Synopses & Reviews
Welcome to Echo Falls. Home of a thousand secrets, where Ingrid Levin-Hill, super sleuth, never knows what will happen next.
Ingrid is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or at least her shoes are. Getting them back means getting involved in a murder investigation rivaling those solved by her idol, Sherlock Holmes, and Ingrid has enough on her plate with club soccer, school, and the plum role of Alice in the Echo Falls production of Alice in Wonderland. But much as in Alice's adventures down the rabbit hole, things in Ingrid's small town keep getting curiouser and curiouser. Her favorite director has a serious accident onstage (but is it an accident?), and the police chief is on Ingrid's tail, grilling her about everything from bike-helmet law to the color of her cleats. Echo Falls has turned into a nightmare, and Ingrid is determined to wake up. Edgar Award-nominated novelist Peter Abrahams builds suspense as a smart young girl finds that her small town isn't nearly as safe as it seems.
Review
Praise for The Edge of the Water:
"A ripping good thriller." —School Library Journal
“One need not have read the first book to be engrossed. . . a riveting story. . . readers will be eager for the next installment.” —VOYA
“Readers will remember Whidbey for decades to come. George has scored an ‘A+ again. . . waiting for book number three is going to take an incredible amount of patience. Bravo!” —Suspense Magazine
Praise for The Edge of Nowhere:
“George has created an interesting set of characters and plot twists that teenagers who like adventure and mysteries will enjoy." —School Library Journal
“...strong appeal to fans of Beth Kephart and Nancy Werlin.” —BCCB
"In her first foray into YA fiction, Ms George (a beloved adult suspense novelist) has hit the nail on the proverbial head with this action-packed, mysterious, and somewhat 'creepy' novel . . . the writing is superb from Ms. George, as always but . . . it's the combination of great characters and relationships that truly have this novel raising the bar when it comes to today's YA fiction." —Suspense Magazine
Review
Praise for The Edge of the Water: “So many questions and secrets swirl around Whidbey Island…This is the second installment in what appears to be a series but one need not have read the first book to be engrossed...a riveting story and since many questions remain unanswered, readers will be eager for the next installment.” —VOYA
“When it comes to this series, with scenes that draw you into a remarkable world, its easy to state that readers will remember Whidbey for decades to come. George has scored an ‘A+ again. With discoveries being made and new characters arriving on the scene, waiting for book number three is going to take an incredible amount of patience. Bravo!” —Suspense Magazine
"A ripping good thriller" —School Library Journal
Praise for The Edge of Nowhere:
“George has created an interesting set of characters and plot twists that teenagers who like adventure and mysteries will enjoy." —School Library Journal
“...strong appeal to fans of Beth Kephart and Nancy Werlin.” —BCCB
Synopsis
Ingrid Levin-Hill lands the plum role of Alice in the Echo Falls production of Alice in Wonderland. Things in Ingrid's small town soon keep getting "curiouser and curiouser." Then events in Echo Falls turn into a nightmare, and Ingrid is determined to wake up.
Synopsis
A mysterious girl who wont speak; a coal black seal named Nera that returns to the same place very year; a bitter feud of unknown originstrange things are happening on Whidbey Island, and Becca King, is drawn into the maelstrom of events.
But Becca, first met in The Edge of Nowhere, has her own secrets to hide. Still on the run from her criminal stepfather, Becca is living in a secret location. Even Derric, the Ugandan orphan with whom Becca shares a close, romantic relationship, cant be allowed to know her whereabouts.
As secrets of past and present are revealed, Becca becomes aware of her growing paranormal powers, and events build to a shocking climax anticipated by no one.
Acclaimed author Elizabeth George brings her extraordinary talents to this intriguing story that blends mystery and myth.
Synopsis
The first fire may have been an accident, but what about the second? And the thirdthe one that killed someone. Becca King and her friends wonder if one of the newcomers to the island is to blame. Perhaps its Isis Martins brother, Aidan, just home from a school for troubled teens. Or Parker Natalia, a talented musician fired by his bandmates for unknown reasons.
Meanwhile, Beccas education in the paranormal continues, as fellow psychic Diana Kinsale encourages her to explore her growing extrasensory abilities.
Beautiful Whidbey Island may seem like a tranquil haven, but all is not as it seems.
The third book in the Whidbey Island saga confirms Elizabeth Georges place as a top-notch writer of suspense novels.
About the Author
Elizabeth George, described by
Entertainment Weekly as the queen of the mystery genre,” is the author of the bestselling crime novels about Inspector Thomas Lynley. Her books are known for complex plotting, elegant writing, and well-developed characters, all of which she also brings to her novels for teens.
The first book in the Whidbey Island saga, The Edge of Nowhere, was a finalist for both the Edgar and Agatha Awards. The second book, The Edge of the Water, and the third, The Edge of the Shadows, continue the story in the island setting, which is notable for its beauty and mystery.
Elizabeth George lives on Whidbey Island. She says, Whidbey Island deserves to be someone in a story. I only hope Ive done it justice."
Visit Elizabeth George at www.elizabethgeorgeonline.com.
Author Q&A
Q. You have written several critically acclaimed adult novels including The Fan, A Perfect Crime and The Tutor, but Down the Rabbit Hole is your first book written for children. Did you find this to be a difficult transition? Which audience do you prefer writing for?
A. I loved writing this book. The truth is I didn't think much about the transition. The story unreels before the eyes of a 13-year-old girl, so the language of the book is her language. As for audience, it's tremendously gratifying to be entertaining young readers.
Q. Do you have a particular writing philosophy that you follow?
A. I'm very persnickety about writing. I have a million rules, but they all boil down to trying to do something original on every page.
Q. Ingrid Levin-Hill, the 13-year-old super sleuth and star of the Echo Falls series is a very multifaceted and believable character that the target reader can really relate to. Why do you think that is? Is she based on a particular person from your family?
A. Certainly the fact that I have four kids two boys, two girls was a big help in keeping things real. There are lots of dark patches in childhood, but what I remember most about my own is the feeling of exhilaration that comes with waking up to the world of human life. What surprised me was Ingrid's take on things that part wrote itself.
Q. Everyone seems to be in love with all of the characters in this book especially Grampy. Did anyone in your own family influence your writing? And if so, how?
A. My mother was a writer and taught me a lot when I was very young. A few years ago, I wrote down what she'd taught me in the form of Enid's Laws. There are six of them.
- Organization is everything.
- Fiction is about reversals.
- Torment your protagonist.
- Push everything as far as you can without contriving.
- Always advance the story.
- Be original.
Later I added a seventh: Be playful.
Q. Stephen King has noted you as his "favorite suspense novelist" and you've been compared to such mystery greats as Hitchcock, Grisham, Coombs, and Diehl. Were you a mystery reader when you were growing up?
A. I read all kinds of things, including mystery, but pure adventure was my favorite pirate stories, lost in the Arctic, hacking through deep jungle, all that.
Q. Fans of Down the Rabbit Hole will be thrilled to know the second book in the Echo Falls series is in the works. What we can expect from Behind the Curtain? Is it true that just as the first book has references to Alice in Wonderland this one plays to the Oz fans?
A. In Behind the Curtain, Ingrid and her friends are putting on the scene where Dorothy, Woodman, Lion and Scarecrow discover that the Wizard is a fraud. At the same time, a terrible threat has come to Echo Falls, even insinuating itself in Ingrid's family. When it's almost too late, Ingrid realizes that she literally doesn't know the half of it. I can also reveal that math continues to be Ingrid's undoing and that a piglet on Grampy's farm plays an important role.