Fractured Fumbles: A Ziggy Poppin Fairytale Mystery

by M.J. Fabel

One gnome’s peaceful existence gets very complicated... after three fumbling fairies involve him in a murder mystery.Ziggy Poppin isn’t your typical scavenger. He’s a quirky industrious gnome who helps his sister run the townlet’s local pub in Thimbleville. When Zig isn’t scouring for trinkets at the humans’ midden in the wee hours of the night, he ‘borrows’ from a farmer’s vegetable patch like it’s a free-for-all open market. But picking the cream of the farm’s crops comes to an abrupt halt when the owner is murdered.

The three fairy sisters storm his attic, demanding space for their investigation into the human’s disappearance. But they really aren’t detectives, and Zig can’t rely on their magical mayhem to help him find crime-solving clues.

Desperate for peace and hoping to earn a few priceless fairy tears, Ziggy makes a bargain with the sisters, agreeing to help with their search for Old Tom’s killer. Along the way, Zig’s going to uncover hidden secrets that forest kinfolk would rather remain buried.

This is a light-hearted cozy with a touch of dry humor and a twisty clever plot, about an unwilling garden gnome turned amateur sleuth and the three fumbling fairies who think they can help him to solve a fairy tale crime caper.

Enter the Fractured Forest if you dare. There be faun and fracas, troll and trouble, fae and foul play while one simple gnome seeks to regain his quiet lifestyle.

Genres: Fantasy

250 pages, Paperback

Published October 30, 2024

Reviews

[SC · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Fractured Fumbles is the perfect palette cleanser in between some big epic fantasies!

This story follows a homely gnome named Ziggy Poppin (awesome name first of all!) who gets mixed up in solving a murder with a trio of unlikely allies.

All of the characters in this are well fleshed out. You can clearly imagine them and get a feel for their personalities.

The writing is perfectly descriptive where the world, magic system and creatures are vivid and make sense while not being overly complex and hard to follow. This is especially appreciated when exploring a new setting!

I was so intrigued by this story, I was reminded of plot points every now and then in a non intrusive way, and everything wraps up nicely with no obvious loose ends!

It's a real page turner and I'm excited to read more from this author and this universe in the future, highly recommend!

[Laura Velarde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful and adorable. Side characters and story were delightful. Would love to read more of Ziggy's adventures.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Delphia Von Heeder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fractured Fumbles is Book 1 in A Ziggy Poppin Fairytale Mystery by M J Fabel. I would never have guessed that this book was a debut fantasy novel. I loved the characters and I thought the murder was excellent. Ziggy is a wonderful gnome. The triplet fairies, Fee, Fi Fo are so cute nd clever. I found intrigue and a perfect lead in to book 2. I received an arc for free and am leaving my review voluntarily.

[Jim Doolittle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ziggy is a wonderfully entertaining protagonist, never at a loss for a humorous quip. His reluctant collaboration with three fairies to solve the murder mystery makes for lots of fun reading, especially since the fairies' bumbling magic is suspect at best. Interesting characters abound, including gnomes, trolls, fairies, fae, fawns, and more. Some are helpful to Ziggy, and some not so much. The mystery is very convoluted and will keep you guessing right along with Ziggy up until the end. This is a very good cozy mystery that you won't want to put down.

[Jaclyn B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cozy mystery, fantasy adventure.

Ziggy Poppin has enough on his plate when he finds his attic occupied by fairies. And not just any fairies - the three cursed Fumble sisters. After negotiating to get them out of his space, he finds himself drawn into solving the murder of the farmer Old Tom. Ziggy has always harvested from Tom's garden to supply his sister's small pub with fresh veggies, so he feels a small duty to look into the farmer's disappearance.

He soon finds that Old Tom had dealings with the fair folk, finding a way of getting himself involved with the current feud between the Fauns, Trolls, and Fae. If Ziggy is to solve this mystery, he might need to first solve the dissension in the Fractured Forest. And hopefully stay alive in the process.

A great start to a series, good world building. I loved Ziggy's interactions with everyone he finds along the way, a truly diplomatic gnome who uses his observations and instincts to navigate tricky situations. His way of talking, with all the ye's and yer's did drive me a little crazy, but overall I was able to look past it and truly enjoy this little tale. I can't wait to see what our hero finds himself up to next!

Thank you to BookSiren's and MJ Fabel for the ARC. My opinions are my own and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.

[K_Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fractured Fumbles was great fun to read. Ziggy Poppin (a gnome) is such a sweet character to follow – he’s both wholesome and cynical, which means he’s routinely underestimated by his peers while also being the one to come up with astute observations and solutions. I loved seeing Ziggy go from reluctantly helping the Fumbles (a trio of mischievous fairies) in their quest to solve a mystery, to being the driving force behind finding out what happened to poor Tom and how Tom’s disappearance relates to wider inter-realm conflicts.

What I love most about this book is the worldbuilding. It’s absolutely teaming with fantasy races and creatures, but the author handles the variety of fantasy folk superbly, so I never felt overwhelmed, only deeply immersed in this cosy fantasy world. You find out about political conflicts slowly but surely, through the actions and incentives of the characters, rather than having information thrown at you in big chunks.

I’d recommend Fractured Fumbles to anyone who enjoys cosy fantasy, high fantasy, and fantasy mixed with mystery and investigation. I’d also recommend it to anyone who’s grown a little tired of the fantasy genre and wants to see something new and fun. Fractured Fumbles certainly delivers, with its delightful quirks, magical mayhem and memorable characters.

[Laure · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ziggy Poppin is an unusual gnome. At least that is what the other residents of Thimbleville think, including his sister who runs the town's pub. He's very industrious and regularly scavenges from the humans' midden, and each night he harvests his human neighbor's vegetables. Unfortunately, the farmer, Old Tom is murdered, and Ziggy has to wonder what that will mean if a different human takes over the farm, and garden. Ziggy is outraged when three fairy sisters decide to take over his attic and demand he help them investigate Old Tom's murder, but if he agrees his peaceful existence will return. If he drives a hard bargain he can earn some coveted and valuable fairy tears. He will quickly have to wonder though, whether any number of fairy tears is worth the danger when he realizes that the dangerous secrets he has uncovered could very well cost him his life.
An absolutely wonderful fantasy mystery with some adventure and suspense thrown in the mix. Plenty of twists in the plot and some unique as well as engaging characters make it hard to put this book down.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Book Sirens and am leaving a voluntary review.

[Lucille · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a debut novel by M.J. Fabel and I hope it will not be her last.

Ziggy Poppin is a gnome who lives happily in his converted oak stump at the edge of the Fractured Forest, gathering vegetables from Old Tom’s farm as well as helping himself to ‘knick knack’ from a junkyard and transforming them to useful items. In trot, or rather fly, the Fumbles Fee, Fi and Fo, three fairies invading his attic for their detective agency. Ziggy is reluctantly involved in their search for Old Tom’s murderer. It is a convoluted story in which you will meet all kinds of interesting and unique characters, most of them of the non-human variety.

It is a fast-paced book, easy to read (well, in fact a page-turner), funny characters, well thought-out storyline which keeps you guessing. Well worth the five stars I gave it! Bring on the next one in the series, please.

Thank you BookSirens for bringing it to my attention and allowing me to read it.

[Cindy Topp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I`m hearing voices in my head, all thanks to MJ Fabel, and that`s a good thing! The dialogue literally sparkles alive and jumps off the page in this cozy fantasy/mystery, noblebright mashup. The characters and world building are outstanding, and I do so hope “Fractured Fumbles” will be made into an audiobook – I know, it too, would be as rewarding as the e-book/print version is sure to be! I`m thinking big, but it would translate well to animated or stop-action film, as well, I`d wager. In any case, for now, I`m eagerly anticipating the further adventures of Zig Poppin, as long as the wait isn`t too long: some turnip chips with troll sauce would be delicious right about now...
Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy from the author through BookSirens, and am leaving a review voluntarily.

[Chere Gruver · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an adorable story!

Surprisingly, I enjoyed this story a lot more than I thought I would. The characters are all adorable, from Ziggy Poppin—a garden gnome—to the Fumble Sisters—Fi, Fo and Fee—to pixies and the fae and humans and trolls and ogres. When the human Ziggy gets his produce from disappears, he ends up with the Fumble sisters moving into his attic and tricking him into helping them solve the mystery of what happened to Tom. There was danger galore, with everything from cats to lamia. There’s betrayals and double crosses and a wish and all kinds of magic. This engaging story pulled me in from the very first page and didn’t let go until the ending, which was also very touching. I admit to shedding a tear or two while reading this as well. I cannot recommend this strongly enough!

[Renée · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cute, fun, cozy fantasy! I loved it and found myself smiling so much at the end. The characters, magical items, spells, creatures and the like were great. The whole mystery involved also kept my interest really well, trying to piece together who did it until the very end. I wonder if we'll get more installments of Ziggy's mysteries!

Definitely recommend to all cozy fantasy readers!

Thank you Pocket Pen Press, BookSirens and the author for giving me a digital ARC for an honest review.

[N.E. White · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really fun read. Ziggy is smart and so capable! He reminded me of a very short Indiana Jones. The author does a great job making all the characters unique, even the ones we only see once. And the mysterious adventure Ziggy goes on is entertaining and will keep you guessing to the very end. Definitely cozy and the perfect read for the holidays.

[Geraldine Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an enchanting fairy tale which I enjoyed immensely.

I especially enjoyed the intricate information given on all the supernatural races involved in the story. Apparently the term 'Fae' doesn't apply to all of them.

Should there be another book in the series, I really look forward to reading it.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[P.C. Nottingham · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun debut! Ziggy is hilarious and relatable as main characters get. The fairies bursting in on his quiet life reminded me of The Hobbit in a very good way. If you need a break from overcomplicated fantasy worlds but want to keep your fun fantasy folk, look no further than Fractured Fumbles.
5/5 lovable gnomes

[Lavada Haga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

I enjoyed reading this book very much! Ziggy Poppin and the Fumble sisters as well as the other residents of the Fractured Forest are are wonderfully written. The story is much more than a who done it mystery. Very well done!

[Tanvi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great debut and book 1 in what looks like a promising series. The writing was good, and the characters adorable.

[Lorraine Hutchings · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story

A wonderful fairytale for adults and families. It's the kind of book that give us a cozy fuzzy feeling. Happy reading

[Sharen]

Not my kinda book. I was intrigued by the faeries and gnomes as characters. But, I just couldn’t get into the story.

[Stephanie Hickman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, quaint cozy fantasy with a mystery involved. I really enjoyed getting to know Ziggy and the Fumble fairies, Fee, Fi, and Fo.