The Unusual Suspects by Michael Buckley

March 11th, 2008 at 9:07am |

Audience: 9 and up

Rating: A-

Synopsis:

Sabrina and Daphne may have found a home with the grandmother they didn’t know existed, but all is not well in Ferryport Landing. The girls have finally been enrolled in school, but Sabrina’s teacher is murdered in a suspicious manner on her very first day. This a is a great sequel that tells a complete story, but also sets up the plot for an engaging and entertaining series.

Chatter:

(Spoiler Alerts! ) Sarah, this post is for you! I loved your comments on The Fairy Tale Detectives so much that I went out and bought the next few books in the series! I’m glad I did, the books are getting better and better.

How frustrating for Sabrina that everything continues to go her sister’s way. Everyone, from Elvis, to Mr. Canis, to schoolteachers, to even Mayor Charming seems to like her more than Sabrina.

Not that we can really blame them with how cranky Sabrina’s been acting, of course, we find out in the end that Sabrina’s anger isn’t entirely her fault. Still, it must be so hard for Sabrina to see how well her sister has adapted to Ferryport Landing while all she still feels like she doesn’t fit in at all. Also, until Granny Relda shares her feelings over chicken soup, Sabrina thinks that she’s the only one who still remembers her parents.

All the characters reveal more of their secrets in this book. We find out that Mr. Canis is much more haunted than he appeared in the first book. Also, I love how Snow White can kick butt and doesn’t need to be saved. Charming might actually turn out to be a good guy too… I guess we’ll have to wait and see about him. And Puck? The Wolf’s comments to Puck in the cave, “Love will be the end of you,” certainly caught my attention. There’s a certain something about the way he picks on Sabrina (in a different way than he picks on Daphne) that makes me think there’s a sweeter motivation.

What a cliffhanger ending! I can’t wait to read The Problem Child.