THE BIG OVER EASY

Humpty Dumpty falls to his death. DI Jack Spratt and his new partner DS Mary Mary, of the Nursery Crimes Division, are called to investigate. It seems "Hump" was an unsavory egg, and murder suspects include cuckolded husbands, jilted lovers, ex-wives, and sleazy business partners. Golden Voiced Simon Prebble delivers this NOIR nursery-spoof-police-procedural with Python-esque deadpan. His characterizations are inspired bits of insanity, including witnesses Willie Winkie, who suffers from narcolepsy, and Mrs. Hubbard, whose poor dogs never get any bones. Anagrams, puns, palindromes, and allusions run riot in this laugh-out-loud tomfoolery. Prebble's delicious performance adds just the right spice to Jasper Fforde's fluffy omelette. For listeners who like their silliness literate, with a twist. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/ MAY 06]