Once Upon a Crime

May 11, 2015
In Brackston’s whimsical second Brothers Grimm–inspired novel (after Gretel and the Case of the Missing Frog Prints), a grown-up Gretel, of Hansel and Gretel fame, has set up shop as a PI in 1776 Bavaria and is eager for paying clients so that she can indulge her tastes for fine clothing. When Frau Hapsburg asks Gretel to trace her missing cats, the investigator takes advantage of her desperation to jack up her fees. But things go less than smoothly for Gretel, especially after a dead man is found in her rooms with her hunting knife sticking out of his chest. Some readers will be amused by the author’s assigning characters names straight out of fairy tales (Kingsman Kapitan Strudel, Herr Hund, etc.) and by such deliberate anachronisms as fashion-obsessed Gretel lusting for some “Timmy Chew shoes.” Others, especially those who value plot and character development, may be less charmed. Agent: Kate Hordern, Kate Hordern Literary Agency.

July 1, 2015

And now we know how fairy tales really end: with slovenly heroes and heroines trying to make a living. Gretel, of Hansel and Gretel fame, is now a 35-year-old overweight private investigator in the quaint Bavarian town of Gesternstadt. After rescuing her brother and returning safely from the witch's cottage, the siblings were able to attend prestigious schools, courtesy of the king, but now life has become a grinding, monotonous trial. Hired by Fran Hapsburg to find her missing cats, Gretel stumbles across a clue in the burned-out remains of Herr Hund's carriage shop. The trail leads her to trolls, giants, and the alleged kidnapping of Princess Charlotte. VERDICT A prequel to Gretel and the Case of the Frog Prints, this spoof of Brothers Grimm fairy tales will have readers laughing out loud.

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