The Sisters Grimm. Book 2 : the unusual suspects /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

With the winning combination of Nancy Drew meets Shrek, this next book in the new Sisters Grimm series will entertain fans with the same hilarious mix of mysteries with fairy tale twists--plus some new, outrageous adventures.In the tradition of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events and The Spiderwick Chronicles comes a new humorous mystery of fantastic circumstances. When orphaned sisters, Sabrina and Daphne, are sent to live with their mysterious grandmother, Relda Grimm, who lives in a strange town in New York state, known for it's extraordinary number of unexplained and unusual crimes, they begin to unravel a mystery that leads to their ancestors' magical beginnings.Sabrina and Daphne find out they are descendants of the Brothers Grimm, who were actually detectives of the magical phenomenon perpetrated by the Everafters, a parallel race of magical beings. They soon learn it is the Grimm family's legacy to keep the Everafters in line and the two sisters are the sole heirs to this challenge! In the Sisters Grimm Book Two: The Unusual Suspects , the girls start school with Snow White as their teacher and soon discover a plot pitting mortal children against immortal parents--they must do everything they can to stop it!In a new breed of mystery that entails excitement, adventure and imagination, The Grimm Sisters Book Two: The Unusual Suspects injects the legends of fairytale with modern day sensibilities and suspense, creating an irresistible combination young readers will love!F&P level: U

Reviews provided by Syndetics

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-6-In this second book in the series, Sabrina and Daphne continue their family's fairy-tale detective work in the Hudson River town of Ferryport Landing. The village has more than its share of "Everafters," a group of fairy-tale characters who escaped persecution in Europe by fleeing to America over 200 years ago. Here, the sisters start attending the local elementary school where the principal just happens to be the Pied Piper of Hamelin and Snow White is a most beloved teacher. Almost instantly, one of their teachers is found dead in his classroom, tied to the ceiling in a spider web. While investigating his murder, the girls uncover a devious plot and get closer to discovering the whereabouts of their missing parents. Free-spirited Daphne is a perfect foil for her older, grumpier sister, Sabrina, whose understandable anger over the loss of her parents is the main theme of this novel. There are as many references to frightening aspects of today's world as there are nods to folklore and sometimes both appear in the same sentence. While this mixing of sensibilities proves that fairy tales can be as dark as reality, it also occasionally trivializes truly upsetting modern problems such as nuclear weapons and child labor. The story is fast paced and the main characters are sympathetic and appealing. The abrupt ending will leave readers hungry for the next book in the series.-Kathleen Meulen, Blakely Elementary School, Bainbridge Island, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Horn Book Review

Their ancestors wrote history books not fairy tales--as Sabrina and Daphne Grimm soon discover after arriving in Ferryport Landing, home to ""Everafters"" like Sheriff Hamstead, a now not-so-little pig. In fast-paced Detectives, the sisters encounter Jack (of Beanstalk fame) who's intent on reliving his glory days as a giant killer. Suspects is equally engaging but ends abruptly with ""To be continued...."" [Review covers these titles: The Sisters Grimm: Book One and The Sisters Grimm: Book Two.] (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

Kirkus Book Review

In a second outing every bit as hilarious and scary as the first, Sabrina and Daphne, the two young descendants of Wilhelm Grimm, no sooner start school in Ferryport Landing than the murders of a teacher and the custodian catapult them into a new investigation. Well-populated by figures from their many-times-great grandpa's tales, plus the likes of Geppetto, Prince Charming and Puck--all of whom are magically confined to the small Hudson River town for their own protection, but don't much like it--the tale unfolds amid encounters with bullies, monsters and large quantities of slime. It involves wild rides through the air and other threats to life and limb, and culminates in a subterranean face-off with Rumpelstiltskin, a goblin with a creepy fondness for children who has partnered with the Pied Piper for an escape attempt. Buckley halts the action a little too often to fill in the back story, and his climax is awkwardly staged--but all of his characters glow with interesting nuances, as they did in the first episode, and he closes this one on a genuinely disturbing cliffhanger. Definitely not bedtime reading. Occasional technically finished illustrations. (Fantasy. 12-14) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Michael Buckley was born in Akron, Ohio in 1969. After graduating from Ohio University, he moved to New York City to be an intern on the Late Show with David Letterman which led to stints developing programming for Discovery Networks, MTV, MTV Animation and Klasky Csupo. He writes The Sisters Grimm series and the N.E.R.D.S. series. After working for David Letterman he moved into a television production job where he worked on documentaries. Michael Buckley and his writing partner Joe Deasy have created an animated series for Cartoon Network called Horrorbots.

(Bowker Author Biography)