Down the Rabbit Hole (Echo Falls Mystery) [Kindle Edition]

Peter Abrahams (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In his first novel for kids, bestselling author Abrahams unspools a tale that fittingly gets curiouser and curiouser. The story shines on audio via a fine performance by Siegfried. As 13-year-old Ingrid Levin-Hill, Siegfried uses a youthful voice to convey the protagonist's age-appropriate blend of smarts, awkwardness and stubborn streak. Budding thespian and sudden amateur sleuth (who idolizes Sherlock Holmes) Ingrid finds herself in the middle of both the community theater production of Alice in Wonderland and a local murder mystery. Will her connection to the deceased be discovered? Does the creepy new actor-director in town have something to do with it all? Listeners will stick with Ingrid to find out—and may well gather some of their own theories—in this satisfyingly suspenseful outing. The fresh dialogue and believable small-town setting will tempt fans to visit Echo Falls again for any sequels. Ages 10-up. (Apr.)
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From School Library Journal

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
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 280 KB
• Print Length: 448 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (March 31, 2009)
• Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0020Q3FUO
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,425 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #23 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Children's eBooks > Arts & Music > Performing Arts
  • #27 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Children's Fiction > Arts & Music

More About the Author

Peter Abrahams - "criminally gifted" according to the New York Times Book Review - is the author of 27 novels. These include the New York Times bestselling Echo Falls mystery series for middle-graders (DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE, BEHIND THE CURTAIN, INTO THE DARK) and REALITY CHECK (2009) for teens. Among his adult books are OBLIVION (Shamus prize finalist), THE FAN (made into a movie with Robert DeNiro) and LIGHTS OUT (Edgar award finalist). DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE was a finalist for the Edgar best young adult mystery award and won the Agatha in the same category. BEHIND THE CURTAIN and INTO THE DARK were Agatha finalists. In her Cleveland Plain Dealer review of NERVE DAMAGE (2007), Michelle Ross wrote: "I swear, if one more literary person says in that oh-so-condescendng tone, 'Oh, I don't read ... mysteries,' I'm going to take a novel by Peter Abrahams and smack him on his smug little head." REALITY CHECK won the best young adult mystery Edgar award in 2010. ROBBIE FORESTER AND THE OUTLAWS OF SHERWOOD STREET, January 2012, is first in a new middle-grade series about a twelve-year-old Robin Hood in contemporary Brooklyn.
As Spencer Quinn, Abrahams also writes the New York Times bestselling Chet and Bernie mystery series: DOG ON it, THEREBY HANGS A TAIL, TO FETCH A THIEF, and THE DOG WHO KNEW TOO MUCH. He has a website - peterabrahams.com; and so does Chet - chetthedog.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Happiness, Essence Of, June 8, 2006

By 

Kevin Killian (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Down the Rabbit Hole: An Echo Falls Mystery (Echo Falls Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I resisted reading DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE as long as I could, even though Peter Abrahams is my favorite suspense writer, probably because, well, the jacket said the book was written for kids, and i'm no kid and I don't even like much children's literature. But once I actually started in on the life of Ingrid Levin-Hill it reminded me not so much of Veronica Mars, as others have stated (as though Abrahams was copying the TV formula! As though he hadn't thought of this series eons before Kristen Bell ever made her appearance on the scene!)--it reminded me actually of an extension, and a natural one at that, of Abrahams' masterpiece THE TUTOR, in which pretty much the same family dynamics were played out, and in which a madly clever young girl played Sherlock Holmes and saved her whole family from ruin.

Besides, Veronica Mars is perky-cute while Ingrid is anything but. She's the kind of girl who shrugs off her own looks, and the boys tend to overlook in favor of the cheerleader or sexpot types. However, in her own way she's attractive, and by the end of chapter two or three the reader falls in love a little too. She's spunky, and some of us have a high tolerance for spunk. One gets the feeling she's terribly alone, and that Echo Falls is too small a town for her. The only man she meets who's anywhere on her level is her director in the community production of ALICE IN WONDERLAND, the eccentric, erudite hometown genius Vincent Dunn, and like another reviewer mentioned, you don't have to be an Einstein to figure out who's the evil genius behind the crime wave baffling the Echo Falls cop squad. I wonder why Abrahams made the guilty culprit so easy to identify? Maybe he didn't trust his readership enough to throw another boomerang at them, but a little of the old "least likely suspect" thing would have added another star, if possible, to my rave review for DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE. I've just ordered the sequel, BEHIND THE CURTAIN, quivering with the delicate feeling one always has when anticipating the followup to a book one ate up like pixy stix.

I wonder if all the books in this series will begin with a preposition like 'down' and 'behind.' Hope so, for why spoil a good thing. If only the little girl, Heather Matarazzo, who played in "Welcome to the Dollhouse" hadn't grown up and got all mature, for she would have been a natural to try to play the incomparable Ingrid Levin-Hill in a series of big screen movies directed perhaps by Robert Rodriguez, in 3-D, but if wishes were horses, then I'd have a new Peter Abrahams novel every month and the poor man would never have a single day of rest.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really Good!, May 5, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Down the Rabbit Hole: An Echo Falls Mystery (Echo Falls Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I just loved the book Down The Rabbit Hole! It really fit into a childrens mystery. I couldn't put it down for a second because there was so much suspense! Every page i read i just wanted to keep reading so i could find out what happened next. I really recommend this to anyone who loves mysteries and suspense!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Harriet the Spy meets Sherlock Holmes, April 21, 2005

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Down the Rabbit Hole: An Echo Falls Mystery (Echo Falls Mysteries) (Hardcover)

In Echo Falls, thirteen -year-old Ingrid Levin-Hill idolizes Sherlock Holmes for his ability to see the obvious, which mostly people miss, but is proud of being named as Alice in a local production of Wonderland.

However, Ingrid has a new role as life imitates art when someone murders "Cracked-Up Katie" just after the unfortunate victim was visited by the teen sleuth as she rushed from her orthodontist to soccer practice. When the newspaper report the murder, Ingrid worries that the cops will pin the rap on her since she left her soccer cleats at the crime scene. She decides to sneak into the house to reclaim her sneakers. Meanwhile, the police chief wants to interrogate Ingrid on her soccer cleats even as she is beginning to like her adversary's son. Still Ingrid realizes she has to be better than Holmes if she is to get the top cop and a killer off her back.

Sort of like of Harriet the Spy meets Sherlock Holmes; DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE is a terrific young adult amateur sleuth tale. The story line is fast-paced and loaded with action and plenty of twists as Ingrid tries to solve the case out of fear of lock up. The support cast either enhances her sleuthing, her personality, or her hometown. Though her older much bigger brother got away with sibling violence sending the wrong message to the youthful audience, readers of all ages will appreciate Ingrid Levin Hill, teen detective.

Harriet Klausner