Tangled Web UK Review September 2007
The Fourth Bear by
Jasper Fforde
hbk out July 06
Published by Hodder
at £19.99
I am aware that Jasper Fforde has a large following, but as I've said often
in these reviews 'One man's meat…etc.' and this is not my cup of tea, to
mix metaphors or whatever they are.
This is another story about the Nursery Crime Division of the Reading
Police, the hero being DCI Jack Spratt and many of the other characters
are named for nursery rhyme characters. After dealing successfully with
the Scissors Man who cuts off sucked thumbs, Spratt has to contend with
the dangerous Gingerbread man, who has escaped from a criminal mental
hospital. Goldy Hachett, a blonde journalist vanishes and the last ones to
see her alive were the Three Bears who live in the Wood.
The book continues in this vein and is very well written in the literary
sense, as well as being a clever idea to combine tongue-in-the-cheek
crime with nursery rhymes. There are undoubtedly some very funny
quips and situations, but for me, it is not the endlessly hilarious romp that
the critics allege. The prelims of the book are filled with glowing plaudits
from reviews in the 'heavies' and I suppose this part-farce, part fairy-
story style must appeal to the younger generation, i.e. less than sixty or so
- not that many of them seem to read much after the Harry Potter age
group. If you are a devoted fan of Monty Python, The Goons or Hitch-
hiker, maybe you might like your crime fiction served up like this – but
P D James it ain't!
(
Bernard Knight
ex Home Office Pathologist and author of the highly acclaimed Crowner John series)
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