Book Banter -- The Fourth Bear

Title: The Fourth Bear
Author: Jasper Fforde
Length: 378 pages
Genre: mystery/comedy
Plot Basics: Nursery Crime Division Detective Chief Inspector Jack Spratt is off the job. His boss says it's because Jack is too crazy. But Jack's craziness is nothing compared to that of the serial killer Gingerbreadman who has recently escaped from prison. Top it off with some porridge smuggling, a Friend to Bears who may have been murdered, the world's worst idea for an amusement park and Jack is knee-deep in a bizarre case that he, technically, isn't authorized to solve.
Banter Points: Only Jasper Fforde could write this book and pull it off. At times laugh-aloud funny and filled with literary witticisms, The Fourth Bear is still a great mystery book. Obviously, Fforde knows both the genre and his audiences and the book is a delight to both.
Bummer Points: Word Nerd has now read her way through all of Fforde's back list and wishes there were more left for her to read.
Word Nerd recommendation: A must-read for anybody who loves books.