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Summary
Summary
Behind the Curtain
Author Notes
Peter Abrahams was born in Boston, Massachusetts on June 28, 1947. His works include Lights Out, The Fan, Crying Wolf, and Oblivion. He also writes the Echo Falls Mysteries Series for younger readers. He was the winner of the 2010 Edgar Award, Best Young Adult Mystery for Reality Check. In addition, he writes the Chet and Bernie Mystery Series under the pseudonym Spencer Quinn.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Abrahams knows how to catch the voices of all of his characters, no matter what their age most especially his Sherlock Holmes-loving eighth-grade heroine Ingrid Levin-Hill. This second book about her, firmly rooted in the fictional but instantly familiar town of Echo Falls, is read perfectly by Delaney, who quietly but persuasively brings considerable excitement to Abrahams's words. Young listeners who already love books will be naturally intrigued, as Ingrid uses Holmes's methods to dig into several mysteries about her own family and her town. And even youngsters who have never read a Sherlock Holmes story will be won over by the perilous adventure so expertly presented. Ages 10-up. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Gr. 6-9. The second entry in the Echo Falls Mystery series, as successful as its predecessor, starts with puzzling questions that spring right from Ingrid Levin-Hill's own life: Why is her football-mad older brother suddenly so much stronger, and why has her father been so tense lately? The plot unfolds slowly at first, but Abrahams' exceptional overlay of detail, especially descriptions of the particular stresses and the goofy occurrences that mark Ingrid's experiences as an eighth-grader, makes the story very convincing as the action builds. Ingrid discovers anabolic steroids are behind her brother's improved performance and new aggressiveness (and also behind some of the mysterious behavior of various people in her town), but just as she is about to do something with her knowledge, she is kidnapped. She escapes, but police don't believe her story, and she has to set up her own sting to prove she is telling the truth. A timely issue gives this mystery a ripped from the headlines flavor, but the real kick for readers comes from a believable eighth-grade heroine's investigation of a high-school scandal. --Connie Fletcher Copyright 2006 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-Peter Abrahams's Down the Rabbit Hole (Laura Geringer Books, 2005) gave 13-year-old Ingrid her first sleuthing experience in her town of Echo FallsAand the Echo Falls Mystery series was born to popular acclaim. In the second book (Laura Geringer Books, 2006) in the series, Ingrid, a Sherlock Holmes devotee, becomes involved in two sinister plots, both of which develop slowly. Clues and events that seem to involve her brother lead Ingrid to believe that there is a steroid abuse crisis brewing at her local high school. At the same time, her grandfather's farm property is attracting attention and high-pressure tactics to force a sale. Narrator Colleen Delaney gives Ingrid and the other characters believable voices in this fast-paced reading that is appropriate for these adventures. Mystery aficionados will appreciate Ingrid's determination to solve the mysteries, although it takes a rather long time to bring the two plot lines together. A fine addition for upper elementary and middle school listeners.-Jane P. Fenn, Corning-Painted Post West High School, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
All is not well in Echo Falls: Thirteen-year-old amateur sleuth Ingrid Levin-Hill seems to be surrounded by people with secrets. Why is her father at home in the middle of the day? Why does her football-player brother suddenly have pimples all over his back? Who left the empty bottle of steroids in the tree house? Why has the new assistant soccer coach--coincidentally, the new VP at the company where her father works--taken out the coach with a viciously kicked ball? Why has the rich daughter of her father's boss suddenly invited Ingrid over for a swim? Readers of Down the Rabbit Hole (2005) will see subplots introduced in the previous novel developed more fully here while at the same time being introduced to a new set of malefactors in a more tightly controlled plot. Ingrid herself remains the same wonderfully realized middle-schooler, equally drawn to her cantankerous outlaw Grampy and the upstanding Chief of Police Strade (and his son Joey). In a literature notoriously light on solid mysteries, Abrahams's second outing for kids stands out as a deliciously plotted, highly satisfying adventure. (Fiction. 10-14) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Excerpts
Excerpts
Behind the Curtain An Echo Falls Mystery Chapter One Ingrid Levin-Hill sat in math class, her mind wandering pleasantly. She had the best seat in the house -- very back of the outside row by the windows, about as far as could be from the teacher, Ms. Groome. Ferrand Middle School stood on a hill overlooking the river, about a mile upstream from the falls. There was always something interesting to see on the river, especially if you were in the habit of noticing little details. Little details like how the water ruffled up as it flowed around a rock, and a big black bird drifting on the current, wings tucked under its chin, and -- "Ingrid? I trust I have your attention?" Ingrid whipped around. Ms. Groome was watching her through narrowed eyes, and her eyes were narrow to begin with. "One hundred percent," said Ingrid, in the faint hope of pacifying Ms. Groome with math talk. "Then I'm sure you're excited about MathFest." MathFest? What was Ms. Groome talking about? The word didn't even make sense, one of those contradictions in terms. "Very excited," said Ingrid. "Just in case Ingrid happened to miss any of this," said Ms. Groome, "who wants to sum up MathFest?" No one did. "Bruce?" said Ms. Groome. Brucie Berman, middle row, front seat, class clown. His leg was doing that twitchy thing. "MathFest be my guest," said Brucie. "I beg your pardon?" Brucie tried to look innocent, but he'd been born with a guilty face. "Three lucky kids from this class get to go to MathFest," he said. "And MathFest is?" "This big fat fun math blowout they're having tomorrow," said Brucie. "Not tomorrow," said Ms. Groome. "Saturday morning, eight thirty, at the high school." "Even better," said Brucie. Ms. Groome pursed her lips, totally focused now on Brucie. There was lots to be said for having Brucie in class. Ingrid tuned out, just in time to catch that big black bird disappear around a bend in the river. No way this had anything to do with her, no way she'd be one of the chosen three. She shouldn't even have been in this section, Algebra Two. There were four math classes in eighth grade -- Algebra One for the geniuses, Algebra Two for good math students who didn't rise to the genius level, Pre-Algebra, where Ingrid should have been and would have been happily, if her parents hadn't crawled on their knees to Ms. Groome, and Math One, formerly remedial math, for the kids out on parole. Math blowouts on Saturday morning. Who thinks these things up? Grown-ups, of course, the kind with a sense of humor like that warden in Escape from Alcatraz . Ingrid was half aware of Ms. Groome scrawling long chains of numbers on the blackboard, all dim and fuzzy. She wrote a note -- What's the word for stuff like giant midget or MathFest? -- balled it up, and tossed it discreetly over to Mia's desk across the aisle. Mia was the smartest kid in the class, should have been in Algebra One, but she and her mom had moved from New York last year and the school had messed up. Mia flattened out the note, read it, wrote an answer. The sun, one of those little fall suns, more silver than gold, shone on Mia's hand -- her fingers, skin, everything about her, so delicate. She rolled the note back up, flicked it underhanded across the aisle. Ingrid reached for it, but all at once, so sudden she wasn't sure for a moment that it had really happened, another hand darted into the picture and snatched the note out of the air. Nothing delicate about this hand, skin scaly, knuckles all swollen. "What could be so important?" said Ms. Groome, unfolding the note. "I'm dying to find out." The sun glared off fingerprints on her glasses, hiding her eyes. She read the note, stuck it in her pocket, returned to the front of the class. Her mouth opened, just a thin sharklike slit. Some withering remark was on the way, but at that very moment, like a message from above, the bell rang. Class over! Saved by the bell! Chairs started scraping all over the room as the kids got up. Hubbub, and lots of it. Thanksgiving couldn't come soon enough. "Just a second," said Ms. Groome, not so much raising her voice over the bedlam as cutting through it like an ice pick. Everyone froze. "We still haven't chosen our MathFest team." Brucie raised his hand. "Thank you, Bruce. Congratulations." "Oh, no," said Brucie. "Wait. I was just going to say let's do it tomorrow." Ms. Groome didn't seem to hear. "Any volunteers for the other two spots?" There were none. "Then the pleasure will be mine," said Ms. Groome. She smiled, if smiling meant the corners of the mouth twisting up and teeth making a brief appearance. "Mia. Ingrid. Everybody wish our team good luck." "Go team," said everybody, in a great mood because it wasn't them. "But wait," said Brucie. "I could get sick," Brucie said on the bus ride home. Someone snickered. "What if I forged a note?" Brucie said. "With Adobe Photoshop I could make it look like a doctor's -- " "Zip it, guy," said the driver, Mr. Sidney, his Battle of the Coral Sea cap slanted low over his eyes, like a ship captain in rough seas. Brucie zipped it; the other choice was walking the rest of the way, as Brucie had learned on the first day of school last year and then had to relearn again just last week. Mr. Sidney stopped in front of Ingrid's house. "See you, petunia," he said. Girls were petunia to Mr. Sidney, guys guy. Things must have been a lot different when he was growing up. Ingrid stepped off the bus, started up the brick path to her house. Ninety-nine Maple Lane was the only place she'd ever lived. Not the biggest, newest, or fanciest house in the neighborhood, Riverbend, but there were lots of good things about it. . . . Behind the Curtain An Echo Falls Mystery . Copyright © by Peter Abrahams. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold. Excerpted from Behind the Curtain by Peter Abrahams All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.