Behind the Curtain (Echo Falls Mystery, 2)
Thirteen-year-old Ingrid Levin-Hill is drawn into an Echo Falls mystery after a local murder leaves her with clues she cannot ignore.
Work Information
A young sleuth works her way toward the truth in Echo Falls.
Between school, soccer, and homework, Ingrid finds herself pulled into a murder mystery she cannot leave alone. The novel launches the Echo Falls series with a pacey, teen-centered investigation.
Book Information
- Publisher
- HarperCollins
- Published
- 2006-04-25
- Pages
- 352 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 14.61 x 3.18 x 21.59 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780060737047
- ISBN-10
- 0060737042
- Price
- 2599 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Children's Books/Growing Up & Facts of Life/Family Life/Marriage & Divorce
"A terrific yarn, full of smart detection and hip good humor" (Stephen King) Behind the Curtain is the second book in the Echo Falls mystery series by bestselling crime novelist Peter Abrahams, following the acclaimed Down the Rabbit Hole . Perfect for middle school readers looking for a good mystery. In this "deliciously plotted, highly satisfying adventure" (Kirkus), the Sherlock Holmes-loving eight-grade heroine, Ingrid, starts to see some alarming signs of trouble in her home. Her dad is surfing the internet in search of a job when Ingrid had no idea his job was in jeopardy. Her brother, Ty, is trying to succeed on the high school football team—perhaps at the cost of his health. And Ingrid's beloved soccer coach is replaced by an icy newcomer who seems a little too savvy to be in it for the postgame pizza. True to her hero, Sherlock Holmes, Ingrid begins fishing around to find out who's really pulling the strings in her hometown of Echo Falls. But one morning, while en route to the dreaded MathFest, Ingrid is kidnapped and locked in the trunk of a car. Even if she escapes, will anyone believe her story? The third and final book in this Edgar Award-nominated series is Into the Dark .
Peter Abrahams is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-five books, including the Edgar Award-winning Reality Check , Bullet Point , and the Echo Falls series for middle graders. Writing as Spencer Quinn, he is also the author of the Chet and Bernie series— Dog on It , Thereby Hangs a Tail , and To Fetch a Thief . He and his wife live in Massachusetts with their dog, Audrey.
Reviews
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Ich bin absoluter Spencer Quinn-Fan ( Chet & Bernie - unschlagbar ) - und Peter Abrahams heißt er ja im richtigen Leben... Aber DAS muss nicht sein....
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My grand daughter was so pleased with this book and I got a very happy kiss and cuddle. Than you
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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.
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Ingrid Levin-Hill (13 years old) is our HERO. (Named for Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca.) She likes math (MathFest), loves playing Soccer, and Ingrid plays Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz!! Ingrid’s family: Mom (name?) and Dad (Mark), his brother Ty, his dog Nigel, and Ingrid’s Grampy. Some of Ingrid’s classmates (in alphabetical order): Brucie Berman (is his father the rabbi? or is it a rabbit? or Down the Rabbit Hole?), Dustin & Dwayne (twins) Dratch, Chloe Ferrand, Carl Kraken the Third, Mia McGreevy, Bobby Moran, Stacy & Sean Rubino, Joey Strade. The older folks in the book? I found 22 of them (but I could be wrong). But 3 of them are cute: Chief Strade (a REAL important guy), Rey Vasques (Ingrid doesn’t know Spanish), and Dr. Vishevsky (a shrink, but he looks like Count Dracula). Why is the number $1,649 there several times? Last 2 chapters: I had Ingrid’s Dad, but I couldn’t get her Mom’s name until the end. And there’s a BAD GUY, but I won’t tell you the answer! So there.
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Great
Related Literary Awards
- Agatha Awards Edition 18 (2005) ・Excellence Award