I thoroughly enjoyed the romp that was The Big Over Easy, but I had my doubts about the nursery rhyme theme, and whether it could really be sustained over more than one book. Well – apparently yes, but mostly by ignoring them!

The core tale is the mysterious death of journalist Henrietta Hatchett – sometimes known as Goldilocks – who was digging up an apparently massive story about… giant cucumbers! Then the most sadistic (not to mention cakey) psychopathic killer in the known world escapes from the mental institution. Can Jack Spratt, head of NCD (Nursery Crimes Division) – well, forget the case, he’s too busy trying to prove that he’s fit for duty, and that, yes, his car really does repair itself – thanks to a mysterious picture of a beat-up old Allegro in the boot…

Ah, smashing fun! I really could not see where this story was going, so the urge to keep going and find out was immense. Add to that a great big dollop of self-aware humour (“It’s full of holes!” “What, the plot?”) and I can’t help but to really recommend this book.