Behind the Curtain

Behind the Curtain is the second book in Peter Abrahams' Echo Falls series, which I am now completely hooked on. It joins The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and the Agatha Raisin series in my unofficial mysteries to listen to in the car list. Thirteen year-old Ingrid makes a wonderful amateur detective, but as she is also a thirteen year-old girl she makes plenty of mistakes along the way. Although Behind the Curtain does pick up on some clues dropped in Down the Rabbit Hole, the first book in the series, it works just fine as a standalone book.

Once again Peter Abrahams returns to the world of Echo Falls, where young Ingrid Levin-Hill is just trying to get by, navigating the slippery slopes of being a kid in the 21st century. While basically she's got a warm and protective family, there's always some friction going on, just like real life. In this book Ty's problem with anabolic steroids becomes more and more the center of Ingrid's worries. She notices things about him her mom and dad are just to preoccupied to see, or too blind, for they're proud of him and his success in organized sport in school. Meanwhile her dad, who as we all remember works for a corporation owned by the richest man in town, feels threatened by the incursion of a new, chic, blonde dynamo who's become thisclose to the boss. Ferrand's not only wealthy, but evil, and Ingrid wouldn't put it past him to dump her dad in favor of this new executive woman, Julia LeCaine, who as it happens is also the new coach of her soccer team and sort of ruthless. At 99 Maple Lane everyone's got a secret (except Mom, and I bet that will be in the next book in the series) and the gorgeous scenery of Echo Falls is often ironically counterpointed to the nasty behavior of its human residents. Grampy (Aylmer Hill) is still alive, though he's sinking, and his farm is under siege from developers led by the same Ferrand Group that his son-in-law works for. It would be a great coup for Dad in the company if he was the one who secured the land away from Grampy. Ingrid doesn't want to see that happen. In the middle of all this, she is falling in love, not a huge passionate love but a solid friendship with Joey Strade, the solid son of the town's Police Chief. Ingrid doesn't really know how she feels about that! Peter Abrahams weaves all these threads into a fantastic thriller for kids of all ages. Ingrid's love of Conan Doyle and the Sherlock Holmes stories guides her through a world of trouble. "As Ho;mes told Watson," she reminds herself, "Never trust to general impressions, my boy, but concentrate yourself upon details." I rate this book higher than DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE and, unlike the other reviewers here who claim they knew the answer to the mystery right away, I was honestly baffled and shocked by the multiple endings. What will be next for Ingrid? "An Awfully Big Adventure"? Without a doubt.

some 13 year olds read Sherlock Holmes. Not all kids have been affected by the dumbing down of America.

Ingrid Levin-Hill is back. And if you thought she had troubles in DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE, just you wait! Ingrid is the very precocious, very active 13-year-old amateur detective who lives in Echo Falls. Her role model is Sherlock Holmes, and she applies his cunning logic to her cases (although the results are not always the same). The first problem Ingrid uncovers is when she accidentally sees her father surfing the Internet for jobs. He never said anything about looking for a new job! Has something bad happened at work? And then, while helping her brother Ty do his weightlifting, she notices his muscles building up and he seems to be getting stronger. At the same time, she discovers a little brown bottle that looks like it came from Mexico. The only word she can read is something like "steroids." Steroids! Oh, no. Ty can't be taking steroids --- they're illegal! She can't report him because then her own brother would be going to jail. Is Ty really on steroids? Where is he getting them? And how can Ingrid break up an international steroid ring --- if there really is one? Next, there's her grandfather. Someone is trying to evict him from his family farm, which has now turned into precious property within the city limits. Who is behind this, and how can Ingrid save the farm? Meanwhile, a new assistant soccer coach appears at practice. She's cool and calculating, blonde and beautiful, and by the very strangest of circumstances just happens to be the new woman who has been hired to work in Ingrid's dad's office! Coincidence? Sherlock and Ingrid think otherwise. And, oh yes, there's the little matter of someone kidnapping Ingrid. Who would do such a thing, and for heaven's sake, why? What's worse is that almost no one believes she was really kidnapped. Somehow, by hook and by crook, Ingrid gets this all sorted out. Can you imagine what's going to happen when Ingrid is 14? --- Reviewed by Robert M. Oksner ([email protected])

Echo Falls is small town Peyton Place where everyone has a secret. Behind every door is a mystery. You need a young teen detective to get beneath the town's skin Behind the Curtain (eight hours, six CDs. unabridged) is a masterful piece of young adult storytelling that also does not talk down to adults.This sequal to "Down the Rabbit Hole" works on so many mystery levels, especially on audio. Ingrid is a young Nancy Drew/Veronica Mars clone who idolizes The great detective Sherlock Holmes. The book's lit reference to Sherlock, Nancy Drew and the Wizard of OZ will catch the adult ears, where it may skiped over by the young adults who listen to this piece. The myatery seems so good. This piece is character driven and moves like a Le Carre Smiley novel-piecing the puzzle slowly as any good mystery piece would Peter Abrahams text blended with the narrative vocals of Colleen Delaney works so well. Her vocal shade is amazing. The pacing of this audio production is steady, rather than rushed..as most young adult audios are. as a Listener(as I did), You want this audio to go on and continue this story ...you become spellbound with the characters and the town. Personal note- Peter, when is your next book? I'm Hooked! Bennet Pomerantz, AUDIOWORLD