Abrahams, Peter - DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

[LJ Roberts]

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE (Amateur Sleuth-Ingrid Levin-Hill-Echo Falls-Cont) – VG
Abrahams, Peter – 1^st of series
HarperTrophy, 2005, US Paperback – ISBN: 9780060737030

First Sentence: Ingrid Levin-Hill, three weeks past her thirteenth birthday, sat thinking in her orthodontist’s waiting room.

Young Ingrid Level-Hill, trying to get to soccer practice on time, ends up lost. A woman known as Cracked-up Katie, invites Ingrid into her house. Ingrid thinks her hears someone upstairs but it’s when she mentions she’s trying out for the latest play put on by the Prescott Player in old Prescott Hall that Katie’s mood changes and she hustles Ingrid out of the house, unfortunately leaving behind her distinctive red soccer cleats.. The next day, when Ingrid learns Katie has been murdered, Ingrid needs to recover her shoes to avoid awkward questions but she also decides to find out who killed Katie.

I so enjoyed this book. Ingrid comes from a family very typical for today; two working parents tied up in their own concerns but expecting their children to excel, the brother Ty at football and Ingrid at soccer scholastically, and Grampy, the solid, grounded influence in Ingrid’s life. Ingrid is smart, gutsy and loves Sherlock Holmes and we see grow and mature during the story. The plot is good, with moments of suspense. I did identify the villain fairly early, but there was a nice twist at the end I appreciated. The book is targeted for young adults, who I do think would really enjoy it, but I consider myself young at heard and I found it delightful.