Into the Dark

Into the Dark by Peter Abrahams (HarperCollins, 2008.)

In this, book three of the series, Ingrid is performing in the community theater's production of Hansel and Gretel. Meanwhile, her grandpa is arguing about his property with a guy from the Department of Conservation. (Grandpa is an environmentalist, but he believes the department to be meddlers.)

When Ingrid stumbles upon the conservationalist's dead body during a hike with her boyfriend Joey, all heck breaks loose. Grandpa is accused of the crime. He refuses to give himself an alibi, for reasons related to a doctor's appointment. Joey's father has instructed his son not to talk to Ingrid because of a conflict of interest (he is the detective working the case.) And soon, another bombshell is dropped on the family. Ingrid's dad is having an affair with Ingrid's friend's mom!

The story doesn't get all "poor Ingrid-y" though. Our heroine pushes forward and solves the crime on her own--without revealing grandpa's medical secret.

Love this series. Love. Was a little taken aback by the affair. I tried to think of the age at which I knew about affairs. I think it was fifth grade. That is probably the age this series is for (5th-8th.) (And kids are probably more socially savvy today than I was in the 80s.) It did make me think twice about loaning this book to my fourth grade niece. I would probably recommend the first two in the series instead. Not that I don't think she should read it (I would let my third grade son read it, if he could get over the female protagonist thing) but her not being my own child, well, you know.

As I read this, I realized how great Abrahams is at giving you a window on his characters. He never forces them on you. He lets you get to know them and make your own judgements. Ingrid's dad, for instance, has always been kind of a slick guy. Ingrid likes him. He's not my kind of person, probably because my dad is the opposite of him, but I do enjoy him as a character, and I can see why Ingrid adores him. He's always seemed like a standup guy, so the affair kind of floored me. Okay, so this is how real the characters are. Even one I don't particularly love, I feel utterly betrayed by him, for Ingrid's sake.

It reminds me of something my friend told me. He was a Hallmark illustrator. There, he had to draw characters who made an instant connection with the card buyer. They were posing for the camera, reaching out a hand to greet the buyer, asking the buyer to like them. When my friend switched to children's book illustrating, editors told him he had to learn to paint "candid shots" of his characters. They should be going about their business. The reader is looking in on them unbeknownst to them. Abrahams made me realize that writers have to do this, too. He does it just brilliantly.

Also, he briliantly draws one of the villains of this story in the likeness of the witch in Hansel and Gretel. How he does this without going over the top is beyond me. It should be over the top. I mean, the villain wears pointy boots, for Lord's sake. But it isn't. It feels real. Maybe this works because kids are open to the fact that some people are over-the-top evil. Grownups think bad guys need a psychiatrist. But kids know some people are just bad--by the book bad. That's how Ingrid sees this villain and it feels very real.

Interestingly, the part of Hansel and Gretel that Ingrid's mother remarks at the beginning always seemed unreal--that parents would leave their children to starve in the woods--is kind of explained here. It's not that Ingrid's parents want her to meet a witch in the woods. But Ingrid--because of her family falling apart--has to take matters into her own hands. Does that mean her parents are culpable for the danger that befalls her, or simply that we all have to do our part for our families--no matter our age? I think it's the latter. Incidentally, her dad comes to the rescue at the end--which I thought was an appropriate ending. After all, kids--no matter how smart or tough--need their parents--even when they're flawed.