• The Big Over Easy

  • A Nursery Crime
  • By: Jasper Fforde
  • Narrated by: Simon Prebble
  • Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (1,265 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Big Over Easy  By  cover art

The Big Over Easy

By: Jasper Fforde
Narrated by: Simon Prebble
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.75

Buy for $15.75

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

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.

The familiar and utterly transformed characters and world of nursery crime is pure ingenious fun. Just when you thought he'd stretched his astonishing imagination to the limit, Jasper Fforde does it again with this dazzling new series.

©2005 Jasper Fforde. All Rights Reserved (P)2005 Penguin Audio and BBC Audiobooks America. All Rights Reserved.

Critic reviews

"Fforde's whimsical fifth novel, his first not to feature literary detective Thursday Next, is consistently witty....The result is unusually clever." (Publishers Weekly)
"Fforde is gaining fans, and even readers who start out groaning may find themselves grinning." (Booklist)

What listeners say about The Big Over Easy

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    705
  • 4 Stars
    369
  • 3 Stars
    130
  • 2 Stars
    35
  • 1 Stars
    26
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    589
  • 4 Stars
    166
  • 3 Stars
    39
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    5
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    499
  • 4 Stars
    206
  • 3 Stars
    77
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    10

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Got better as it went and didn't disappoint

I ended up really liking it. The book was recommended. I didn't get hooked immediately, but I continued to like it more and more from start to finish. Lots of great twists and some very excellent subtle nursery rhyme and kid story jokes. It really ramped up towards the end. The last sentence tells you there is a sequel which I am going to start right now.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Grate fun!

A nursery crime! Wonderful! It's a hoot and fun and a good mystery all in one. Well done Mr. Fforde!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Mother Goose is loose!

This was a really interesting and fun read, even though it got slow in a few places. I enjoyed that the author really took the time to make you care about the characters. I liked the narrator's voice, as well.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Ffun!

Jasper Fforde is a complete original, and so are his stories. This is the first story in his Nursery Crime series featuring Detective Jack Spratt aka The Giant Killer and his partner Mary Mary (from a long line of Mary Marys, for some reason people ask plant advice of her). This is a witty take on nursery story characters that are all grown up.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fforde is always a safe bet

An underrated marvel. The Nursery Crime series is a perennial favorite, like going back to old friends.
The chapters were off between the book and the audio.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Hard to follow

I bought Fourth Bear first - what a hoot! I hoped this would be as good, but found it harder to follow and not as engaging as 4B. Great introduction to Mary Mary - the character development is wonderful. Reading isn't as good as 4B either.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

amazing!

This is the second time I have listened to this book and still loved it. The narrator is phenomenal. Fforde is a genious writer. I'm going to download The 4th bear next even though I heard it years ago as well. I have run out of any other Jasper Fforde books on Audible...I sure hope a new Nursery Crime book is out soon.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Well read but disappointing

This was well read but a disappointing read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

not Fforde's best

I am a huge fan of Fforde's Thursday Next series, but this was lackluster in comparison. Not excellent recording quality, either. I didn't always care for the narrator's voice and characters, and could not always understand him. However, somehow Fforde is an addiction, and I still find myself wanting to listen to the sequel, The Fourth Bear!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Not what I expected at all; it was much better

I really smiled a lot listening to this. I really got caught up in it and the ending surprised me. A+

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!