A Nursery Crime (Jack Spratt Investigates) - The Fourth Bear

The Fourth Bear is the rare sequel that manages to top its predecessor. Peppered with Fforde's trademark wit and wordplay, its plot manages to be more intricate than The Big Over Easy without losing the reader; much like that book, Fforde hangs major plot points on loose threads from nursery tales (why *would* Goldilocks lie down and sleep in a house she just broke into, anyway?). And having the plot revolve around one of the most awful (in a good way) puns of all time - one that derives from a Jonathan Swift passage, of all things - is just icing on the cake.

I confess to liking Jasper Fforde's books much to my friend's chagrin who find his writing difficult to keep straight in their heads... too much nonsense for them I suppose. For me however, I enjoy a good bit of the non-linear, non-sequential, nonsense. It vingorates the synapses and keeps my wee brain doing calisthenics and the like.

That all said, I enjoyed the Fourth Bear but as the title of the review states: I enjoyed the previous works more. Still, if you enjoyed the first Nursery Crime novel or Thursday Next series, you'll likely find some grins, chuckles, guffaws and enjoyment in this novel.

If you have ever thought to yourself that "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" seemed incomplete, here's a book that will satisfy you. Fforde's writing, funny and sharp as usual, is a star on its own. While not exactly his Thursday Next series, this should appeal to the same set of readers. The plot of this book is not quite as meandering as it predecessor, The Big Over Easy, and is much more satisfying at the end. I would reccomend this to anyone with an appreciation of literature and a sense of humor (if you lack one, don't read this).

I adore Jasper Fforde and his imaginative universes. I have read and love all of his books, but I found "The Fourth Bear" to be his funniest, and I've read it at least three times (and back-to-back the first two times). Where "The Big Over Easy" was humorous and had some good ideas, "The Fourth Bear" takes the Nursery Crime world up about three notches in character, four notches in hilarity and five notches in sheer weirdness. All kidding aside, if you enjoy absurd scenarios (hiding in wait for the Scissor-Man, Caliban the house pest, the amazing Gingerbread Man - I could go on and on) told with matter-of-fact seriousness, this book is for you. If you need everything to make sense, please look elsewhere.

Another thing I like about Jasper Fforde, unlike some other absurd/funny writers like Robert Rankin and Christopher Moore (who are good in their own right) is that the sort of "male gaze" of these books (hot females with large breasts, maneaters, etc) is almost nonexistent. Additionally, his protagonists, even those that are failures, are likeable, which is generally a good thing in a humorous book.

Nursery Crime Squad detective Jack Spratt, constable Mary Mary, and alien constable Ashley (who speaks in binary) are at it again in this light pun filled satirical mash-up of nursery rhymes and detective fiction. Goldilocks has been found dead and presumably murdered after fleeing the house of the three bears. Spratt is on the case, investigating that crime along with the Gingerbread Man's murderous killing spree and the possibility that massive explosions are being caused by... cucumbers. If you enjoy deadpan punning and can have fun with a light read that skewers everything, this is a fun book.

so, nursery rhymes used to be something that mommy used to read to me, and once i learned to read, i'd read on my own. and they always seemed so inocent, but then i learned what "ring around the rosies" really meant.

this book takes it a step further. now, mamma bear is cheating on pappa bear, goldylocks dies a horrible death, and mary mary, quite contrary, is a police detective.

it's a fun book. puts an odd spin on the childhood memories.

"The Fourth Bear" is a thoroughly enjoyable read. Reading Jasper Fforde is a multi-layered experience. You will laugh out loud, chuckle and smile regularly. You will be amazed at the characters he throws at you: bears, liquid-filled aliens (Rambosians), characters from nursery rhymes (Goldilocks), mythological figures, serial murderers, and a few humans, although some of them might be PDRs (Persons of Dubious Reality). Throw in some good plot twists, plenty of witty repartee and other layers I don't want to mention, and you have a unique reading experience.

Like many, my experience with Jasper Fforde began with "The Eyre Affair". I proceeded to read all of the Thursday Next novels, and when Fforde started the Nursery Crime series with "The Big Over Easy", I was one of the first in line. While "The Big Over Easy" read like the reworked novel it was, it showed a lot of promise. "The Fourth Bear", however, brings the Nursery Crime series up to par with the Thursday Next novels. I'm ready for Jack Spratt and Mary Mary's next adventure.

Jasper Fforde at his best, in this second installment in the quirky and offbeat adventures of DCI Jack Spratt, Mary Mary and Ashley.

Facing a physopatic Gingerbreadman with murder and gore on his mind, a suspension from his job (again!) and doubts as to his own reality, Jack must prove to the whole Nursery community that his department is worth the money.

And then there is Goldilock and the three bears. How exactly did the porridge managa to defy physics by cooling so eratically? Just who else was privy to the disaperance of the finicky Goldilocks?

Beware: this book is contagiously exciting, and may just get you interested in...cucumbers!

This series, sadly there are only two so far that I know of, is amazing. Read it five years ago and it's still fresh and vivid in my mind. They are fun and after a point you forget they are Nursery Rhyme characters. Great read for a great range of people. This from the two is my favorite, probably because I already knew the characters. I'm gonna go read it again actually.

Another installment in the "Nursery Crimes" series, detective Jack Spratt investigates exploding cucumbers and the suspicious death of Goldilocks.

If you like Fforde's prose and humor, you'll quite likely enjoy this offering. It's amusing and holds the reader's interest. It also brazenly makes fun of itself, which I liked a lot.

Worth a read.

If you're looking for something completely original and creative welcome to the world of Jasper Fforde. I fell in love with the Thursday Next series. And I'm still in love.

He takes the literature you know and love and turns it on it's ear. If you feel like you've read it all before this is what you need.

Fforde continues his Nursery Crime series with an investigation into the fate of Goldilocks. A great take-off on a great nursery tale. Along the way, Detective Inspector Jack Spratt struggles with his identity, and he and Detective Sergeant Mary Mary both learn a lot about their relationships. The book contains plenty of literary allusions, humor, and mystery, and just the right amount of "depth."

I've really enjoyed this series by Fforde. This particular book is really funny, has great recognizable characters, and a fine mystery as well. If there is a more inventive writer than this author at work today, I haven't found him.

This is another fabulously fun book by Jasper FForde. He has a great imagination and is clever enough to know how to use it to entertain adults. I would recommend his books to anyone, but with a small disclaimer: this is not a mindless read. You must pay attention to what is written to be able to follow the storyline, but it in no way mars your enjoyment of the story.

The Fourth Bear, the second in Jasper Fforde's Nursery Crime Series is even better than the first book, The Big Over Easy! I could not stop reading because I wanted to know who-dun-it. You definitely will not be able to guess the ending or how the story will come together in the last few pages. I love how Fforde sets up all his punny jokes so cleverly. I can't wait for the next book to come out!

The Fourth Bear delivers exactly what you expect from Jasper Fforde, wonderful mystery and suspended reality. The literary world genre, be it Nursery Crime or Thursday Next, is a solo enterprise for Mr. Fforde. Nothing quite like it. Loved the Fourth Bear, but loved everything else from this gifted and warped writer. Write more!!! There's plenty of plots in the well.

This was a terrifically funny book. Jasper Fforde outdid himself with this one. This was much funnier than his first Nursery Crimes book. I highly recommend this for anyone who has read his other books.

...just as it says...This book is the perfect balance of insanity and intelligent humor. Even if you've never read a Fforde book before, it is easy to jump right in! Very few books have ever made me literally laugh out loud, but this one did...and not just a few times, but again and again and again! Try it-you'll love it!

I picked this up in a large national chain bookstore for 6.98 last weekend. I bought it because I liked the cover, frankly.

The Fourth Bear might be "sendup" of the police procedural, but in a weird way it works pretty well as a police procedural ... even as it pokes fun at hackneyed plot devices by referring to them by number. Those of us who love the genre return to its masters again and again--Ed McBain, for instance--because we like the familiarity of the procedures, and we've come to feel at home in the 87th Precinct. We know what we're getting into. The same is true here: The Fourth Bear isn't all that far away from Ian Rankin or Life on Mars ... even if in this world, bears are (second-class) citizens and the Gingerbread Man is an (uncatchable) serial killer.

The Fourth Bear, even as it uses and abuses the familiar trappings of the police procedural and dabbles with familiar fairy tales, nursery rhymes, and Intro to Lit assignments like the Picture of Dorian Gray, avoids being predictable and sustains humor through a satisfyingly convoluted, full-length mystery plot. I did laugh aloud a couple of times as I read the novel, and even as I enjoyed the nudges and winks to the reader, I found myself caught up in the plot and surprised at how the the plot twists all resolved themselves.

For the record, this is the first book I've read by Fforde, and I didn't feel handicapped at all by not having read the first book in the series. I'm about to order it, however, and I can't wait to read it.

Great fun. I love Jasper Fforde's sense of whimsy. Having grown up with the nursery rhymes he uses as plot devices in this book, I really enjoyed how they were interwoven through the story. A great read.

Jasper Fforde's writing is very clever, funny, smart, and suspenseful. I highly recommend any of his works. They also have long lasting interest. - Great on the first read and just as amusing when re-read over and over.