The Big Over Easy

A Nursery Crime

By: Jasper Fforde

Narrated by: Simon Prebble

Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins

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)

Total Whimsy

Brilliant. I think Jasper Fforde is the literary equivalent of "Monty Pythons Flying Circus". Long live DI Jack Spratt, Sgt Mary Mary and the other assorted wierdos of the Nursery Crime Division. And narrator Simon Prebble only adds to the foolishness.

Fun

I love everything Jasper Fforde has written. He has a wonderful sense of humor and an amazing writing ability. There are lots of unexpected and entertaining twists. I highly recommend all of his books!

Good fun if you're open to it

With Jasper Fforde you have to know what you are getting into -- his books are whimsical and nonsensical, but fun reads. I particularly like the way his characters take all the absurdity in stride, and also how he takes the familiar nursery rhyme characters and events and transforms them into real-life (true crime) situations. The ending in this one goes a bit off the rails in my opinion, but I still enjoyed it

Another Win for Fforde

I came to this book fresh from Early Riser, and despite being a different genre and even style, Fforde's whimsical storytelling is still strong as ever. While I still think most of Fforde's stories are better read than listened to (given the high literary references), this was still a great time. Even if you're not a classic literature person that enjoys references to fairy tale characters, the mystery at the heart of the story is still a great puzzle. Great book, great narration. 5 stars all the way around.

Humpty Stuyvesant Van Dumpty III. Priceless!!

This book was awesome!! With nursery rhymes as the backstory, this murder mystery was a grin and a chuckle and a really good thriller.

Jack Spratt and Mary Mary are as advertised. They join forces to find Humpty Dumpty's murderer and as with all nursery rhymes, nothing is what it seems. I loved that Humpty Dumpty's real name is Humpty Stuyvesant Van Dumpty III. That was priceless. There are special nuggets like that throughout this story.

I love the narrator!!! Prebble was fun and funny and incredibly inventive in his narrative choices. He made a really good book, better.

Fantastic story

It has been years since I first listened to this version of The Big Over Easy. I first listened to a CD version and loved it so much I had my husband listen to it. Then I bought the book and now I have the audible version. Perhaps a bit of overkill, but I know I won't be without it! It is still as vivid, funny, unexpected and delightful as I remembered. An amazing performance by Mr. Prebble, capturing the nuances of each character spectacularly. Fantastic book!

Never knew eggs were this entertaining

I really like Jaspers books and this is no exception. Nursery characters come to life in this not for kids book about the murder of an egg.

Always amazing, Jasper Fforde. I've completed the

Always amazing, Jasper Fforde. I've completed the entire series twice already. Fforde is a word master. Read his series; you won't be sorry.

Inventive story excellently narrated

Simon Pebble unfailingly narrates bringing to life EVERY character, male and female, transforming the audio story into a three- dimensional piece of theatre where I could hear and see the scenes developing in front of my inner eye. The story is quirky and original, merging Fairytale-world with our reality - enjoyable and strangely suspenseful even if one's adult sensible mind wants to remonstrate with the silliness of it all. Go for it!

Another great jasper Fford!!!

Imaginative, fun, and a very easy read. Great reader makes it even that much more enjoyable! Loved it and can't wait for the next!