The Big Over Easy cover art

The Big Over Easy

Nursery Crime Adventures, Book 1

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The Big Over Easy

By: Jasper Fforde
Narrated by: Luke Thompson
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About this listen

'It looks like he died from injuries sustained during a fall....' Best-selling author Jasper Fforde begins an effervescent new series.

It's Easter in Reading - a bad time for eggs - and no one can remember the last sunny day. Humpty Dumpty, well-known nursery favourite, large egg, ex-convict and former millionaire philanthropist, is found shattered beneath a wall in a shabby area of town.

Following the pathologist's careful reconstruction of Humpty's shell, Detective Inspector Jack Spratt and his Sergeant, Mary Mary, are soon grappling with a sinister plot involving cross-border money laundering, the illegal Bearnaise sauce market, corporate politics and the cut and thrust world of international chiropody.

As Jack and Mary stumble around the streets of Reading in Jack's lime green Austin Allegro, the clues pile up, but Jack has his own problems to deal with. And on top of everything else, the JellyMan is coming to town....

©2005 Jasper Fforde (P)2005 Hodder & Stoughton Limited Fantasy Literature & Fiction Mystery Thriller & Suspense Fiction Magic Suspense
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A very enjoyable story. It takes your mind a while to settle into the understated humour, but every second line contains some self referential joke, Nursery Rhyme remix or gentle dig at police work and human society. This world sits nicely adjacent to the Thursday Next books.

Quietly hilarious

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Recommended for Pratchett fans! Similar level of well executed ridiculousness that is unexpectedly satisfying. Will be reading more!

A terrific yarn!

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This is a brilliant book and has been spectacularly performed. I highly recommend it! I love that this is the reconstructed book Thursday Next hid in for two years.

Well done Jasper and Luke!

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I’m a Jasper FForde fan, so of course will rate the story highly. But I also think the audible version is great. The narrator really makes the characters/voices come to life giving that something extra to the story.

Quirky and fun

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Whimsical and intricate story telling with a cast of characters who are etched into your memory and then they are cast into a new world and the ride is simply satisfying.

Whodunnit sunny side up

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Fforde’s story is hilarious and excellent as always, an excellent whodunnit that links in beautifully with his Thursday Next series. And Thomas’s impeccable narration gives it life. I especially liked the scene with the bacon sandwich.

brilliant as always

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This story shouldn't work, but it really does, thanks to the enormous amount of thought the author must have put in. Very, very funny.

Spectacularly clever

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.