Unusual Suspects

Michael Buckley

Description

In book two of the series, the Sisters Grimm start school at Ferryport Landing Elementary. Daphnes lucky enough to get Snow White for a teacherushe loves little peopleubut poor Sabrinas stuck with Mr. Grumpner and a class of mildly psychotic sixth graders. When Mr. Grumpner is found hanging in a spiders web, it is up to the Grimms to find the Everafter who did it. If only Sabrina can get over her distrust of all fairy-tale folk. But how can she trust those who just might be responsible for the disappearance of her parents?

Informations

• Publié par: ABRAMS BOOKS
• Date de parution: 22 avril 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781613120385
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

New York Times Bestseller Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award Kirkus Best Fantasy Book A Real Simple magazine Must-Have
Mystery meets fairy tale. -The CBS Early Show
Enormously entertaining takes the fractured fairy-tale genre to new heights. - Time Out New York Kids
Adventure, laughs, and surprises kept me eagerly turning the pages. -R. L. Stine, author of the Goosebumps series
Kids will love Sabrina and Daphne s adventures as much as I did. -Sarah Michelle Gellar
(Buffy on Buffy the Vampire Slayer )
Features both a pair of memorable young sleuths and a madcap plot. - Kirkus Reviews , starred review
Readers will have trouble putting this novel down. - The Dallas Morning News
ALSO BY MICHAEL BUCKLEY:
In the Sisters Grimm series:
BOOK ONE: THE FAIRY-TALE DETECTIVES
BOOK TWO: THE UNUSUAL SUSPECTS
BOOK THREE: THE PROBLEM CHILD
BOOK FOUR: ONCE UPON A CRIME
BOOK FIVE: MAGIC AND OTHER MISDEMEANORS
BOOK SIX: TALES FROM THE HOOD
BOOK SEVEN: THE EVERAFTER WAR
BOOK EIGHT: THE INSIDE STORY
In the NERDS series:
BOOK ONE: NATIONAL ESPIONAGE, RESCUE, AND DEFENSE SOCIETY
BOOK TWO: M IS FOR MAMA S BOY

PUBLISHER S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Buckley, Michael. The sisters Grimm, book two : the unusual suspects / Michael Buckley ; illustrated by Peter Ferguson. p. cm. Summary: Although filled with anger over her parents disappearance, eleven-year-old Sabrina Grimm-along with her grandmother, sister, and several fairy-tale characters-tries to discover who has killed her teacher. ISBN 978-0-8109-1610-X
[1. Characters in literature-Fiction. 2. Anger-Fiction. 3. Sisters-Fiction. 4. Grandmothers-Fiction. 5. Schools-Fiction. 6. Mystery and detective stories.] I. Title: Unusual suspects. II. Ferguson, Peter, 1968- ill. III. Title. PZ7.B882323Siu 2006
[Fic]-dc22 2005024149 Paperback ISBN 978-0-8109-9323-5
Text copyright 2007 Michael Buckley Illustrations copyright 2007 Peter Ferguson
First published in hardcover in 2005 by Amulet Books
Published in 2008 by Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. Amulet Books and Amulet Paperbacks are registered trademarks of Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
Amulet Books are available at special discounts when purchased in quantity for premiums and promotions as well as fundraising or educational use. Special editions can also be created to specification. For details, contact [e-mail] or the address below.
www.abramsbooks.com
For the friends who shaped my life: Michael Madonia, Michael Nemeth, Todd Johnson, Ronald Schultz, Ed Kellett, and Heather Averill Farley
A CKNOWLEDGMENTS
First and foremost, all praise to my brilliant editor, Susan Van Metre, whose hard work and guidance can be found on every page of this book. Also, much thanks to the entire team at Amulet Books, most notably Andrea Colvin and Jason Wells. My thanks also go out to my agent, Alison Fargis, and everyone at The Stonesong Press; Joe Deasy for his insight and humor; my wife, Alison, for her love and inspiration; my mom and dad; Paul Fargis, Molly Choi, Maureen Falvey, Beth Fargis Lancaster, Doug Lancaster, and of course, Daisy.

S ABRINA SCRAMBLED THROUGH THE DARKNESS armed with a shovel and using the cold, stone walls as a guide. Each step was a challenge to her balance and senses. She stumbled over jagged rocks and accidentally kicked over an abandoned tool, sending a clanging echo off the tunnel walls. Whatever was waiting for her in the labyrinth knew she was coming now. Unfortunately, she couldn t turn back. Her family was somewhere in the twisting maze and no one else could help them. Sabrina prayed they were all still alive .
The tunnel made a sharp turn, and around the corner Sabrina spotted a distant, flickering light. She quickened her pace, and soon the tunnel opened into an enormous cave, carved out of the bedrock of Ferryport Landing. Torches mounted on the cave walls gave the room a dull light, not strong enough to dissolve the black shadows in every corner .
Sabrina scanned the cave. A few old buckets and a couple of shovels leaned against a crumbling wall. She started to retrace her steps when something hit her squarely in the back. She fell hard on her shoulder, dropping her shovel. Searing pain swam through her veins, followed by a throbbing ache. She could still move her fingers, but Sabrina knew her arm was broken. She screamed, but her cries were drowned out by an odd clicking and hissing sound .
As she crawled to her feet, Sabrina grabbed the shovel and swung it around threateningly, searching the room for her attacker .
I ve come for my family, she shouted into the darkness. Her voice bounced back at her from all sides of the rocky room .
Again, she heard clicking and hissing, followed by a cold, arrogant chuckle. A long, spindly leg struck out from the shadows, narrowly missing Sabrina s head. It slammed against the wall behind the girl, pulverizing stone into dust. Sabrina lifted the heavy shovel and swung wildly at the leg, sinking the sharp edge deep into the monster s flesh. Shrieks of agony echoed through the cavern .
I m not going to be easy to kill, Sabrina said, hoping her voice sounded more confident to the monster than it did to her own ears .
Kill you? This is a party! a voice replied. And you re the guest of honor .
et s get this party started, already! Sabrina complained under her breath as she rubbed the charley horse in her leg. She and her seven-year-old sister, Daphne, had been crouching behind a stack of Diaper Rash Donna dolls for nearly three hours. She was tired, hungry, and more than a little irritated. For a week they had been on this stakeout and it was beginning to look as if they had wasted another perfectly good night of sleep. Even Elvis, their two-hundred-pound Great Dane, had given up and was snoring on the floor next to them.
Of course, how Sabrina wanted to spend her time wasn t really considered, she had learned, especially if there was a mystery afoot. Their grandmother loved a good mystery, so when Gepetto complained that his toy store had been robbed every night for two weeks, Granny Relda volunteered herself and the sisters Grimm to help the police catch the crooks. Sabrina wondered what an old woman, two kids, and a sleepy dog could do that the expensive security cameras and motion detectors the old man had installed couldn t, but once Granny sunk her teeth into something she wouldn t let go.
In most towns, the police do not rely on an old woman, two kids, and a sleepy dog to solve crimes, but Ferryport Landing was no ordinary town. More than half of its residents were part of a secret community known as the Everafters. Everafters were actually fairy-tale characters who had fled Europe to escape persecution. Settling in the little river town almost two hundred years ago, they now used magical disguises to live and work alongside their normal neighbors. Ogres worked at the post office, witches ran the twenty-four-hour diner, and the town mayor was the legendary Prince Charming. The humans were none the wiser-except the Grimms.
As fantastic and thrilling as it sounded to live among fairy-tale characters, it wasn t a dream come true for Sabrina Grimm. Being the last in a long line of Grimms (descended from the famous Brothers Grimm), she and her sister had had the family responsibility of keeping the peace between Everafters and humans thrust upon them no less than three weeks ago.
And it wasn t an easy job. Most Everafters saw the Grimms as the bane of their existence. A two-century-old magical curse had trapped the Everafters in Ferryport Landing for all eternity, and the girls great-great-great-great grandfather Wilhelm was responsible. Trying to prevent a war between Everafters and humans, Wilhelm had aligned himself with a powerful witch named Baba Yaga and together they had cast the spell over the town. The Everafters freedom could only be returned to them when the last Grimm had passed away, and so far, the Grimms were alive and kicking. Yet even with that kind of baggage, Granny Relda had made a few genuine friends in the community. Sheriff Hamstead was one of those friends. The rotund policeman with the Southern charm was actually one of the three not-so-little pigs. Lately, he had turned to the family for help with Ferryport Landing s unsolved cases.
And here the Grimms were, leg cramps and all, waiting for someone or something to make its move. After five long nights, Sabrina s patience had worn thin. There were things she should have been doing, important things, that didn t involve hiding behind Etch-A-Sketches and cans of Silly String stacked miles high for the Christmas season. Sabrina reached into her pocket and pulled out a small flashlight. She flicked its switch and a tiny focused beam illuminated a book sitting at her feet. She picked it up and started reading. She didn t get far.
Sabrina, Daphne whispered. What are you doing? You re going to give us away. Turn off that light.
Sabrina grumbled, slammed the book closed, and set it aside. If The Jungle Book held any clue to rescuing their parents it would have to wait. Sabrina s little sister had taken to detective work the way a dog does to a slice of bologna. Like their grandmother, Daphne loved every minute of it-the stakeouts, the long hours. She was a natural and took her new job quite seriously.
Suddenly, there was a rustling sound across the room. Sabrina quickly shut off her flashlight