Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of Once Upon a Crime by Nolon King in exchange for an honest review. I really wanted to like this book. I liked the storyline, bringing mythology and murder together, a detective suspecting her father of the fairy tale crimes. However the two main characters drove me nuts, he was judgey and overly sensitive and so was she. It took awhile for me to get through this book.

The story line itself was interesting and kept me entertained. I like the characters but kind of felt like Chelsea was portrayed a little air-headed for a police detective. I can’t imagine her going into a situation without following protocol when something doesn’t feel right. I feel like there was some jumping around and things left unfinished throughout the book. The author could benefit from adding more content to resolve these conflicts.

I liked the premise of the story. A killer killing women and making it look like fairy tales. Other than that I didn't care much for the book. I was very predictable. I also didn't like the 2 main characters at all. The woman was too girlie and emotional. She also always wanted things her way. There was too much about relationships and the 2 main characters fighting all the time. Also there was not much action till the end.

This book was not for me. The way the characters were written made all of them just unlikable. I understand the whole “jerk with a heart of gold” trope in romantic sub plots but the character of McPherson had virtually no redeeming qualities and zero charm. Fully a misogynist who would randomly think about how “adorable” his partner was while simultaneously undermining, belittling, and patronizing her out loud all under the guise of “protecting her innocence”…a full grown woman. Being woefully unprofessional on a murder case and taking none of it seriously and harassing his partner because she did. (and let’s ignore the whole “blue lives matter” party line threaded in the story)

Then the female protagonist was written to be naive, humorless and frivolous. While also being highly emotional and sentimental. Yet somehow still Completely 2 dimensional. All she could say in defense of herself was “do you have to be so crass?”. I think the term crass was used 5 times in the first quarter of the book. Both characters were written as completely sexist stereotypes which is not just boring and unoriginal but infuriating. It’s 2022. Grow up.

This all to say the book barely focused on the actual murder mystery of the story. We just spent most of the book reading about how angry and frustrated the characters were with each other and yet how attractive they thought the other was…what?

I really wanted to like this one. It's a cool concept and I like the idea of fairy tale-based crimes, it offers a lot of possibility - especially given the backstory offered and the dark nature of so many of the original versions of the stories. But the dialogue, the interactions between the detectives, and the female lead's bizarre behavior wore me out. When I hit the point in the dialogue where she literally goes over the top - "Maybe you sound like a trumpeting elephant when you sneeze, but I'm a lady. My sneezes are dainty." - the eye rolling reached maximum capacity and I had to close this one for good. I do not understand how this woman would have ever become a detective. She is a ridiculous caricature who one minute is stifling sneezes so she doesn't make too much noise because she wants to be dainty, and the next is yelling at her partner and accusing him of being the worst possible kind of misogynist - all while contemplating baking cookies for the other detectives to get them to like her...

She makes no sense as a character and I found it difficult to stay in the story given how angry I kept getting at her flip-flops in attitude and behavior. It was distracting to say the least, and the trips into the mind of the abused child / killer were not all that much better. I found them repetitive and oddly flat for all that they were intended to set up manic behavior. It made what should have been an edge-of-your-seat thriller way too much of a slog for me and I just never felt like I was drawn into the story enough to care about the outcome. This one was not for me...

Story: Chelsea Sullivan and Jim McPherson both come to the detective prescient with chips on their shoulders, and also with a will to prove themselves. It doesn’t matter who their father was(Chelsea), or what their ex-partner did (McPherson). They want a new start and show that they are worthy to have the shield. Yet there is a serial killer on the loose, and using the fairy tales that we all grew up on, just some of the most well-known Grimm’s tales and the oldest telling of them, not just the ones that we grew up knowing. The killer is perverting them and soon the killer sees Chelsea and sets his eyes on her. Will she become another story or will she survive to tell the tale?
Final Notes Once Upon a Crime 10/5 Stars! This is one of the most interesting and exciting mysteries that I have read in a long time. The use of the characters, the stories, and how emotions kept me at my toes and I couldn't stop. This is one of the books that you want to stay up all night, and hate getting up the next morning, but it is worth it, to find the killer, who I was suspicious of from the beginning, but the way the story was wonderfully written, there was some second-guessing. I cannot wait for the next novel, and I am so excited about it. If you only get one mystery this year, you should get this, you do not want to miss out! Thank you to Netgalley and also to the author who let me read this for giving an honest review. I will be reading another of his novels very soon, and reviewing them as well!

Until the next time, AGirlandHerTablet is getting off to read or listen to another book! I will see everyone later!

I was given an early copy in exchange for an honest review. We were quickly introduced to new detective Chelsea Sullivan, with a “sins of the father” tattooed on her forehead and partnered with Jim McPherson who is tagged with a few sins of his own personally, and, professionally. Positive trait. He does have an amazingly high closure rate. The duo are assigned immediately to a murder at a sorority. Posed in such a way as to remind Chelsea immediately of a fairytale from her childhood, Rapunzel to be exact. Her partner thinks she is just a rookie just jumping to conclusions. A rookie mistake. He thinks they need to step back and wait for all the coroner’s results to come back first which could be a few days. Then a second girl is murdered. She, too, reminds Chelsea of a fairytale, too. The partners bicker constantly. Gets on my nerves. However, I loved the book, in spite of it. Chelsea was correct there will be a series of murders, all based on The Brother’s Grimm fairytales. The really scary ones. Chelsea is plagued with nightmares and her partner shows he has her back. Doesn’t believe the stories about her father. He knows what it is like to be wrongly accused. Yes, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a psychological thriller. Thanks to #NetGalley, #Sterling&Stone, #NolonKing, #OnceUponACrime for letting me review. I anxiously await the next in the series.

This book was a great murder mystery! I truly loved the incorporation of the fairy tales and how it related to the crimes! I’m looking forward to reading the rest of this series as it comes out! I really liked McPherson’s character and the way he came in there at the end!

I really enjoyed this book. Character development was good. The plot was very interesting. Not a lot of typos.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed. It's an easy read. When I first started reading I found it easy to get into and to stay with it.

Did not finish this book. Got 21% of the way through it and Chelsea Sullivan is so completely unlikable, I just couldn't finish. What a childish, self-absorbed asshat. I don't know how this author could say that she had made it to detective rank when it is clear that she doesn't know rule one about criminal investigation.

If this is your heroine, you need a new line of work.

This is a fun start to a new crime thriller series! Once I started reading, I couldn't put the book down until I was finished. I loved the way fairy tales were woven into the story, and the killer's identity masked until the very end of the novel.

I just finished reading “Once Upon a Crime “ by Nolon King and I would highly recommend it. I was hooked after a few paragraphs. The characters and story line are very believable and so well written, it was no time at all and I was hooked. There were times the suspense was high and that was due to the storyline of the killer and how he seen his victims, very scary. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series!

Unfortunately kind of forgettable.

So, about a month ago, I read this book. I can’t tell you much, except that I finished it.

Then, the other day, I started reading this book. It took me 20% of the book to realize I’d already read it. I did read it again, largely because the only things that seemed to stick with me were the “who” did it and an irritating ex-girlfriend of one of the main characters.

In this 2nd read (because I barely remember the 1st), I found myself irritated by the relationship and juvenile patter of the main characters and icked out by the “who”.

But a month from now? I won’t remember having read this one.

With apologies, I don’t care to continue in the series.

*ARC via Publisher

Excellent crime book. Will draw you in from the first page. Well defined characters and well developed story. Non stop action. You will enjoy this book from beginning to end so check this out. Happy reading!

The good news is this is part of a series so we will see more of this fantastic duo in future! It is the relationship between the two protagonists which make this book more than just a mystery. They are very different but both likeable and thoroughly relatable. The underlying tension as to whether the murderer is close to home keeps the pace intense throughout.

Det. Sullivan has her brand new detective’s shield and she’s on her way to her very first homicide with her partner, Det. McPherson. Rumors have followed her new partner but they’d also followed her Lieutenant father and forced him into retirement so she’s keeping an open mind. That’s the story.
What I appreciated about Once Upon A Crime is that there was palpable chemistry between the two detectives, they didn’t always work well together but when they were on the page together it was fun and kind of dazzling. The other thing I liked a lot was that the creative twist on the crimes. As a fan of true crime, I found this fun and intriguing and it kept me motivated to keep reading.
The culprit was pretty easy to figure out but again, true crime fan, and even though I hoped I was wrong, it really didn’t take away from my enjoyment of this story. The ending came pretty quickly but I had a good time getting there.

Intended as a series, Once Upon A Crime by Nolon King is the first instalment of a crime trilogy. Two detectives, newly minted Chelsea Sullivan is paired with experienced Jim McPherson whose reputation is somewhat dubious despite his high clearance rate. They have barely been introduced when they are called out to their first case – a young woman murdered, choked by her hair plait. It calls to mind a Grimm fairy tale for Sullivan, but McPherson disagrees and their bickering relationship seems unworkable. A second young woman’s body is similarly laid out, referencing another fairy tale and the hunt is on for a serial killer. Whilst a classic police procedural, the narrative has two antagonist characters at its heart, their feisty interplay making a most entertaining four-and-a-half-star read rating. So, keep a look out for this unusually spirited crime partners and their next murder case. With thanks to Sterling & Stone and the author, for an uncorrected advanced copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given, despite the intuition of the Grimm murderer.

Once upon a crime by Nolan King.
New detective Chelsea Sullivan is partnered with a maverick famous for closing cases and infamous for how he does it. He has a target on his back and a chip on his shoulder. Not exactly how she hoped to kick off her first homicide case.
A very good read. This is my first book by this author and it won't be the last 4*.

Detective Chelsea Sullivan has just received her detective’s shield when she is on the way to her first homicide case. Her new partner is Detective Jim McPherson, not who she was hoping for, a transfer from another area. There are rumors about him as there were about her father, Lieutenant Sullivan, who was forced into retirement. The first murder victim reminds Chelsea about a character in the Grimm’s Fairytales, a book her father read to her when she was a child. When a second victim is found, there is a definite connection to Red Riding Hood. Leads are slim and when she becomes a target, will they solve the murders before her name is added to the list? The autopsy proceedings were a little grim to read, but the dialog between her and her partner was entertaining. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)