I deviled back into Mr. Fforde's works with the 1st in the 2 part series of the nursery crimes. It was a cracking good time!
See my full review at https://topplingbookpile.blogspot.com...

DNF at p. 162 - Perfectly fine, but forgettable. Decided to let it go and focus on other things.

Man. If only I was more articulate I could begin to describe the witty, enticing, and allusion filled writing that Jasper Fforde specializes in. I read the Thursday Next series years ago which focus on the mishaps of the book characters from classical literature but this series, focusing on the characters of nursery rhymes ending up murdered and the investigations surrounding their demise… man. What a fun read. I love a cleverly written novel.

What a fun read! The book was given to me as a Christmas present and it didn’t disappoint.

Funny, page turning and NOT your children’s nursery story.

Jasper Fforde is a master and he has done it again with this book. I couldn't put it down.

It's Easter time in Reading and the unthinkable has happened, Humpy Dumpty has been murdered!
When the prime suspect his ex wife dies in an accident at the local biscuit factory Jack Spratt and his sidekick Mary Mary look in a different direction but it's a race against time and also Friendland Chymes, the debonair poster boy for crime solving and tv dramatisations of his cases.
The Nursery crime department has its work cut out as this case isn't what to seems.
Titans, magic beans talks, crazy scientists, murder of an egg, hostile business takeovers and shiny shenanigans are just a few of the things Jack and Mary Mary run into during the case of "The big over easy."
Fun, crazy, a light hearted read with an inventive mix of real life situations yet with nursery rhyme and fairytale characters.
Hope to read more of these cases.

Think of a nursery rhyme or fairy tale from when you were very young, and the chances are that the characters from there will be found somewhere in this book. Don't be put off by the title, this is not a children's book, although they might enjoy reading it too.
Not only is this a witty, fun filled book, but also a well written whodunnit. Even various Detectives from both our TVs and literature make appearances throughout.
Basically there is a little known division of the Oxford and Berkshire Police Force, the Nursery Crimes Division. At the NCD's head is DI Jack Spratt, and he is assisted by DS Mary Mary, who has recently transferred to Reading. The other members of the NCD seem to be other department's cast-offs.
It all begins with the discovery of Humpty Dumpty, smashed into pieces below a wall, in a less than savoury part of town. Did he fall, did he jump or was he pushed? Take a well earned trip back to your childhood, and follow the NCD as they try to unravel the mystery surrounding Humpty's untimely demise.

Extremely witty and clever. Excited for the next one!

A cleverly written book about the death of Humpty Dumpty and the detectives Jack Sprat and Mary Mary who are on the case. Many references are made to nursery rhyme characters. This author has another series and the first book is "The Eyre Affair" that has something to do with Jane Eyre being kidnapped.

Absolutely dreadful. In no way was I expecting this novel, a mystery about the death of an alcoholic, womanizing Humpty Dumpty, to remotely resemble great literature. Unfortunately, though, it didn't even succeed as fun, breezy summer brain candy.

Fforde suffers from an acute case of cleverness overload--every sentence reads like he's trying way to hard to be witty. Plus, while normally I love contemporary literature that rewrites fairy tales or folklore, in this book it felt like a cheap gimmick. Instead of drawing on nursery rhyme characters to produce social or cultural commentary as to how these figures function as modern myths, the "nursery crime" device seemed intended solely to throw in as many familiar characters as possible so that readers would feel smart when they caught the references.

The mystery wasn't particularly interesting or original, and I laughed maybe twice over the course of the book. If it hadn't have been the only reading material I brought on a 4-hour plane ride, I probably wouldn't have bothered finishing it.

What an entertaining and fun romp with the familiar nursery rhyme and mythology characters.

The premise is that Jack Spratt is a detective in the Nursery Rhyme division of law enforcement. The beauty of his cases is that they tend to resolve according to the original story.

The beauty of the book is that Jasper Fforde is masterful in his use of the language and satire.

“Kliunkis Pliumpis ant sienos sėdėjo,
Kliunkis Pliumpis staiga nuriedėjo.”


Viskas taip ir buvo. Tik va, Kliunkis Pliumpis, didžiulis kiaušinis, ne tik nuriedėjo – nudribęs dar ir ištiško į šipulius. Bet Readingo policijos teismo ekspertė ne iš piršto laužta – kruopščiai surinkusi visus lukštus, nustatė, kad kažkas Kliunkiui Pliumpiui paleido kulką į nugarą. Žmogžudystės (ar kiaušažudystės?) tyrimo imasi Readingo policijos pasakiškų nusikaltimų tyrimo padalinio detektyvas inspektorius Jackas Sprattas ir jo nauja porininkė, ką tik atvykusi miestan Mary Mary.
Fforde, kaip ir „Thursday Next“ serijoje, žaidžia su literatūriniais kūriniais. Tiesa, šįsyk beveik išimtinai – su pasakomis (na, ir šiek tiek su detektyvais), kurdamas savo istoriją. Žinoma, kai pasakų personažai ir paprasti žmonės gyvena šalimais, tas pasakojimas neišvengia absurdo, bet detektyvinė linija, kad ir kokia ji keista, išlaiko savo logiką.
Žodžiu, normalus detektyvas labai nenormaliose dekoracijose. Na, ir žiupsnelis, ką ten žiupsnelis – visas žiupsnis humoro.