The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde

The second of the Nursery Crime novels, this one successfully delivers exactly what I expected:

• Absurdity


• Puns


• Jokes about nursery rhyme characters (and a few other fictional creatures as well)


• Laughs


• A mystery that ends up revealing a staggeringly stupid crime (involving prize cucumbers, in this case)

In the unexpected area, this book breaks the fourth wall a few times. The characters occasionally seem quite aware of their state and in one case abuse the author for a particularly terrible joke.

Good fun, recommended.

Oh yes, SommeWorld is quite central to this story, so we get to hear a lot about the great World War One theme park that is mentioned in passing in Fforde's other books. Some of the stuff in there is lovely - who could resist the 'Simulated Trenchfoot' attraction?

The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde

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