Rachel, a young girl, survives a horrible crime and loses her voice, but not her determination to solve the tragedy that has befallen her family. Rony Kessler's novel that occurs in both the US and the Middle East, is a riveting page turner, that pits Rachel a Twelve-year-old, against a gang of thugs that attacked her family. "The Mysterious Animal Soup, and Rachel's Gifts" follows the short prequel "The Professor and the Wild Dogs."