Got her done

Last week I finished “The Big Over Easy” by Jasper Fforde.  It was a good fun and light read.  After reading some of the blurbs in the back, I think I will have to check out some of his other books as well, they sound pretty entertaining.

Here’s the lowdown.

Detective Inspector Jack Spratt is the head of Nursery Crimes Division (NCD).  They deal with all manners of crime that relate to nursery rhymes, folklore and the sort.  For people who are sent there, they feel it’s like the kiss of death on their resume, but in reality many people who jumpstart their career there end up doing great things.  But those who become lifers are…well, misfits.  Detective Inspector Friedland Chymes is the hotshot megastar whose team keeps cranking out amazing stories for several detective journals.  It is little known that Chymes actually got his big break by starting out in the NCD and has snubbed Detective Spratt quite verily.  Detective Spratt has been having a hard time getting any convictions on his cases and is trying to live down his reputation of being a giant-killer.  He believes that if only he were in the Guild (a group of elite detectives who pretty much get whatever they want) he would be able to get the manpower he needs and resources to get these convictions.

Mary Mary has been assigned to be Spratt’s new Detective Sergeant.  She is incredibly less than thrilled about it and hopes that the NCD really does go belly up so she can transfer out quicker.  On her first day they’re called out to a murder.  Humpty Dumpty has been shattered to pieces and nobody can put him back together again.

Their investigation leads them through a series of murders and strange findings.  In Spratt’s world the Gingerbreadman is a psychopath who likes to tear off people’s limbs.  Humpty Dumpty is a womanizer and criminal with a heart of gold.  Jack himself finds himself in his own versin of Jack and the Beanstalk.

As the investigation becomes more and more complex, Chymes becomes interested and wants the case for himself.  He needs a special story for an upcoming magazine and wants to make sure he buries the NCD with Spratt in it.  Using Mary’s admiration for him, he cons her into leaking information to one of his inside guys so he can crack the case before Spratt.  Mary, still eager to get the heck out of the NCD, agrees and backstabs her partner for the glory.  But as the case takes more twists and turns and from hearsay from others in the office, Mary begins to think that she didn’t make that great of a decision.

The head of the entire force is under pressure from the Guild and Chymes to hand over Spratt’s case.  He gives Spratt a few days to figure out the case or else it will be handed over to Chymes.  In the course of these days, Spratt is given pertinent information that pops a big hole in one of Chymes’ biggest cases.  After Spratt’s smackdown of Chymes ambition, Mary follows suit at the crime scene the next day.  Try as he might, team Spratt and Mary are going full speed ahead to solving the case.

I recommend this book if you’re looking for something silly and not intense.  It’s good to take to the beach or read on a trip or anything where you just want to be entertained and not have to think too much about the storyline.