This is the second of the Echo Falls Mystery books, which began with The Rabbit Hole. The main character, Ingrid Levin-Hill, is a middle school student sleuth, who loves, loves, loves Sherlock Holmes.

In this installment, Ingrid's quiet little world starts to go topsy-turvy. Her brother, the only Freshman on the High School Varsity football team, turns moody. While spotting him one night (much to her chagrin, as Ty is lifting far more weight than she could ever help him with), she notices his back is covered with pimples--also unusual for him, though she doesn't know what to make of it until later when a randomly understood comment in Health class catches her attention. Steroids can cause acne.

Meanwhile, Ingrid's father has become a different sort of person--sullen and cranky. Working all the time. No fun to talk too. While she feels a hidden issue of the local paper announcing a new hire at the Ferrand Group, where her father works, must have something to do with it, since she was never supposed to have seen that paper, there's not much she can ask about it. Besides, he seems not to hear her most of the time anyway.

Then comes the finding of a Mexican pill bottle in her old childhood tree house, finding Ty's DVD player missing only have it to return (and the pill bottle disappear). The new assistant soccer coach beaming the head coach in the head with a ball and acting innocent. The weirdness is adding up, and Ingrid is sure it has to mean something.

When she's kidnapped the morning of MathFest she knows something is going on. Only she has no evidence to back herself up, when all is said and done, and finds almost no one believing her.

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This was an exceptionally fun book to read. I think maybe even a little better than the first installment, though admittedly I can't remember much about it other than it left me looking out for this one. They don't need to be read in order either. While this book makes some references to the other, it's nothing really central or that will leave you lacking any pertinent information.

Ingrid is a really vibrant character, and watching her mind put things together, with and without the help of Sherlock Holmes stories that she can recall at will, is great fun.

I don't usually go in for mysteries, but I wouldn't want to miss one of these. Eagerly awaiting book 3.