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Thoroughly ridiculous to the very end. Been a long time since a book has made me laugh out loud like this one!
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Nursery Crime #1
The Big Over Easy
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It's Easter in Reading—a bad time for eggs—and no one can remember the last sunny day. Ovoid D-class nursery celebrity Humpty Stuyvesant Van Dumpty III, minor baronet, ex-convict, and former millionaire philanthropist, is found shattered to death beneath a wall in a shabby area of town. All the evidence points to his ex-wife, who has conveniently shot herself.
But Detective Inspector Jack Spratt and his assistant Mary Mary remain unconvinced, a sentiment not shared with their superiors at the Reading Police Department, who are still smarting over their failure to convict the Three Pigs of murdering Mr. Wolff. Before long Jack and Mary find themselves grappling with a sinister plot involving cross-border money laundering, bullion smuggling, problems with beanstalks, titans seeking asylum, and the cut and thrust world of international chiropody.
And on top of all that, the JellyMan is coming to town . . .
But Detective Inspector Jack Spratt and his assistant Mary Mary remain unconvinced, a sentiment not shared with their superiors at the Reading Police Department, who are still smarting over their failure to convict the Three Pigs of murdering Mr. Wolff. Before long Jack and Mary find themselves grappling with a sinister plot involving cross-border money laundering, bullion smuggling, problems with beanstalks, titans seeking asylum, and the cut and thrust world of international chiropody.
And on top of all that, the JellyMan is coming to town . . .
383 pages, Paperback
First published January 1,2005
This edition
- Format
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383 pages, Paperback
- Published
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July 25, 2006 by Penguin
- ISBN
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9780143037231
- ASIN
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0143037234
- Language
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English
Characters More characters
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Jack Spratt
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Mary Mary
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About the author
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Fforde began his career in the film industry, and for nineteen years held a variety of posts on such movies as Goldeneye, The Mask of Zorro and Entrapment. Secretly harbouring a desire to tell his own stories rather than help other people tell their's, Jasper started writing in 1988, and spent eleven years secretly writing novel after novel as he strove to find a style of his own that was a no-mans-land somewhere between the warring factions of Literary and Absurd.
After receiving 76 rejection letters from publishers, Jasper's first novel The Eyre Affair was taken on by Hodder & Stoughton and published in July 2001. Set in 1985 in a world that is similar to our own, but with a few crucial - and bizarre - differences (Wales is a socialist republic, the Crimean War is still ongoing and the most popular pets are home-cloned dodos), The Eyre Affair introduces literary detective named 'Thursday Next'. Thursday's job includes spotting forgeries of Shakespeare's lost plays, mending holes in narrative plot lines, and rescuing characters who have been kidnapped from literary masterpieces.
Luckily for Jasper, the novel garnered dozens of effusive reviews, and received high praise from the press, from booksellers and readers throughout the UK. In the US The Eyre Affair was also an instant hit, entering the New York Times Bestseller List in its first week of publication.
Since then, Jasper has added another six to the Thursday Next series and has also begun a second series that he calls 'Nursery Crime', featuring Jack Spratt of The Nursery Crime Division. In the first book, 'The Big Over Easy', Humpty Dumpty is the victim in a whodunnit, and in the second, 'The Fourth Bear', the Three Bear's connection to Goldilocks disappearance can finally be revealed.
In January 2010 Fforde published 'Shades of Grey', in which a fragmented society struggle to survive in a colour-obsessed post-apocalyptic landscape.
His latest series is for Young Adults and include 'The Last Dragonslayer' (2010), 'Song of the Quarkbeast' (2011) and 'The Eye of Zoltar' (2013). All the books centre around Jennifer Strange, who manages a company of magicians named 'Kazam', and her attempts to keep the noble arts from the clutches of big business and property tycoons.
Jasper's 14th Book, 'Early Riser', a thriller set in a world in which humans have always hibernated, is due out in the UK in August 2018, and in the US in 2019.
Fforde failed his Welsh Nationality Test by erroneously identifying Gavin Henson as a TV chef, but continues to live and work in his adopted nation despite this setback. He has a Welsh wife, two welsh daughters and a welsh dog, who is mad but not because he's Welsh. He has a passion for movies, photographs, and aviation. (Jasper, not the dog)
Series:
* Thursday Next
* Nursery Crime
* Shades of Grey
After receiving 76 rejection letters from publishers, Jasper's first novel The Eyre Affair was taken on by Hodder & Stoughton and published in July 2001. Set in 1985 in a world that is similar to our own, but with a few crucial - and bizarre - differences (Wales is a socialist republic, the Crimean War is still ongoing and the most popular pets are home-cloned dodos), The Eyre Affair introduces literary detective named 'Thursday Next'. Thursday's job includes spotting forgeries of Shakespeare's lost plays, mending holes in narrative plot lines, and rescuing characters who have been kidnapped from literary masterpieces.
Luckily for Jasper, the novel garnered dozens of effusive reviews, and received high praise from the press, from booksellers and readers throughout the UK. In the US The Eyre Affair was also an instant hit, entering the New York Times Bestseller List in its first week of publication.
Since then, Jasper has added another six to the Thursday Next series and has also begun a second series that he calls 'Nursery Crime', featuring Jack Spratt of The Nursery Crime Division. In the first book, 'The Big Over Easy', Humpty Dumpty is the victim in a whodunnit, and in the second, 'The Fourth Bear', the Three Bear's connection to Goldilocks disappearance can finally be revealed.
In January 2010 Fforde published 'Shades of Grey', in which a fragmented society struggle to survive in a colour-obsessed post-apocalyptic landscape.
His latest series is for Young Adults and include 'The Last Dragonslayer' (2010), 'Song of the Quarkbeast' (2011) and 'The Eye of Zoltar' (2013). All the books centre around Jennifer Strange, who manages a company of magicians named 'Kazam', and her attempts to keep the noble arts from the clutches of big business and property tycoons.
Jasper's 14th Book, 'Early Riser', a thriller set in a world in which humans have always hibernated, is due out in the UK in August 2018, and in the US in 2019.
Fforde failed his Welsh Nationality Test by erroneously identifying Gavin Henson as a TV chef, but continues to live and work in his adopted nation despite this setback. He has a Welsh wife, two welsh daughters and a welsh dog, who is mad but not because he's Welsh. He has a passion for movies, photographs, and aviation. (Jasper, not the dog)
Series:
* Thursday Next
* Nursery Crime
* Shades of Grey
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Community Reviews
Rating(4.2 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
41(41%)
4 stars
36(36%)
3 stars
23(23%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
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Having really enjoyed, “The Eyre Affair,” I was looking forward to reading this, the first in the ‘Nursery Crimes’ series. DS Mary Mary transfers to Reading Central Police Station, hoping to work with her hero, DCI Friedland Chymes. As with, “The Eyre Affair,” this is a slightly twisted version of reality – so, in this world, the police are lauded not for their ability to solve crimes, but to publish them in crime magazines. In order to become a success, detectives need to join the Guild of Detectives – in which Friedland Chymes is a major success. However, Mary Mary finds that, rather than working with Chymes, she has joined the Nursery Crime Division. Heading the team is DI Jack Spratt, who has just failed to convict the three little pigs for premeditated crimes against a wolf (it takes a long while to boil a huge cauldron of water…).
Into this world of upside down nonsense we follow Jack Spratt and Mary Mary as they investigate their latest case. Humpty Dumpty is dead, but did he fall of a wall, or was he helped? Along the way we meet Greek Gods, investigate dodgy share dealings in Spongg’s footcare empire and await the visit of the Jellyman in Reading. Although this is a lot of fun, I did not find the storyline – or characters- as interesting as the Thursday Next books. Still, it was an enjoyable read and Jasper Fforde manages to name check many literary characters. I especially liked the little newspaper snippets at the beginning of each chapter. I am not sure I would read more in this series, but I am glad I finally got around to reading this.
Into this world of upside down nonsense we follow Jack Spratt and Mary Mary as they investigate their latest case. Humpty Dumpty is dead, but did he fall of a wall, or was he helped? Along the way we meet Greek Gods, investigate dodgy share dealings in Spongg’s footcare empire and await the visit of the Jellyman in Reading. Although this is a lot of fun, I did not find the storyline – or characters- as interesting as the Thursday Next books. Still, it was an enjoyable read and Jasper Fforde manages to name check many literary characters. I especially liked the little newspaper snippets at the beginning of each chapter. I am not sure I would read more in this series, but I am glad I finally got around to reading this.
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Fun, but ultimately forgettable. I wish there had been a little less punning and plot twists, and a little more character development. Great satirizing of mystery fiction, though, and the nursery rhyme thing (diluted weirdly with bits of Greek mythology, fairytales, and other fictional razzmatazz . . . what the fuck is a Jellyman, anyway? Am I missing a reference?) was very fun, even if it is a bit hard to swallow that Humpty Dumpty could have bedded all those women. Though, I suppose that's the point. All in all, completely absurd, but missing a stable backbone to hold it up.
[3.5 stars]
[3.5 stars]
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Jasper Fforde is just so much fun. His books are sorta like beach reads for book nerds. They're playful, punny, funny, silly, and smart. Also I saw him read in a small bookstore in SoHo a couple of years ago and he is hilarious. He talked about how he and his kids play games in supermarkets where they put really incongruous and semi-embarrasing things in other people's shopping carts (I think he called them 'trolleys' because of course he British or maybe Austrailian?), like adult diapers for young pretty girls or whatever.
Anyway, the Thursday Next books are in my opinion much better than this series, but that won't stop me from reading everything he writes. Jasper, please be my friend?
Anyway, the Thursday Next books are in my opinion much better than this series, but that won't stop me from reading everything he writes. Jasper, please be my friend?
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Amazon calls this "probably Fforde's weakest novel" - a statement I must say I highly disagree with. It's much better than Lost in a Good Book and almost on par with The Eyre Affair - something which I thought absolutely impossible.
I love how Fforde dares to use the media to get his point across and how he plays around with commonly known concepts and stories without ever blatantly showing his readers "This is what I'm talking about, I'm so obvious you have to get it now!". He perfectly masters the art of subtle jokes and almost rivals Douglas Adams for absurdity.
I love how Fforde dares to use the media to get his point across and how he plays around with commonly known concepts and stories without ever blatantly showing his readers "This is what I'm talking about, I'm so obvious you have to get it now!". He perfectly masters the art of subtle jokes and almost rivals Douglas Adams for absurdity.
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I'm still somewhere in the middle of this book... muddling through. Sort of disappointed by it since I really enjoyed the Tuesday Next series which were funny, sarcastic, ironic and paid much hysterical homage to a series of pop culture icons that were both corny but entertaining.
In this other series, he loses all the quirkiness and fun. It ends up reading just like any other murder mystery, only it's lack of humor makes Fforde's continued atrocious use of names less tolerant than it was in the Tuesday Next series where the story was so funny and clever I could forgive him his lack of creativity when it came to the use of such stupid and obviously silly names.
I'm not a fan of standard detective/police stories... and this one is simply that...of course with Humpty Dumpty as the murder vic... but still, it's dry and takes itself too seriously. It's odd. I don't get it.
In this other series, he loses all the quirkiness and fun. It ends up reading just like any other murder mystery, only it's lack of humor makes Fforde's continued atrocious use of names less tolerant than it was in the Tuesday Next series where the story was so funny and clever I could forgive him his lack of creativity when it came to the use of such stupid and obviously silly names.
I'm not a fan of standard detective/police stories... and this one is simply that...of course with Humpty Dumpty as the murder vic... but still, it's dry and takes itself too seriously. It's odd. I don't get it.
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This was FANTASTIC. A new favorite. Clever, intelligent, humorous, whimsical and just PERFECT. I can’t wait to read it again someday.
Though I’m sad there isn’t twenty more of these, I’m thrilled this book is in existence at all and that there is one sequel for me to devour soon enough.
Well done, Fforde! You’re my kind of author, sir!!!
Though I’m sad there isn’t twenty more of these, I’m thrilled this book is in existence at all and that there is one sequel for me to devour soon enough.
Well done, Fforde! You’re my kind of author, sir!!!
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My entry novel to Jasper Fforde didn't disappoint. I was definitely intrigued by the silly blurb on this one but didn't realise it would be so witty and clever. Really enjoyable and lighthearted read (or listen in my case - also likeable narrator voice).
Unrelated but memorable quote goes to: "You know that person who borrows books and never gives them back? I'm that person."
Unrelated but memorable quote goes to: "You know that person who borrows books and never gives them back? I'm that person."
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