Once Upon a Crime: A Brothers Grimm Mystery

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)