The Big Over Easy

An Alternative Nursery Rhyme Noir

Things aren’t all as they should be on Jack Spratt’s beat. As it turns out, Humpty Dumpty (short for Humperdinck Jehosephat Aloysius Stuyvesant van Dumpty) did have a great fall, but he did so under very suspicious circumstances. Jack Spratt of the Nursery Crime Division and his partner, Mary Mary, are still sore for not being able to convict the three pigs of premeditation in their boiling of the wolf, are sent to investigate Humpty’s suspicious demise.

This is a terrifically funny book that will appeal to those who love British humor and puns, or for those who have been longing to learn about the secret histories of the nursery rhyme characters they thought they knew.

Snake Agent

Snake Agent by Liz Williams

Meet Inspector Chen, the Singapore police department’s snake agent. A snake agent is the detective in charge of all supernatural disturbances. Chen can literally go to Heaven or Hell, speak with ghosts, and even partner with another detective, one who just happens to be a demon! Chen isn’t like other snake agents though. He is somewhat of free thinker and has even married a demon whom he aided to escape from hell.

Liz Williams has done a masterful job of updating the detective genre. She has mingled it with horror, through the supernatural, and fantasy by drawing on a rich tapestry of eastern mythology, as well a dash of sci-fi with very cool technology. The best part that I personally enjoyed is the dynamic relationship between Heaven, Hell, and Earth. This isn’t a three tiered universe with Heaven above us, or Hell below, but rather all three are next door to one another. Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean you might not just step into Hell around the next street corner. Instead of having these realms in a hierarchical scheme, Heaven, Hell, and Earth all contribute to a overall balance. In this light Chen becomes more of a protector of this balance then a harbinger of justice.

On the other hand, this book did take me a while to get into, almost a hundred pages. This could very well be because it is the first of a series and therefore has to set the ground rules of this new literary world. But once I was hooked I kept on wanting to open up the cover and read any chance I could. If this creative amalgam sounds like fun, take a chance and pick up a copy.