stars, Sadako and the Paper Cranes, etc. years. Only in the last few years, as my eleven and nine year old sons devour YA books, has the prospect of reading these novels re-entered my consciousness.

Enter Down the Rabbit Hole.

Why this book?

1. The storyline seems like one my kids would like.
2. The storyline seems like one I would like.
3. People I know have spoken highly of the book.
4. An Alice in Wonderland theme threads through the book.
5. I found the book at Borders on a day when I had a 30% coupon so I snagged the book for, like, five bucks on a weekend when I wanted to read but wasn’t in the mood for anything too heavy.

I can say, without reservation, that my first foray into non-required YA reading was a success. Down the Rabbit Hole’s primary draw is the character of Ingrid. If Nancy Drew hated Math, loved Sherlock Holmes, and said things pissed her off, well, she would probably sound a lot like Ingrid. A failed attempt to walk from the dentist office to soccer practice brings Ingrid into the swirling vortex of lost soccer cleats, a stray dog, the police chief’s son, and the dark history of a local theater company.

Abrahams handles the typical teenage girl issues (e.g. trying to figure out if a boy likes you) with humor and respect but not too much of either. The ancillary characters such as Ingrid’s parents, her brother, the police chief, etc. are drawn well enough to carry side stories without distracting the reader. Of course the book is not without flaws. Some of the scenes are stock horror novel conventions (e.g. running in the woods…no wonder Stephen King gives a glowing cover nod) and I’m not sure why the dog plays such a prominent role. Even if the entire book is strong but workmanlike the last fifty pages or so were of the “the world can wait while I finish” variety. I can live with that, especially since Down the Rabbit Hole leaves the ponderous messages for other novels.

I remember one of my students saying “why do we always have to read books with such messed up people in them? And why do we read so many books about slavery and the Holocaust?” The kid had a point. Many YA books read like after school specials or focus on fictional kids’ experiences with historical tragedies…not very much fun and nothing most kids would want to read on their own. But back in my classroom, for a quarter hour every day after lunch (longer on Fridays), the kids read whatever they wanted. True, on a practical level I benefited greatly from these daily silent reading sessions because, well, I could catch my breath, but these stretches were also when I could tell the real readers from the students who saw these fifteen minutes as the most boring of the day. And if Down the Rabbit Hole were out then I could see the kids who wanted those fifteen minutes to last forever passing the book back and forth, covertly, under the radar, from friend to friend with the message, “Read this one. It’s cool.”

So, imagine, dearest Goodreader friends, all of us in the same sixth grade classroom. The teacher has declared we must read from 12:15 to 12:30 but the unwritten rule is “don’t bother me and I won’t bother you.” If I knew you liked to read I might pretend I had to throw something away and drop this book off at your desk as I passed. If you were a cute girl I’d probably be nervous. If you were a guy I’d be less nervous. But in any case I’d mouth these words as I returned to my desk.

Read this one. It’s cool.

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Sheryl Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

For reasons I can't fully articulate, the Echo Falls mystery series has become a favorite of mine. Stephen King calls it "astonishing." Some readers complain that "the outcome is obvious," failing to understand that this is a story of suspense--one appropriate for the age-level of its audience. (We so desperately need juvenile/young adult books that are neither horrifying or depressing)!

The main character is present when a murder occurs. She tries to solve it before the police accuse her of the crime or the murderer discovers what she's doing. While she's focused on these problems, she is blind to the problems taking place in her family.

Still loving the book on my third read.

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many months ago, I ordered some books online, and when the box arrived I discovered Peter Abrahams' Down the Rabbit Hole had mistakenly found its way into my box. Being the anarchic thief that I am, I decided to keep the book, tossing it on my tertiary to-read pile and promptly forgot about it.

But last week I needed a book to read while doing the dishes, and noticed Down the Rabbit Hole sandwiched between A Game of Thrones and The Drawing of the Three, and since it fulfilled my doing-the-dishes requirements I decided to give it a go. My doing-the-dishes requirements are: 1. it has to be a book that can get wet, which means I can't care about it before reading; 2. it has to be something that doesn't require undivided attention (for instance, Gravity's Rainbow wouldn't qualify); & 3. it has to be a book I can toss aside without guilt (a complex internal system I can't explain here) if I'm not enjoying the experience.

Down the Rabbit Hole fulfilled those three requirements, so I found myself reading this totally random book that's full of problems yet somehow manages to be a damn fine read.

Problem 1. It is written in the third person, but just screams to be written in the first. Problem 2. Its reference to Alice in the title creates some reader expectations (at least in me) that were never fulfilled. Problem 3. The end made me feel like a lemming who suddenly realizes he's falling off the cliff. I was invested, I was excited, I was looking for more, and then it was over and the chapter to the next book was beginning. Not good. Problem 4. The Sherlock Holmes love fest was just too damn silly for me. Problem 5. Abrahams left too much hanging for future books, making me want to find out about Grampy's farm, how Joey and Ingrid develop as a couple, and all sorts of other things. Clever bastard! So, yeah, there were problems.

But I actually DO want to read on. I really took to the characters in this book, and I actually came to love Ingrid. I even felt worried for her. Abrahams generated genuine emotion in me, and I'm impressed by that.

Down the Rabbit Hole was a nice diversion while scrubbing pots and glasses and toddler bottles. I am guessing it would be equally welcome when taking a poop, showering, or even lying on a beach. Take your pick.

[Jim Thomsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I think about the writing of Peter Abrahams, I’m reminded of something the late film critic Roger Ebert said about actor Michael Keaton: “Michael Keaton is a fast-talking actor, who may be the best in the business at showing you how fast he can think. He projects smartness, he sees all the angles, he sizes up a situation and acts on it while another actor might still be straightening his tie. … He knows he’s right, he knows he’s late, he knows what he has to do, and he’ll explain everything later.”

I thought about that while reading DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE, Abrahams’ first novel for children. Ingrid Levin-Hill may be thirteen, and dealing with mundane things like braces and soccer and a first stumbling romance and an annoying older brother, but in many ways she’s a typical Abrahams character who stumbles up against murder and finds herself deciding, even before she understands why, that it’s best that she keeps her mouth shut about what she knows because some primal instinct tells her that she’s uniquely qualified to solve the mystery. And it’s not just because she’s an admirer of Sherlock Holmes’ methods of detection; it’s just something she knows about herself. Before she really knows it.

Like Abrahams himself, Ingrid bristles with intelligence beneath her placid surface, and even as events seem to sprinting ahead of her, she catches herself catching up to them, often with a bit of Holmesian wisdom — “The more bizarre a thing is the less mysterious it proves to be. It is your commonplace, featureless crimes which are really puzzling, just as commonplace face is the most difficult to identify” — married to her own feral, free-range intelligence. As a result, interesting things are happening around her, often because she acts on instinct, and the product of those instincts — reckless and haphazard as they seem at the time — have a chemically catalytic effect on the plot, and keep things moving even they might appear to be standing still.

The plot? Ingrid, racing to make it to soccer practice, gets turned around in her hometown of Echo Falls, Connecticut, and winds up at the house of the town eccentric, “Cracked-Up Katie.” Katie takes her in out of the rain, lets her call for a cab, and the next day Ingrid learns a) that Katie has been murdered; and b) that she left her soccer cleats behind in Katie’s house. And in the course of dealing with ‘b,” Ingrid gets a little too invested in “a.” And, with that, the game’s afoot.

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE, the first of three Ingrid Levin-Hill novels, isn’t perfect. I’ll be honest: as much of an admirer I am of Abrahams, coherent plotting isn’t his strongest point. And I was more aware than I would have liked that Ingrid doesn’t seem to have age-appropriate reactions to death and things death-adjacent. People get seriously hurt because of things Ingrid has instigated in her haphazard investigation, and she has much to feel guilty about, only she doesn’t seem to feel bad or guilty about much of that, because, I’m guessing, that would interfere with the lightly jocular tone of this middle-grade novel.

But what Abrahams does, he does better than just about anybody in the crime-fiction game. One: More than almost any author I know, his stories are infused with a smooth, almost seamless sense of glide, of sentences that slip into one another like velvet gloves onto manicured hands, even as things—events and realizations—bump into one another beneath the surface of the prose.

And two: Abrahams is the undisputed master of off-the-nose prose. No character in an Abrahams novel ever says anything directly; and their evasions are so smooth that the other characters take a while to catch up to what they’re really saying. They almost never say yes or no, or exposit anything in reply to an inquiry; they’re constantly saying things like “In a manner of speaking” or “Something like that” or “Nothing worth mentioning” or “Oh, here and there. Various places.” These bits are delicious in the moment, and even more delicious later when the Ingrids of Abrahams’ works realize the secrets those characters are protecting with their evasions. Secrets that they are often willing to kill in order to protect, usually with no small degree of dark theatricality. And the Ingrids of the world are uniquely well-positioned to expose them because they too are masters of the evasion game, and Ingrid in particular is a particularly smooth liar, even as the weight of those lies — to her parents, her friends, the police chief — pile up higher and heavier than a thirteen-year-old girl can reach, or carry.

Another thing Abrahams does well here is plant series-arc seeds: What explain the pockets of cold between Ingrid’s over-striving parents? Why are they so determined to make “Grampy” sell off a piece of his farmland, and why os Grampy so determined to resist? Why is Ty, Ingrid’s brother, so quick to anger? What will happy between Ingrid and Joey, the police chief’s son? Like all good mysteries, all will be revealed in due course. And so I’m on to the next Ingrid Levin-Hill mystery, and I’m on to the next story about a thirteen-year-old girl, as a man in late middle age, because the writing and sentence-by-sentence storytelling is good that I cannot resist it.

[Joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 too was drinking), friend's teen brother has already had a DUI etc. etc. I didn't understand how these repeated references added to the plot.
In one scene, eighth grader Ingrid takes car out for a drive. Ingrid and car come back in one piece and no one is the wiser. Although it is a good mystery, the details the author chooses to add to fill out the story does not serve to better the plot, endear the reader to the characters, or show teens or adults in positive roles.

[Lovely Day · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25⭐️

This is juvenile fiction. I mistook it for an adult thriller, but it is definitely not 😂

Ingrid is 13, with braces and jerk of an older brother. She is trying to figure out who she is and what she likes and doesn’t like….a typical new teen.

Throw in a murder of the town ‘crazy-lady’ who used to be a prominent actress, a wealthy family who basically owns the town, a wily grandfather and a town theatre club putting together an Alice in Wonderland play.

Language: 45 abuses of God’s name, 11 h, 4 pi, 5 a, 12 d

A few things that date the story: mapquest.com, renting movies at Blockbuster, dialing an operator for information and the good ol’ answering machine

Ingrid lies to people A TON in this book and usually doesn’t hesitate or think twice about it.

—————

Overall:

My mistake was going into it expecting an adult thriller and not getting it.

It wasn’t edge-of-your-seat or thrilling at all (maybe a little at the end).

I did really like that Ingrid made an intentional effort to learn the streets of her town.

There were so many scenes and tidbits thrown in everywhere that had no impact on the story whatsoever so it seemed pointless to include them.

There was no real Alice in Wonderland vibes other than the planning of the play and the rehearsal scenes, and the Sherlock references were minor also.

I partially predicted the big reveal.

For the target audience, it would probably be good.

[Kat (Lost in Neverland) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars


When Ingrid is late for soccer practice one day, she decides to walk to it by herself. A woman by the name of Cracked-Up-Kate stops Ingrid and invites her into her house so she can call Ingrid a cab to get her to soccer practice. Leaving in a hurry, Ingrid barely thinks twice about how strange Kate acted when Ingrid had mentioned her brother's team. However, the next morning, Ingrid finds out that Kate was murdered only a few hours after Ingrid left her house.
And another discovery leads to her remembering she left her soccer shoes at Kate's house. While getting them back, a mysterious man sneaks into Kate's house and Ingrid believes he's connected to the murder. But finding out who he is puts her in even more danger. As auditions for the local Alice in Wonderland play roll up and a budding friendship between Ingrid and Joey, the police chief's son, gives Ingrid hardly enough time to solve the murder mystery.

I should just stay away from murder mysterious in general. They always bore the living daylights out of me. But my friend recommended it to me so I thought I'd try it.
Damn.

Okay, first things first: I knew who the killer was from the very first page the killer entered. I'm dead serious (no pun intended), the minute the character walked in, I was like; "Oh, there's the killer."
I kept waiting for a twist to pop up and totally trip me up but...it never came.

I was slightly satisfied that I knew who it was from the get go (not much because it was that obvious) and slightly disappointed the author didn't surprise me. Though considering it's a kid's mystery, it was alright.

The story itself was really boring. Slow paced and generally pointless.
What really surprised me was Ingrid's complete freedom. Like, her parents let her go wherever she wished even though a murder had taken place one neighborhood over. You'd think her parents would be a bit more concerned.

Not to mention Ingrid's total disregard for anything rational. Example: after her family had gone to sleep, she sneaks out in the middle of the night to walk through the woods, into an unfamiliar neighborhood, to break into a house where a murder had just taken place while the killer is still on the loose...to get her shoes back.



She's 13 by the way. If I was her age, I wouldn't have gone two steps out of my house at night, especially if there was a fucking murderer on the loose.

Ingrid had not one rational thought in her head. She wouldn't think things through and would just go off with her head in the clouds, thinking; "I can solve this mystery! No, the police are stupid; they'll never figure it out. I'm the only one who can do the job for them."
She seemed to have a fetish for sneaking out in the middle of the night to do something completely irrational. Or, maybe, TAKE HER GRANDFATHER'S FLIPPING CAR AND DRIVE TO SOMEONE'S HOUSE TO STEAL THEIR MAIL.




I feel like I have to put in every review something that I liked about the book. Well.
I liked the relationship between Joey and Ingrid, awkward as it was, it was realistic.
I also liked Nigel. The dog.

[Kwoomac · Rating 3 out of 5]

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't get it. I am happy to do my armchair investigation, as they do all the work. As this was a YA novel, it was pretty clear early on who the bad guy was. So not too much of a mystery.

Things I had a hard time with:

Ingrid's brother is clearly using steroids and this never gets resolved. Maybe it gets more facetime in the next book of the series, but it was unsettling. Ty punches Ingrid in the face in a rage and there really isn't anymore discussion about it. She chooses not to tell her parents, blaming the back eye on the dog.

The bad guy is trying to kill our heroine, a thirteen year old girl. Super creepy.

The police chief has a heart-to-heart talk with Ingrid and promises her nothing she tells him will leave that room. Hello, this guy is a) the chief of police and plenty of what she tells him should be used in the court case and b) he's a mandated reporter and some stuff should maybe get followed up on (ie. stealing a car, breaking and entering, getting punched by her brother...)

There was the slightest hint that her father was doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing. Maybe some unethical work thing or maybe an affair. Again, this didn't get much attention in the story.

I might have to read another book in the series to see if any of my issues get cleared up.

Favorite character: Definitely Grampy.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Το διάβασα όταν ήμουν περίπου 14 και το λάτρεψα!Οι μεγαλύτερες ηλικίες δεν θα ευχαριστηθούν το μυστήριο,καθώς είναι αρκετά ξεκάθαρο το ποιος είναι ο ένοχος,αλλά είναι πολύ καλογραμμένο,οι χαρακτήρες συμπαθητικοί,και τα όποια ψεγάδια παρατηρώ τώρα δεν με ενόχλησαν τότε.Για τις ηλικίες στις οποίες απευθύνεται είναι ό,τι πρέπει!

[Gabs · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review (and others) can be found on My Full Bookshelf

Stephen King blurbed this. And then compared it to Harry Potter. This book is not comparable to Harry Potter.

First, I did not think that Ingrid was *ahem* particularly smart. She does not tell the police that she was talking to a murder victim right before they died. Then, when she realizes that she left her shoes at the victim's house, what does she do? She sneaks into the crime scene and removes the shoes, not realizing until later that the police just might find this suspicious. Oops. Because of this, I had a hard time sympathizing with our heroine throughout the entire book.

Second, I was under the impression that perhaps, well, there would be a bit more Sherlock and a bit less soccer/play rehearsals throughout the book. Alas, Mr. Holmes is barely mentioned in the story, even more of a shame when I considered that my copy was nearly four hundred pages. Sherlock Holmes really doesn't play that key of a role in the book at all, when I think about it. I am not sure why they made it seem like he was a significant part of the story in the blurb.

Third, I didn't find there was much mystery in the plot when all was said and done. I didn't find there to be much suspense or major clue hunting until the very last 50 pages. Again, this is a 400 page book. That means that only an eighth of the book was spent truly investigating what happened. The other seven eighths included Ingrid:
-Playing soccer/attending play practice
-Hiding her secret from the cops
-Wondering what is up with Vincent Dunn
-Interacting with characters that didn't really add anything to the plot but were still featured a lot.

In regards to that last point, way too much focus was put on these characters. I don't care about the rivalry with Chloe Ferrand if there is a murder I could be reading about. I don't care about Ingrid's whacked up brother if there is a murder I could be reading about. I don't care about Ingrid's crush if there...well, I suppose you get the point.

Not that it isn't good to have a wide range of characters instead of only featuring two or three in the whole book. It's just that they added next to nothing to the overall plot and nothing was really gained by learning about them.

The reason it is getting two stars is because the ending was not totally expected. I saw a lot of it coming but there were things that I didn't expect either. It wrapped up nicely. (Also, if I am being honest, I have read way worse than this book. I couldn't put it in the league of those books, it wouldn't be fair.)

So, I probably won't be reading the rest of the series since this book failed to impress me, but who knows? I didn't find this a great mystery book so I will not be recommending it to people interested int this genre.

[Akash Ahuja · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another audiobook I listened to on my drives to and from Gordon. I revisited another book from my childhood, one that I remembered having enjoyed a lot and having more or less inspired some of the quirks in my personality. Peter Abrahams does a really good job of getting inside the mind of a 13 year old who's under a lot of pressure and stress. The family relationships were especially realistic, and the types of ideas that Ingrid comes up with are exactly what I would expect from a typical (although very brave) middle schooler.

That being said, I think that this book falls into many of the cliches that YA fiction is criticized for. The writing and metaphors in particular can be quite repetitive at times, and some uncreative elements (Ingrid's favorite color is red, so everything in the book is red) can plague the writing. I don't know what else to say about this, except to maybe make a drinking game. This is guaranteed to get you plastered:

Easy Mode:
Drink whenever sleeping is described as a boat on a stormy sea
Drink whenever Ingrid's dad tells a horrible joke
Drink whenever the book reminds you it takes place in Connecticut

Difficult Mode:
Drink whenever you're pretty sure that the author is repeating a scene you just read
Drink whenever there's an allusion to Alice in Wonderland
Drink whenever Ingrid does something that you would never have done when you were 13

Impossible:
Drink whenever Ingrid's running so fast that she's flying
Drink whenever something is red
Drink when a character's whole line is just "yeah" OR Drink whenever the author uses "silence" as a full sentence

[jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a year ago and I honestly can’t remember anything about it and now it’s my summer reading book. So I’ll just have to read it all over again. Way to go me and my horrible memory

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute murder mystery that believably centers on a 13-yr-old girl and remains age-appropriate. The “twists”, red herrings, and general case are fairly obvious to a typical mystery reader, but they are presented charmingly enough. Does Abrahams like to have Ingrid ask herself questions and then answer them? Yes, frequently. Is it his favorite rhetorical device? Undoubtedly. But he does give Ingrid an entertaining, distinctive voice. There’s nothing earth-shakingly clever or innovative here, but the book was fun while it lasted.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[McQueen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars ⭐️ but I'm rounding up to 4 stars because: 1. I'm the wrong demographic, too old for this book, and 2. I'm biased.

Peter Abrahams, with his adult novels, is one of my favourite authors. I like how he writes. But since he switched to writing for kiddos, and I missed his novels, I decided WTF and gave it a go.

Now if I was a 10-12-year-old I'd probably be going gaga over this fun little mystery as Ingrid is a little starlet of a character, the essence of, fun to hang with.

But I'm not. I can hardly even remember how to spell skool correctly, it's been that long.

Peter, my man, if you somehow read this, don't forget us adults. The kids have got enough toys.

[Holly Jolly · Rating 1 out of 5]

No. No. Absolutely not.
Firstly, this is a YA book. About an 8th grader.
Why is it rated YA?
Because she kisses a boy and gets a "tingly"feeling.
Because her friend gets grounded for telling her mom to "FO."
Because her parents are neglectful.
Because she is involved in a murder case.
Because there is swearing.
So... I love YA. They are great!
But I have read YA where there isn't this much cussing and "tingling".
EW. She's in 8th grade. NO.
It was trying too hard to be a dumbed down version of an adult book.
Don't do it.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really unique and interesting start to this Echo Falls series.
I was captivated from page one. Stephen King even says this is one of his fav series of books too.

I really enjoyed the characters in the book, all interesting and likable. Loved the town, the descriptions. I am looking forward to book 2 which I just happen to have.
This is a YA book but as most of you have seen YA books are a fav of adults all over the world, they can be better than any adult fiction.

[Ben Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming, adorable. Just excellent.

[Jeremy Preacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a lot of cozy mysteries, and I was not expecting a middle-grade novel to be a perfectly formed (and quite dark) cozy in the classic style. But it is, and it's delightful. The prose sparkles. The mystery itself would not be the least bit out of place in an adult novel but the twelve-year-old protagonist approaches it in a way that perfectly fits her circumstances, and there's plenty of setup to draw on for sequels. Which I will be reading immediately.

[Dayna McEnroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to thank my brother for introducing me to this book. Cover to cover, it was a delight to read. The characters were so well written and likable. The story unfolded at a perfect pace and left no questions unanswered. I will definitely be reading the rest of the Echo Falls series.

[Taylor]

i loved this book i like the ending and you would never suspect who the murderer is until the very end of the book

[Watermelon Daisy · Rating 3 out of 5]

(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 in this situation.

We have Ingrid, a thirteen-year-old girl who, like me, has a love for acting and Sherlock Holmes. Everything which Ingrid does, I can’t help but realise we’re alike in so many ways. However, I couldn’t help wishing the story was written in first person. It’s actually written in third person and I can’t really get much of an idea of the story that way. I mean, in mysteries I feel it’s necessary that I know what’s going on in the character’s head, along with romances and science fictions.

Her relationship with Joey was one which bothered me most. Because this story is told in third person, I really don’t know what she’s thinking at all. When he’s around she claims to feel so light-headed and a too-good-for-her-own-good, but in general, she doesn’t think of him much at all. Of course, this might be due to how this is told in third person that I don’t really understand her emotions much at all.

Something which I really loved is how the author put that little bit of info, where Crazy Katie and Ingrid were talking, even though Ingrid felt a little uneasy. It was extremely realistic, so when Katie died, I actually kind of felt sorry for her. This is much better than those mysteries where the character dies and the reader has never really seen them interact with the main character in any kind of way.

But I have to admit, the starting was really slow-moving. It’s one of those books which are completely slow when you’re reading it, but when you finish it, it feels like a blur. I love that especially about books, but in this one, I felt it could’ve missed out on at least fifty pages. But it could just be me.

Ingrid’s brother is one who really bothered me. Hitting his sister like that. Wouldn’t that be some sort of abuse? I really felt uncomfortable, especially since Ingrid never really did anything to make him angry. I mean, she was telling him about how he could be good at soccer –nothing to be angry about.

Then we have Nigel the Dog, who I absolutely loved. I’ve noticed that if it hadn’t for him, Ingrid probably wouldn’t have the Sheriff to her rescue. Everything in this book actually counts in some sort of way. I loved that.

They use text-talk in this book for the characters are chatting. For somebody who hates text-talk in any kind of form, I warn you in advance. Beware.

Overall, this was a very nice developed mystery. One of the best, but I hardly read mysteries –they’re more thrillers than anything else, the books I claim to be “mystery.”

Remy xx

[Stay Fetters · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF after 120 pages!
"When Holmes was doing his deepest thinking, he fell into a sort of trance, played the violin, or snorted cocaine."
Was excited to read a mystery with little aspects of Alice In Wonderland. The best thing about this is the cover. And that's not even that spectacular.
There is only so many times Alice can fall and things can get curiouser and curiouser.
Splash! went to book as I kicked it into the creek!

[Jaemi]

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 Sherlock Homes a run for his money.

While the jacket somehow led me to believe this story would be another kind of twisted Alice in Wonderland, that being the next play Ingrid was to star in, the Alice part actually had very little to do with it. But that was fine with me. There was indeed enough madness going on in the plain old world. In fact, my only problem with this book was one sentence somewhere deep into it where the tense was wrong, and I don't even know why my brain picked up on it. Otherwise, solid story, very quick pace, entirely entertaining. As a first foray into writing for Young Adults, this was an awesome entry, and I'm sure any avid Abrahams readers would be just as pleased with this book as with his others.

[Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

the mystery isn't exactly unpredictable, but watching Ingrid take a while to figure it all out didn't frustrate me. I would have enjoyed reading more interactions with friends; the people around her were all pretty interesting and well-written, with lots of heavy insinuations (steroids, affairs, fallout from divorces, etc).

there's a moment where Ingrid notices that she resembles a younger Kate Kovac, and I saw something there that I don't know the book meant to imply. Ingrid's behavior is way out of line, mostly because the adults around her don't have the time or energy to more closely monitor and question her behavior - which sounds like a dream for a kid, but sometimes you grow up and things don't go the way you hoped and no one cares, a la Kate Kovac. so Ingrid solving a murder by herself is cute in a book, but to me, the character's self-reliance and isolation was sad (and somewhat unnecessary, since the narrative offered a lot of characters who wanted to support her and kept trying to reach out).

obviously reading to deeply into things over here! I'm afraid I'm getting just too old. I would definitely read the next book in the series, though, I want to see where the characters go.

[Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was really entertaining and I really liked it. The dialogue was kind of stupid, being the response was usually awkward and "yeah". I liked how the mystery was really hidden and under the wraps and such. But I didn't like how a lot of the information they give you in the book didn't really matter. Also, the ending was rushed. They cleared everything up, but not very good or in much detail. If it wasn't for the fact I was so entertained through the book to notice any of these wrongs until now, as I think about it. It is a good book to read on a lazy day where you aren't reading the book for any action, since the book kind of goes off topic throughout the whole thing. Also the man character, Ingrid, is that go-to-main-character. The one that is athletic, popular, yet has the littlest quirks that are forgotten throughout the books that makes her not that unique. Her personality is really hard to spot and for a person looking for a book they want to sit down and love, this is not the book for you. This is more like the book you can stand through, understand, and finish quickly without much deep thought. But, I still plan to read the rest of the series.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

For someone who counts The Westing Game among their favorite books, I haven't made much of an effort to seek out other YA mysteries.

That will now change.

This one is pretty good. The bad guy is pretty obvious from the start of the book, but Ingrid's hunt is fun enough that it doesn't matter. She's a great protagonist, and there's plenty of middle school and family intrigue that keeps the book moving.

Entertaining for fans of YA, no matter how old they are.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Granted, we only made it through one chapter, but there were three swears and one of the characters was called "cracked up Katie". Oy. Not appropriate for an 8 and 11yo. In addition, the main character came off as being a spoiled brat. This goes back to the library tomorrow.

[Saleh MoonWalker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Onvan : Down the Rabbit Hole (Echo Falls, #1) - Nevisande : Peter Abrahams - ISBN : 60737034 - ISBN13 : 9780060737030 - Dar 407 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 2005