Down the Rabbit Hole

Title:  Down the Rabbit Hole

Author: Peter Abrahams

Publisher: Harper Collins, 2005; ISBN: 0-06-078664-7

Series:  Echo Falls

Genre: Fiction/Mystery

This book is for children in grades: 6 - 12

Subjects/Themes: Murder/Suspense
Awards:  Booklist Editor's Choice, Edgar Award/Honor Book, Agatha Award
AR Points: 10
Format: Audiobook

Plot Summary:  Finding herself lost on the way to soccer practice 13-year-old  Ingrid, an eighth grader in Echo Falls ends up in the home of Cracked up Katie waiting for a cab. Just hours later, Katie is murdered.  Ingrid left her red sequined soccer cleats in Katie’s living room.  What will mom say if she knew Ingrid was there?  Will Joey's dad, the chief of police, find her through her cleats?  Will he think she is a suspect?  Ingrid heard a strange noise in Katie’s house while she was there.  Could it have been the killer?   Ingrid's family has problems too.  Ty her freshman brother is acting strange.  Mom and Dad are both super preoccupied with work.  Dad puts so much pressure on her and Ty about winning and college.  Ingrid must find a way to win at soccer, get the lead in the play and solve the murder mystery.  Can she follow in Sherlock Holmes' footsteps?  What if the killer comes looking for Ingrid?

Review:  I started listening to this book years ago on a trip with my family.  The trip ended before the novel and I was super excited to finish listening to this book.  I have to admit I was pretty disappointed.  I wanted to like this book.  The plot was just too simple.  It was way to easy to figure out who the killer was and I really did not like Ingrid.  Sure she is smart.  But she handles every situation she gets into with lying and/or stealing.  After a while I just did not respect her character.  Also, Ingrid's family has problems. Ty her brother is violent and her parents simply aren't engaged.  As the first book there are plenty of questions to answer in the rest of the books in the series.  This is a decent story but there are better books out there.

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