Once Upon A Crime by Michael Buckley

March 25th, 2008 at 8:42am |

Audience: 9 and up

Rating: B+

Synopsis:

The fourth book in this series doesn’t take place within Ferryport Landing, but rather in the girls’ hometown of NYC, the location of the mysterious Faerie. The Grimms have managed to return Puck to the Fairy kingdom for healing, but they find a few surprises waiting for them there. First, Puck isn’t welcomed by his father the king. Second, soon after their arrival the king is murdered! The Grimms are once again roped into a fairy tale mystery, only this time Sabrina has a bigger mystery to solve: how do all of these Everafters know her mother?

Chatter:

(Spoiler Alerts! ) Puck’s back… well, at least by the end of the story he is. I hope that we get to learn more about his old life in Faerie in the upcoming books. It seems that he and Sabrina are starting to really understand and confide in each other. I wonder how long this will last before he goes back to tormenting her. Already he didn’t feel the need to tell her he was giving up his fairy kingdom to follow them back to Ferryport Landing. Did he give up the crown? I’m assuming that he had to in order to leave.

Sabrina’s reaction to the fact that her mother had been involved with Everafters was pretty realistic. She’d always imagined that NYC and her parents were a sanctuary, and that after they’d woken up, she could leave all the fairy tale business behind. Learning that her mother was helping the very people she wished were imaginary felt like a betrayal. I can understand her wanting to retire from the whole detective business.

I was also not surprised that it was Puck that talked her back into staying. Daphne’s behavior helped too. It was hard for Sabrina to see her sister ignoring her. She’s so used to Daphne depending on her, that when the little girl starts acting independently, it hurts.

It seems like all the Everafters have two sides to them. Oz was Veronica’s good friend, but also the one that led to her capture. Mr. Canis is a good guy, but for how long? Puck is both the trickster king and now the king of Faerie. Moth was a princess and a murderer. Charming was a mayor, schemer, but also a romantic. What else will be revealed about these characters?

I wonder how Ferryport Landing has changed since the Grimms left. I doubt that the Queen of Hearts is a good mayor. I can’t wait to read Magic and Other Misdemeanors to find out!