Down the Rabbit Hole (Echo Falls Series #1)

Publishers Weekly

Teenaged Ingrid, cast as the lead in Alice in Wonderland, discovers a mystery surrounding her school's theater. "Readers who stick with this intelligent novel will be clamoring for answers-and more of Ingrid," according to PW. Ages 10-up. (May) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature

It is hard for adult writers to make the leap to children's books. Abrahams, a best-selling author, has made a graceful entry with his first young adult novel. He develops an intriguing character in Ingrid, an eighth grader who is obviously brilliant and, just as obviously, stubborn about where she is going to focus her mind. While she devours and thinks about Sherlock Holmes constantly, she is not going to buckle into the authority of a math teacher who seems pleased to give her failing grades. Nor is she going to admit to a police chief (and father of her first potential boyfriend) that she was at a crime scene just before a woman was murdered. When she discovers she left her red track shoes at the scene, she steals out of the house to reclaim them, linking herself to the crime and strengthening her resolve to discover the real culprit. There are lots of questions, some innocent sleuthing, and action from beginning to end. 2005, HarperCollins, Ages 11 up.
—Susie Wilde

KLIATT

To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, March 2005: Abrahams is known as a writer of crime stories for adults; this is his first foray into YA literature in a book that will appeal to all ages. The main character is Ingrid, who lives with her brother and parents in a small town in Connecticut. Ingrid is a good athlete, a usually conscientious student, and a talented actor; she is an unlikely person to get embroiled in a murder investigation. It all starts when she walks home from a soccer practice, gets lost, and is assisted by a kind woman who helps her get a taxi home. Later it turns out this nice woman has been murdered, and that Ingrid had inadvertently left her soccer shoes at the woman's house hours before the murder. Ingrid sneaks out at night to return to the crime scene to retrieve her cleats; while there, she has to hide from a stranger who also has come to the room where the murder occurred. When others are accused of the murder, she knows they probably aren't guilty, but how can she come clean about her own role in all this? Ingrid's friendship with Joey starts turning into a promising romance; Joey's father is the Chief of Police in Echo Falls. There are numerous interesting relationships: Ingrid and her Grampy, who surreptitiously teac hes her to shoot and to drive; Ingrid's brother Ty, a promising athlete whose father puts a lot of pressure on him to succeed; the acting company putting on a version of Alice in Wonderland, starring Ingrid as Alice and perhaps featuring the true murderer. Ingrid is one of those intrepid younger teens who push the rules. She is driven by her determination to catch the true murderer of the woman who was kind to her. As in allgood mysteries, the setting (the town of Echo Falls and the home of Ingrid and her family) seems completely real and the hero acts in ways most of us readers wouldn't dare to attempt. Good, smart entertainment. KLIATT Codes: JS*—Exceptional book, recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2005, HarperTrophy, 407p., Ages 12 to 18.
—Claire Rosser

School Library Journal

Gr 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 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Impatient with mother for being late for her ride to soccer, Ingrid Levin-Hill, eighth-grade Sherlock Holmes fan and amateur actress, makes an impulsive decision to walk, inadvertently becoming a witness in the murder case of Cracked-up Katie, the weird lady in the rundown house on the wrong side of town. Ingrid is afraid to come forward with her first-hand knowledge, fearing her parents' reprimand for leaving the neighborhood. Landing the lead role as Alice in the town's playhouse production of "Alice in Wonderland," she becomes more curious about the playhouse's past performers and a possible connection to Katie's youth. As the police investigation gets further away from the truth and the wrong suspects are arrested, Ingrid takes increasingly daring risks to solve the case herself and eliminate the evidence she left behind indicating her own suspicious involvement. Abrahams has crafted a suspenseful page-turning drama complete with misleading clues and gutsy midnight escapades that make for thrilling intrigue right up to the culminating drowning-in-the-river scene. Ingrid's plucky, if not foolhardy, behavior will have readers both rooting and worrying for her simultaneously as she continues, like Alice, to fall deeper and deeper into the mystery's unfolding. Harrowingly absorbing. (Fiction. YA)