Down the Rabbit Hole

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 for a cab, she feels even worse to see in the paper the next morning that Katie was murdered some time after Ingrid left her house, making Ingrid, and the killer, the last people to see Katie alive. And even worse, Ingrid may have some evidence show more of her visit behind, which might make her a murder suspect, and if the police notice it, will also get her in trouble with her mom. Adding to her problem is that the police chief's son has a crush on Ingrid, so she finds herself seeing more and more of the chief, and she having creative differences in her part as Alice in the theater's production of "Alice in Wonderland".

At just over 400 pages, there's a lot going on here, especially for a YA, but this was so well-done that I'd breeze through 50 pages without noticing. I'll continue with the Echo Falls Mysteries (this is the first) because, even though the killer was easy to spot, the story is fun and Ingrid's an interesting girl. show less

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 show more 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. An engaging book that manages to keep the pace moving forward without feeling rushed. show less

One of the better YA mysteries I've read for awhile because of the Abrahams' writing. Great writer of dialog, and the relationship between middle school heroine Ingrid and her irascible Grampy gives this story some depth. Plus Ingrid's love of Sherlock Holmes and his methods is a great introduction to this classic detective for teens. The mystery is pretty easy to figure out, but the book's charms of place, character, and dialog made me keep reading anyway.

I wasn’t expecting much when I bought Down the Rabbit Hole on a whim last week at B&N. The back cover summary sounded interesting, the first page held promise, the cover wasn’t too bad– it was a safe bet that it’d be at least decent, if not great.

But it is! Completely and totally wonderful! A real joyride! And so now I have the very difficult task of writing a coherent review without gushing over it like.

Where do I start? Okay, first: the writing. The writing! It’s so sharp that it hurts sometimes, but in a good way. And the story– it’s not entirely a mystery, in that the mystery takes up the forefront of the novel. There are mystery parts in it, but they’re not actually the best parts. The best parts are with Ingrid: show more moving through her life, her changes, her thoughts and feelings. I love Ingrid like a little sister, and I have high hopes for her in the next book. I loved the first romance parts, the awkward horribleness of her parents’ fighting, the competition with a peer for a part in a play, the What Would Sherlock Holmes Do questions, the learning about life and people! And more!

Every character is this perfect little self-contained world that we get occasional glimpses into; the town is a bloody perfect setting for mysteries and more (I mean, “Echo Falls?” C’mon! It’s one step up from being a slasher movie setting.); the tense build up into the final solution– which kinda mirrors Holmes’ fight with Moriarty, by the way– the relationships between the characters.

It’s fantastic. Utterly fantastic, and I wish all of you would go out and read it and then gush about it with me.

Reviewed by Junior Cain show less

From the moment Ingrid’s first sentence jumps off the page, and a lament about her braces begins, Abrahams is sitting squarely inside the reader’s mind, comfortably chatting with them. It is incredible that an adult can write so realistically from the point of view of a teenager, but Abrahams hasn’t missed anything. Comments like “When am I ever going to need algebra in later life?” and “My parents have no good reason for giving my brother a mobile and not me,” had me smiling moronically and nodding in agreement. What’s more, Ingrid has a perfectly written, self-confident manner that I can associate with teenage girls I know personally. Without a doubt, this is by far the most realistic narration through a child that I show more have ever read.

Abrahams’ skill doesn’t end there, though. If an English teacher wants an example of masterful narrative writing, Down the Rabbit Hole is it. Abrahams has pulled every trick in the book, being stunningly creative and clever, and creating a quick-paced piece of writing that gets right to the point. One final thing to be said for Abrahams’ writing is that he knows exactly when to enter and leave a scene. While the lives of this book’s characters go on, the snapshots readers get of them are timed to begin and end perfectly for maximum impact, suspense and pace.

As a crime novel, Down the Rabbit Hole is intriguing and unpredictable, a story that will have readers guessing until the end. Clues to the ‘answer’ have been cleverly hidden, just shallow enough for each reader to find a few, but not all of them. Abrahams introduces several plotlines, and then uses the murder of Crazy Katie to bring them altogether. The really good thing about this novel is that readers have a choice – they can be Sherlock Holmes and try to stay two steps of Ingrid at all times, (not an easy feat with all the plot twists!) or they can sit back and let Ingrid lead them along. Either way, the story unfolds brilliantly.

I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes to read any sort of book; it has something for everybody. Suspense, romance, intrigue, action, adventure and plenty of laughs – Down the Rabbit Hole is the book that has everything! show less

A Young Adult mystery novel that caught my attention purely because it had to do with Alice in Wonderland, though the subject matter was handled on the periphery, and a clumsily, at that. More than anything else I was bothered by the steady plummet of our young sleuth into every parent's nightmare (ditching school, constant CONSTANT lying, breaking and entering, illegal driving, stealing, cheating, not to mention general dishonesty and determined idiocy). Rule-breaking was meant to be exciting and suspenseful in this book (which works for most, if not all, YA novels) but it was totally without consequence and for the most part went unnoticed, and so lost any of the suspense it was meant to build after the first half the book. There were show more some false starts as everyone in her life raises eyebrows at the various shenanigans she gets up to, but for the most part the adults dawdle on with their own pedantic lives and totally ignore all the signs of a thirteen-year-old lying her head off about not being involved in a murder.

Despite all that, the characterization was solid and the complexity of the mystery was decent for a YA novel. The soft-spoken Hatter was creepy enough for my tastes, and I even laughed once or twice at the small town theater troop. show less

When Ingrid gets lost trying to make it to soccer practice on time, she runs into Cracked-up Katie, who smells like cigarettes and booze, wears gold spike heels with a red and black checked lumber jacket. Crazy? That's what everyone in Riverbend thinks. Cracked-up Katie is the last person Ingrid wants to see now that it's getting dark...and starting to rain.

Ingrid is a typical 13 year old girl- hates her un-cool name, can't wait for her braces to be taken off, hates sharing a bathroom with her older brother, and wonders what use she will have for algebra in the future. She's beginning to notice the son of the police chief who notices her back. She loves Sherlock Holmes stories and acting. She is excited about her new role as Alice in show more the Echo Falls production of Alice in Wonderland.

When Ingrid hears a news report about the murder of Cracked-up Katie, she realizes she was the last person to see her alive. Before she can tell anyone her secret, things spiral from bad to worse as she realizes she left her soccer cleats at the murder scene. How will she ever get them back and not be implicated in the murder? As she falls "down the rabbit hole" of strange happenings in town, Ingrid uses her detective skills to uncover the truth of Cracked-up Katie's murder.

This story is told through Ingrid's perspective. The witty writing flows well and I really felt like I knew Ingrid and her typical, mixed up teenage personality. I could sympathize with her wish to do the right thing, although I understood her hesitance to speak up. Many mystery stories are written with a male protagonist. Middle school girls-11-14- will enjoy this light-hearted story with a clever, strong female character. show less