Into the Dark (Echo Falls Mysteries) [Library Binding]

Peter Abrahams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 25, 2008 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Echo Falls Mysteries

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. An idyllic day of snowshoeing on Grampy's land with Joey Strade turns out to be less than idyllic when 13-year-old super sleuth Ingrid Levin-Hill stumbles upon a body lying in the snow. This discovery sends the town of Echo Falls into a tailspin and Ingrid discovers even more secrets she wishes she never knew.

--This text refers to an alternate Library Binding edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"* "I couldn't put it down... I'm hooked on Echo Falls." Stephen King" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Peter Abrahams is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-five books, including the Edgar Award-winning Reality Check, Bullet Point, and the Echo Falls series for middle graders. Writing as Spencer Quinn, he is also the author of the Chet and Bernie series—Dog on It, Thereby Hangs a Tail, and To Fetch a Thief. He and his wife live in Massachusetts with their dog, Audrey.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Library Binding: 304 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (March 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060737093
• ISBN-13: 978-0060737092
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,139,630 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating Mystery Series, April 10, 2008

By 

Tasha "social historian" (Providence, RI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Into the Dark (Echo Falls Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I am an adult who was an avid fan of Nancy Drew as a child. This series is fabulous on many counts. At the center of the story we have a brave and oh-so-resourceful 13-year-old GIRL, Ingrid, who seems to me very realistic. Echo Falls, her town, is a magical place that is a kind of Everytown-- you might want to move there yourself. As the mysteries unfold, Ingrid is trying to learn her way around town. (Can you adults remember a day when the geography of your hometown was a mystery to you?) The mystery plots are well-crafted, but beyond that how comforting it is to find yourself, in this three-book series, in a familiar place where you feel you know-- through Ingrid's eyes-- the local orthodontist, soccer coach and ice cream parlor. And when you meet Mom, Dad, Grampy, big brother Ty and dog Nigel, your world is complete. Although some may find this third in the series "dark," I found the Lemony Snicket series much darker and unpleasant. And as I recall, some not-so-good things happened in Harry Potter. Bravo to a wonderfully-written, imaginative series. Can't wait for the fourth installment!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not your everyday detective story., May 19, 2008

By 

Maria Moutsoglou "Bibliophile" (South Dakota, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Into the Dark (Echo Falls Mysteries) (Hardcover)

As an adult who's read Holmes, and as a child who read every single Nancy Drew book she could get her hands on, along with the Hardy Boys and Boxcar children, I'm no newcomer to the mystery genre of any age group. And I have to say, Ingrid is my favorite gumshoe of all. This series is excellent for fans of the Sammy Keyes books (another awesome heroine.)

Echo Falls is filled to the brim with shady characters, and Ingrid's prepared to take them all down. In this third installment, Abrahams really gets into the dark (haha, see what I did there?) nitty gritty, with Ingrid's parents' marriage in trouble, and her grandfather in the worst trouble of all: he's become a suspect to murder. Ingrid, of course, is on the case with her trusty sidekick dog, Nigel (a throwback to good old Watson). Into the Dark encompasses a wide range of real-life situations in addition to the murder she must solve. The family problems are deep, and Abrahams does a good job of mirroring reality (he really takes no shortcuts).

For any parent who wishes to supply their child with a great role model, give your kid the gift of this series. Ingrid isn't perfect, but she marches her way through her problems with a dignity and shrewdness that many adults don't have. Which is why I also recommend this book to adults. I'd say a few of you could learn a thing or two from Ingrid.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Definition of Courage, May 8, 2008

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: Into the Dark (Echo Falls Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Abrahams packs his stories of Echo Falls with so much symbolism and hidden (or deferred) meaning an adult will read them with as much satisfaction as the child.

He proceeds intuitively, as Ingird does, always referring back to the logical methods of Sherlock Holmes to ground her. In the present case, INTO THE DARK, don't you love how little Brucie tries to force everyone in the play into adopting Dr. Strangelove-style German accents when they are going to be putting on HANSEL AND GRETEL? It's a cute scene but when you finish with the whole book you can see it as a foreshadowing of what eventually happens to Ingrid when she attempts to rescue Nigel from the place where he has been confined.

I did guess the reason why the conservation agent had been shot to death, but the story is nevertheless breathtakingly told and the last eighty pages rush by in a single clump. Abrahams uses the bleakness of the snowy landscape--the white of the snow, the brown of the trees, the gray of the sky--to illustrate how little by little everything that Ingrod once took for granted has been stripped from her--her belief in the sanctity of her parents' marriage, her dependence on "Grampy," even the fact of her dog always being there for her. I still don't exactly understand why Grampy kept quiet when he was being accused of murder, but maybe the fourth book in the series will explain it a little better. In any case this is the most exciting crime series being written in this country, either for juveniles or adults, so we're lucky.