Once upon a Crime (book)

Infobox Book |
name = Once Upon a Crime
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Michael Buckley
illustrator = Peter Ferguson
cover_artist = Peter Ferguson
country = United States
language = English
series = The Sisters Grimm series
genre = Fantasy Mystery novel
publisher = Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
release_date = 2007
English_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardback)
pages =
isbn = ISBN 0-8109-1610-4
preceded_by = The Problem Child
followed_by = Magic and other Misdemeanors

Once Upon a Crime is the fourth book in The Sisters Grimm series written by Michael Buckley.

Plot

Sabrina, Daphne, Relda, Mr. Canis and Hamstead travel to New York City to save Puck, to where Faerie Kingdom currently exists. After going through the statue of Hans Christian Andersen, they arrive at a bar called the Golden Egg, where past it lives the royal family, or Puck's parents. Sabrina and Daphne deliver Puck to Titania, the Queen, who is overwhelmed. But Oberon, the king, who had kicked Puck out was angered, and saying that humans and Puck was not needed in the kingdom. However, after the sisters Grimm are discovered as Veronica Grimm's daughters, the people of Faerie are overwhelmed. Sabrina and Daphne had thought for so long that Veronica was not involved in the family business, but she had been. Oberon then agrees to cure Puck, but Puck would still be banished when he was healed and would have to leave Faerie afterwards. While the Faerie people were shaking hands and admiring Sabrina and Daphne, the shocking news comes that Oberon had been murdered. Sabrina and Daphne are asked to find the murderer and bring him to justice, with Moth, Puck's fianceé.

But before they took on the case, Sabrina and Daphne decided to learn more about their mother, which also may lead to clues about the murderer. Sabrina discovers that another family had moved into their apartment. However, she only found photographs, their mothers wallet, and letters in the house, and no journal. In the wallet, however, Sabrina discovers a business card of Ebenezer Scrooge, a man that appeared in "A Christmas Carol", who could speak to the dead. This was proof that Veronica had been involved with Everafters and Sabrina realizes that she may be able to speak to the spirit of Oberon and ask him about who had kidnapped him. It turned out that Oberon had drank poisoned wine carried into his room by one of his sons, Cobweb.

Sabrina, thinking that Cobweb may be roaming about in an abandoned subway area, travels to a subway station controlled entirely by dwarfs. On their way in chasing Cobweb, they meet the Yahoos, who threw them off track. However, Cobweb turns out, pleading innocent. Sabrina, however, did not believe him and chased after him, which led Cobweb to fly to Liberty Island. But on their way to the island, their ship is ruined by pirates, and they have a fight with cannons. They narrowly ecape, with the help of Moth's pixies, but then Moth orders the pixies to use the cannon on Cobweb, who is killed. The sisters Grimm then come face to face with Mrs. Smirt, their caseworker, who believed that she could no longer leave them with Relda, thinking that she was the one who had caused the pirate war. Sabrina and Daphne are once again sent back to the filthy orphanage, but someone had decided already to take them in. But he turns out to be a person who had just gotten out of jail the day before, doing time for murdering seven people with a crowbar. Sabrina realizes that Cobweb couldn't have killed Oberon after hearing something their new "daddy" said—"You don't go back to help someone if you want to hurt them." It didn't make sense for him to kill someone he was so loyal to, especially since he came back to check on the sisters twice—not the actions of a guilty man. The girls are quickly rescued by Bess, Canis, and Hamstead. They head back to Faerie to tell Titania that Cobweb did not kill Oberon. Moth turns out to be the criminal; she poisoned Sabrina and revealed to the dying Sabrina that she killed Oberon and framed Cobweb because she wanted to marry Puck, which she couldn't do if Puck was sent away from Faerie. She framed Cobweb because he was the King's most loyal supporter. She poisoned Sabrina because Moth realized that Puck liked Sabrina—"You think you have his heart, don't you, human? Well, it's something you never should have had and I'm taking it back."—and Sabrina was the only one of the group (Titiana, Relda, Daphne, Sabrina, Moth, and Mustardseed)going to see Scrooge to talk to Cobweb's spirit that could talk to ghosts. If the queen found out the truth, Moth would, at least, be banished. Puck comes out of his cocoon just in time.Puck ends up saving Sabrina by putting her in her own cocoon. She quickly recovers. Sabrina, Daphne, Puck, Relda, Titania, Mustardseed, and the rest of the fairies attend Oberon's funeral. Puck is now officially the King of Faerie. Puck and Sabrina stay behind, talking. Puck tells Sabrina that his father originally didn't want Puck to rule Faerie—"When I was barely out of diapers he took me aside and told me I would never be king. He said I was a disappointment to him and he would never give up his throne to me."—and that it was Puck's mother, Titana, who gave him his title: The Trickster King. He tells her that he hated his father, because he "took every opportunity to remind me that I was weak and stupid". After the funeral there is a fight between Bess's former boyfriend and Hamstead over Bess. Hamstead wins, but in the prosess reveals that he is one of the Three Little Pigs, a fact he had been trying to hide from Bess. He leaves, embarrassed. Sabrina then goes with Puck, Daphne, and Relda to the Wizard of Oz, Veronica Grimm's self-proclaimed best friend, to find out more about her mother. They find their mother's journal, but Oz tries to stop them from taking the journal, revealing that he is part of the Scarlet Hand. He sets a mechanical Wicked Witch of the West on them but they manage to escape with the journal. Oz escapes in a hot air ballon. Sabrina finds her mother's speech that she was supposed to give to the Everafter population in New York the night she disappeared, and says the speech for her mother. After Sabrina gives her mother's speech to the Everafters, Sabrina, Daphne, Relda, and Canis go back to Ferryport Landing; Hamstead decides to stay with Bess to get married after Bess comes after Hamstead before he leaves and reveals herself to be The Cow That Jumped Over The Moon.

Since Puck was to be the new king everyone thought he was staying in Faerie to rule,In the end it turns out that Puck comes home with the Grimms and apparently brought a toy along with him in the form of the six-story high mechanical witch.

Characters

*Sabrina Grimm
*Daphne Grimm
*Granny Relda Grimm
*Mr. Canis
*Sheriff Hamstead
*Puck
*King Oberon
*Queen Titania
*Moth
*Cobweb
*Mustardseed
*Oz