caconti's Full Review: Anne Schraff - Once upon a Crime
Fantastic, Romantic, Terrifying
These are all words that perfectly describe the original spirit of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, stories of wonder and horror which have been sugar-coated by our Disney dominated popular culture. In fact, if you really think about Little Red Riding Hood or Hansel & Gretel you will realize that even our homogenized Grimm is still pretty dark for a collection of supposed childrens stories.
These shadowy corners of the Grimm fairy tales are the subject of Once Upon A Crime, a collection of short mysteries that are based upon the various Grimm stories. Ranging from the horrific to the humorous, Medieval to modern, each author works hard to bring a fresh new point of view to a familiar old story. In general, they more than succeed at their task. They seem to be more inspired by the tales than tied to their lots, using elements from the original Grimm works as a jumping board to bigger and better things. They develop on the basic concepts of the fairy tales, but incorporate that cynical and often violent spin that mystery authors are so well known for. The result? A fine group of bite-sized mysteries that make the perfect short reading before bed or while riding the subway...
Some high points of the collection:
1.After Happily Ever-The first thing that struck me about this story was how much it reminded me of the novel Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire. This the masterfully told story of "Cinderella", but told from the point of view of her victimized stepsister. Here, the author takes the darkness a step further and has that supreme princess of fairy tales commit a horrible crime. It's a combination of the shocking and the familiar that will leave you breathless.
2.Clever Hans-What would the child eating witch of the "Hans & Gretel" story be doing today? How about kidnapping children to sale, in whole and in pieces? This disturbingly feasible tale follows a young and modern Hans as he struggles to save both he and his sister from the clutches of evil...
3.The Twelve Dancing Princesses Revisited-Being Italian myself, I am naturally partial to a good Mafia story. Here the twelve princesses are a family of Italian girls whose father runs a major crime family. But where are these belle donne going every night without their father's permission? Follow our intrepid detective as he risks his life to trail these gals on their next night out!
While these are three shining examples of the collection's stories, there are of course a few stinkers in the pot, which is an inherent risk of a collection. However, to be honest I only found two pieces out of twenty-five that I wouldn't want to read again. In my book that's a pretty good batting average, especially with a topic that could so easily drown an author, in the sense that writing a fairy tale mystery almost lends itself to the superficial and excessively inventive. Each of the authors in this collection has overcome that hurdle in their own way and gained a firm grasp on the fantasy elements of their stories, crafting them into enjoyable tales with a strong dose of intrigue.
*Buying It*
Not so easy to find in stores these days, so head straight for Amazon to pick up a copy!
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