The Fairy-Tale Detectives

The first entry in an on-going middle-grade fantasy series, The Fairy-Tale Detectives follows the story of Sabrina and Daphne Grimm, who, after a year and a half in and out of various foster homes, find themselves deposited with the grandmother they had no idea existed. Sabrina, the elder at almost twelve, is naturally distrustful - a characteristic much amplified by more than a year's experience with abusive and/or neglectful adults - and determined to protect the more innocent Daphne. She wants none of this strange Grandma Relda, with her colorful food, mysterious preoccupation with fairy-tale creatures, and somewhat foreboding companion, Mr. Canis; and has no interest in staying in Ferryport Landing, the small forest-enclosed town, show more on the banks of the Hudson River, to which she and Daphne have come. But when all her preconceived notions - her conviction that Relda Grimm is a fraud and a lunatic, her belief that those stories known as "fairy-tales" are fiction - are utterly destroyed by witnessing a two-hundred-foot-tall giant kidnap Grandma Relda and Mr. Canis, Sabrina swings into action, Daphne at her side. She may have lost one family, when her parents disappeared, but Sabrina Grimm is not the girl to lose a second, now that she's finally found it...

I was curious to see how I would like this first entry in Michael Buckley's Sisters Grimm series, as so many of my online friends seem either to dislike it, or, at best, to be ambivalent about it. Although rather strict, in my ideas about what makes a desirable folk or fairy-tale retelling - I prefer faithfulness to the original - I am far more tolerant of works of fantasy fiction that are inspired by various folk traditions, as they are generally not presented as retellings of the original stories themselves. In fact, the overlap between folklore and fantasy is a particular area of interest for me, and something I would like to research. Given that this is so, it's probably not that surprising that I enjoyed The Fairy-Tale Detectives more than some of my fellow reviewers. I liked the idea of it, and I enjoyed many of the details of the story: that Grandma Relda was so colorful, that Mr. Canis (erstwhile Big Bad Wolf) was a reformed character, that Prince Charming was a not-so-charming opportunist, out for number one. I appreciated the fact that the Grimms, and the "Everafter" community that they helped to establish, were relocated to the Hudson Valley, as this seems to offer an oblique commentary on the immigration of so many Germans to this continent, and the safe-haven (however imperfect) it supplied to them. Finally, I really appreciated Sabrina's character, and didn't find her distrust of adults at all unbelievable. Yes, she was rather obnoxious at first, but I would have been far more skeptical and displeased, if she had simply accepted the situation in Ferryport Landing, and learned to trust again, all in an instant. These things take time, and I think Buckley made the right decision, in allowing her distrust to play itself out naturally, only overcome by the evidence of her own senses.

All that said, this wasn't a book without flaw, and I did find myself a little impatient with the way Buckley conflated any number of works of fantasy and fairy-tale. If Ferryport Landing was established to house those creatures and beings that the Brothers Grimm - ancestors of our Sabrina and Daphne - encountered through their stories, then the cast of characters should have been limited to the Grimms' fairy-tales. Or, if it was necessary to bring in the work of other fairy-tale authors (Andersen, Perrault) and modern fantasists (Baum, Carroll), then some sort of explanation should have been offered. Perhaps, once established, the town (originally "Fairyport Landing") began to attract other creatures? I also felt that the informative afterword, in the edition I read, was at times misleading, and at times factually inaccurate. Without ever stating this explicitly, Buckley made it seem as if the Brothers Grimm were the first to record fairy-tales, when any reader with even a cursory knowledge of the subject knows that they were preceded by the French salon movement, which was itself inspired by earlier Italian traditions, in the same vein. I was also very frustrated (yet again!), to see the factually incorrect statement that the Chinese variant of Cinderella was the first to be recorded, as the story of the Greek slave girl Rhodopis (see: The Egyptian Cinderella) predates it by more than a millennium.

Leaving these issues aside - and they seem to be questions of a more scholarly, rather than literary nature - I did enjoy The Fairy-Tale Detectives enough to want to read subsequent entries in the series. I'm curious to see how Puck's inclusion in the Grimm household will work out, whether Sabrina's trust issues continue, and how the mysterious Red Hand society - could this be a reference to the "Red Hand" of Irish mythology? - comes into all of it. It looks like I will have to track down a copy of The Unusual Suspects... show less

I really did not expect to like this as much as I did. This was a super fun middle grade book that is a part Once Upon a Time, part Grimm, and part Nancy Drew. Sabrina and Daphne have been bounced around between horrible foster homes after their parents disappeared, and they are finally placed with a woman who claims to be their grandmother.

Turns out fairy tales are real, the characters have been trapped in the town of Fairyport Landing by their ancestor, and their own family has been cursed to always have someone in town as well in order to maintain the barrier.

The plot was super fun and twisty, and the characters aren't as you'll know them. I really liked this and will be continuing on with the series.

I listened to the audiobook, and show more the narrator did a great job. show less

The beautiful esthetic of this series caught my eye ..... very quaint and charming books, in rich beautiful colors, with textured cloth covers and a dark whimsical art style... gorgeous! These books would fit right in on the bookshelves of any of fairytale cottage....any of those found among the pages inside. In fact, according to the stories themselves, they can be found in Relda Grimm's extensive collection!!

This series is amazing....imagine A series Of Unfortunate events meets every fairytale you've ever read.

The Grimm sisters, along with a cast of delightful central characters... Granny Relda Grimm, Canis (the big bad wolf), Puck (a delightful Shakespeare character, and Peter pan inspirer), Elvis ( a smart and charming Great show more Dane, and Grimm sisters loyal protector) to name a few.... solve crimes and investigate mysterious happenings around Ferryport Landing, the town where Everafters are bound by a curse and are forced to live among humans. An ever growing cast of fairytale characters are added in each book.... and each book is better than the last.

A truly delightful and entertaining series for anyone who loves fairytales! show less

After their parents mysteriously disappeared, 11-year-old Sabrina and her 8-year old sister Daphne are sent to live with their grandmother Rela Grimm in tiny Ferryport Landing, NY. The girls had believed that their grandmother had died many years ago so they arrived at their new home with great trepidation. Meeting their granny and her companion Mr. Canis did little to allieve Sabrina from her worries but Daphne accepted them into her life readily, especially when she met the 200 pound great dane Elvis. Life at the Grimm home proved to be quite strange: multiple locks on the outer doors, oddly colored but delicious food, a locked room that the girls are told to stay away from, and windows nailed shut. Granny Grimm is an amateur show more detective and when a farmer's house is suddenly demolished she arrives on the scene with Mr. Canis and the girls in tow. Suddenly a giant snatches up the car from which the children have just exited and he stuffs the car, Granny Grimm and Mr. Canis into his pocket. How will Sabrina and Daphne fight a giant to rescue their only family?

I found this book to be thoroughly delightful and will definitely continue with this series. The town is filled with "Everafters" who are fairy tale characters who have taken on modern roles and jobs so it's fun to figure out who all of the town's inhabitants really are. If you watch ABC's "Once Upon A Time" it will remind you very much of the same premise. show less

How easy it would have been for The Fairy Tale Detectives to have slipped into a maudlin or hackneyed mess! However, author Michael Buckley provides enough of a twist on each of the fairy-tale creature (or Everafter as they're known in the book) and enough sly humor to make this book a pleasure for all ages.

Sabrina and Daphne Grimm are portrayed as real children, neither impossibly goody-goody nor impossibly brilliant. As the girls rocket from one adventure into another, readers will get plenty of suspense and adventure. My 18-year-old daughter listened to the first two CDs of the book on the way to college and can't wait to finish the book! That's proof that this debut novel in the Grimm Sisters' mystery series is a treat for young and show more old alike! show less

Sisters Sabrina and Daphne Grimm have been moving from foster home to foster home ever since their parents' disappearance, and each home has been successively worse. Then, an old woman appears, claiming to be their grandmother, and taking them to live at Ferryport Landing. But Sabrina's parents always said their grandmother was dead, so she's not about to believe it, or any crazy things the lady says about being descendants of the Grimm brothers who may just have been recording history.

The first of the Sisters Grimm series has a little bit of everything: mystery, adventure, and fractured fairy tales. Sabrina and Daphne's relationship was good but realistic, with a little bit of good old-fashioned arguing and manipulation, and I enjoyed show more their interactions. I also had fun recognizing fairy tale characters and discovering the author's reinterpretations. L.J. Ganser's narration of the audiobook was well done, with each character instantly recognizable. My only complaint as an adult reader is that I saw some of the twists coming a mile away, but I daresay I wouldn't have noticed a bit as a child. show less

Nifty series for younger readers (~8-10) or others who enjoy light-but-scary mysteries with a fairy tale twist, and a nice sense of humor, although the humor is a bit broad and perhaps a too simplistic for many adults. The series is now ten books long, and would be a wonderful gift for a child starting when they are about 8 or so, and given one book for holiday presents several times throughout the year for the next couple of years.

Two sisters, ages 11 and seven, lose their parents under mysterious circumstances and are brought to live with their father's mother, who lives in a fantastical little house in a peculiar little town next to a creepy forest in upper New York State. The place is filled with "Everafters", fairy-tale characters show more who have gotten trapped there and can't leave until the last Grimm is dead. That means Sabrina and Daphne - they and their grandmother are the last Grimms - protectors of humans and regulators of behavior of the Everafters, solving crimes and maintaining order as best they can.

A light attitude and a nicely broad sense of humor made this enjoyable, but, for me, not compelling. Compared with the Lemony Snicket stories, it's both not as ruthless in its attitude, nor as wickedly, slyly funny, although that may have been remedied a bit in the later books. In this first in series the tone is decidedly gentle (but with dark edges), and essentially involve a quest by the two girls towards finding their destiny. Oh, and also finding their Grandmother, who's been kidnapped by a giant....

The hardcover books would be wonderful presents even were the stories not as much fun for kids, since the books themselves are beautifully made, with terrific illustrations and covers stylized to mimic the storybooks of my Grandmother's youth - with a pasted-on cover illustration that simply calls to you. Wonderful stuff if you like old books, have young kids, or just enjoy being in Fairy-tale Land once more. But be warned - all the characters are not quite what they seem, nor, perhaps, what you remember from your own childhood... show less