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Nursery Crime

794 statements
154 feature instances
64 referencing feature instances

Nursery Crime	type	TVTItem
Nursery Crime	label	Nursery Crime
Nursery Crime	page	NurseryCrime
Nursery Crime	comment	Nursery Crime is a series of humorous fantasy / detective novels written by meta-fiction maverick Jasper Fforde. They are a loose spin-off of the same author's Thursday Next series: the world it's set in existed within an unpublishable Police Procedural novel that Thursday occupied in The Well of Lost Plots, wherein the characters worried they would be deleted. It was turned into a refuge for characters from Oral Tradition lacking a proper ink-and-paper home to call their own, and thus Nursery Crime was born.The books themselves deal with the strange adventures of Police Detective Jack Spratt and his partner Sergeant Mary Mary, who live in an otherworldly version of Reading, England where characters from nursery rhymes are not only real and alive, but also enjoy celebrity status. But these fairy-tale folk are not the harmless innocents you always assumed them to be; their world is neck-high in murder, sex, deceit, and other shady dealings. Thus Jack, Mary, and their miscellany of comrades-in-arms at Reading's Nursery Crime Division are forever tasked with the cases other cops are too good (or too square) for: keeping some semblance of order in the world of fairy-tale creatures.Not to mention the world's desire to ensure that detectives stay not merely efficient but also readable; after all, no matter how good you are, unless you drive a Cool Car and have a chief who drops you from the case every month, how can anyone be interested in reading about your adventures after the fact?Think of it as Shrek meets the Police Procedural.Not to be confused with the Genesis album Nursery Cryme.
Nursery Crime	fetched	2023-11-13T21:45:56Z
Nursery Crime	parsed	2023-11-13T21:45:56Z
Nursery Crime	processingComment	Dropped link to AttemptedHomewrecker: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
Nursery Crime	processingComment	Dropped link to Averted: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
Nursery Crime	processingComment	Dropped link to CallBack: Not a Feature - ITEM
Nursery Crime	processingComment	Dropped link to Goldilocks: Not a Feature - ITEM
Nursery Crime	processingComment	Dropped link to GoldilocksAndTheThreeBears: Not a Feature - ITEM
Nursery Crime	processingComment	Dropped link to MontyPythonsFlyingCircus: Not a Feature - ITEM
Nursery Crime	processingComment	Dropped link to Poirot: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
Nursery Crime	processingComment	Dropped link to SherlockHolmes: Not a Feature - ITEM
Nursery Crime	processingComment	Dropped link to TheGrays: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
Nursery Crime	processingComment	Dropped link to TheMenInBlack: Not a Feature - ITEM
Nursery Crime	processingComment	Dropped link to ThePictureOfDorianGray: Not a Feature - ITEM
Nursery Crime	processingComment	Dropped link to thursdaynext: Not a Feature - ITEM
Nursery Crime	processingUnknown	Poirot
Nursery Crime	processingUnknown	Attempted Homewrecker
Nursery Crime	processingUnknown	Averted
Nursery Crime	processingUnknown	TheGrays
Nursery Crime	isPartOf	DBTropes
Nursery Crime / int_10cdfe4b	type	Fall Guy
Nursery Crime / int_10cdfe4b	comment	Fall Guy: Defied in The Fourth Bear by Jack with Bartholemew. Jack realizes that MS-4, who are involved with the murders he is investigating, is setting up Bartholemew as the Fall Guy and plays along by issuing a warrant of arrest in order buy time and to protect Bartholemew.
Nursery Crime / int_10cdfe4b	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_10cdfe4b	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_10cdfe4b
Nursery Crime / int_112f8ee1	type	Look Behind You
Nursery Crime / int_112f8ee1	comment	Look Behind You: Subverted at the end: Bisky-Batt was right, the Small Olympian Bear really was behind Jack- and armed!
Nursery Crime / int_112f8ee1	featureApplicability	-0.3
Nursery Crime / int_112f8ee1	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_112f8ee1
Nursery Crime / int_1161fb48	type	Bizarre Alien Biology
Nursery Crime / int_1161fb48	comment	Bizarre Alien Biology: The Rambosians are basically living water balloons, fluid-filled sacks who can swap bodies with a touch and store their memories in jars. Humans are considered equally bizarre by Rambosians. When Jack explains human reproduction to Ashley, Ashley is certain that Jack is having him on.
Nursery Crime / int_1161fb48	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_1161fb48	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_1161fb48
Nursery Crime / int_116a941b	type	Applied Phlebotinum
Nursery Crime / int_116a941b	comment	Applied Phlebotinum: Cold fusion from cucumbers.
Nursery Crime / int_116a941b	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_116a941b	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_116a941b
Nursery Crime / int_13eea985	type	Arbitrary Skepticism
Nursery Crime / int_13eea985	comment	Arbitrary Skepticism: If you're paying attention in The Fourth Bear, you might notice that Jack's theories aren't any crazier than Chymes' were, yet Briggs doesn't believe him. Because Chymes turned out to be a fraud. Despite living in a world where nursery rhyme characters are demonstrably real, Briggs is unwilling to believe almost any theory remotely connected to them.
Nursery Crime / int_13eea985	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_13eea985	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_13eea985
Nursery Crime / int_14e31793	type	Unions Suck
Nursery Crime / int_14e31793	comment	Unions Suck: The Guild of Detectives, who care more about whether a crime being solved makes for a good story vs. whether or not the culprit was actually caught; detectives who can make their stories more literary, such as Friedland Chymes or Hercule Porridge enjoy fame and success, while Jack Spratt, the protagonist of the novel, can't even get the press to listen to his statements about how the prosecution in a murder case fell apart.
Nursery Crime / int_14e31793	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_14e31793	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_14e31793
Nursery Crime / int_14ed6ab7	type	Does This Remind You of Anything?
Nursery Crime / int_14ed6ab7	comment	Does This Remind You of Anything?: Anthropomorphic bears have a... problem with porridge ("flake"). They get addicted to it rather quickly, and it is a controlled substance when they are involved in a transaction. They also have problems with honey ("buzz" or "sweet") and marmalade ("chunk", "shred" or "peel"). Jack says he personally sees no problem with it, and his arguments in defense of it sound fairly familiar. An openly gay politician with a partner and an adopted son has a shocking secret: he's having an affair with a woman and his marriage is a sham for political reasons.
Nursery Crime / int_14ed6ab7	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_14ed6ab7	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_14ed6ab7
Nursery Crime / int_1777688d	type	Genre Savvy
Nursery Crime / int_1777688d	comment	Genre Savvy: Pretty much everyone. Members of the Guild of Detectives are not only selected based on stereotypical "detective traits" (drinking problems, vintage cars, unsteady love affairs) but are also accompanied by sidekicks who write their friends' adventures, Watson-style, to appear in 1930s-style crime comics. The entire police department also seems to have learned their procedure entirely from 1970s American cop shows. In The Fourth Bear, the NCD officers discuss which plot devices to use in their investigations.
Nursery Crime / int_1777688d	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_1777688d	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_1777688d
Nursery Crime / int_1b590025	type	Dead All Along
Nursery Crime / int_1b590025	comment	Dead All Along: The Quangle Wangle is referred to throughout the book, but near the end is revealed to have died a decade ago.
Nursery Crime / int_1b590025	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_1b590025	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_1b590025
Nursery Crime / int_1b65dfad	type	The Cameo
Nursery Crime / int_1b65dfad	comment	The Cameo: Thursday Next barrels through the narrative at one point, only recognziable by her multi-colored car.
Nursery Crime / int_1b65dfad	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_1b65dfad	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_1b65dfad
Nursery Crime / int_1ba17583	type	The Ghost
Nursery Crime / int_1ba17583	comment	The Ghost: Angus McGuffin in The Fourth Bear. He's often referred to, and supposedly talks to some of the characters, but never actually appears in a scene.
Nursery Crime / int_1ba17583	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_1ba17583	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_1ba17583
Nursery Crime / int_1e584efa	type	Cruel and Unusual Death
Nursery Crime / int_1e584efa	comment	Cruel and Unusual Death: Mrs. Dumpty drowns herself in a vat of cookie dough.
Nursery Crime / int_1e584efa	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_1e584efa	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_1e584efa
Nursery Crime / int_1e7c47ab	type	Stealth Pun
Nursery Crime / int_1e7c47ab	comment	Stealth Pun: It's all about characters from nursery rhymes and mythology, crime-solving guided by knowledge of tropes and plot devices and the way nursery rhymes play out, set in the town of Reading, (even if it is pronounced "Redding".) There's one involving several of the NCD officers. Neither Alan Butcher, Charlie Baker, nor Gretel Kandelstick-Maeker, have Punny Names on their own, but together they are the Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick-maker, making these characters Nursery Characters and perhaps PDRs.
Nursery Crime / int_1e7c47ab	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_1e7c47ab	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_1e7c47ab
Nursery Crime / int_1ec3eb0a	type	Take Our Word for It
Nursery Crime / int_1ec3eb0a	comment	Take Our Word for It: The book never explains what the Sacred Gonga actually is. Instead, we get a scene where Jack and Mary get to view it that describes their awed reactions to various oddly-named components.
Nursery Crime / int_1ec3eb0a	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_1ec3eb0a	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_1ec3eb0a
Nursery Crime / int_1f14978d	type	Talking Animal
Nursery Crime / int_1f14978d	comment	Talking Animal: The Fourth Bear features talking, anthropomorphic animals, most notably bears, who look like real bears but talk, wear human clothing, and live human-like lifestyles in apartment buildings.
Nursery Crime / int_1f14978d	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_1f14978d	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_1f14978d
Nursery Crime / int_1f6983f7	type	Ambiguous Situation
Nursery Crime / int_1f6983f7	comment	Ambiguous Situation: Jack and Madeleine's marriage is put through the wringer after she finds out that Jack has been hiding the fact that he's a Person of Dubious Reality from her for their whole marriage. Jack assure Madeleine that she likely isn't one... but it's revealed that her maiden name was Usher, and Madeleine Usher was one of the main characters in Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher.
Nursery Crime / int_1f6983f7	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_1f6983f7	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_1f6983f7
Nursery Crime / int_1fc8335e	type	Deal with the Devil
Nursery Crime / int_1fc8335e	comment	Deal with the Devil: The secret behind Dorian Gray's cars involvings turning the owners' souls over to the devil, in exchange for his own immortality.
Nursery Crime / int_1fc8335e	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_1fc8335e	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_1fc8335e
Nursery Crime / int_20f689e9	type	Adaptational Villainy
Nursery Crime / int_20f689e9	comment	Adaptational Villainy: The Gingerbread Man here is presented as a ruthless serial murderer with a triple-digit body count and Living Weapon, the result of a project to make a "Ginja Assassin".
Nursery Crime / int_20f689e9	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_20f689e9	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_20f689e9
Nursery Crime / int_225d8ff9	type	Ambiguously Human
Nursery Crime / int_225d8ff9	comment	Ambiguously Human: "Persons of Dubious Reality", they're called, fictional characters that exist in reality; every Nursery Rhyme character is one of these. Jack's marriage goes through the wringer when he reveals to his second wife that he's one of these, from "Jack Spratt ate no fat/His wife ate no lean".
Nursery Crime / int_225d8ff9	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_225d8ff9	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_225d8ff9
Nursery Crime / int_22cf50f9	type	Chekhov's Gag
Nursery Crime / int_22cf50f9	comment	Chekhov's Gag: The Running Gag of debating whether the Gingerbread Man is a cake or a cookie ends up saving Jack's life when he has the epiphany that cookies go soft when they go stale because they absorb water, leading him to shoot an ovehread sprinkler.
Nursery Crime / int_22cf50f9	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_22cf50f9	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_22cf50f9
Nursery Crime / int_22cf536c	type	Chekhov's Gun
Nursery Crime / int_22cf536c	comment	Chekhov's Gun: Jack's mother repeatedly asks him when he's going to remove his three bags (full) of wool from her shed, which just fits into the mileu of jokes, puns and references to nursery rhymes until the bags cushion his fall from the beanstalk, saving his life.
Nursery Crime / int_22cf536c	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_22cf536c	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_22cf536c
Nursery Crime / int_251bbe0e	type	Genre Blindness
Nursery Crime / int_251bbe0e	comment	Genre Blindness: The nursery characters often don't realize that they are PDR (Persons of Dubious Reality). It's heavily implied that several members of the Nursery Crime Division are nursery characters themselves and are unaware of it, although Jack does show some flashes of insight. In The Fourth Bear, it's revealed that Jack did know, but that he had actively forced himself to forget. Jack is typically Genre Savvy, but he has a moment of this when, despite his status as a giant killer being a Running Gag throughout the first book, he can't quite place his finger on why trading a (painting of a) cow for some magic beans sounds familiar...
Nursery Crime / int_251bbe0e	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_251bbe0e	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_251bbe0e
Nursery Crime / int_25b5600	type	Captain Ersatz
Nursery Crime / int_25b5600	comment	Captain Ersatz: Friedland Chymes is an only-slightly-exaggerated Sherlock Holmes. He has an assistant called Flotsam, and a reputation for seeing straight through hugely complex cases based on a few minor details - in one instance, he identifies the murderer based on the word he played in a Scrabble game. However, it is mentioned elsewhere that Sherlock Holmes himself existed in this world. Also a subversion, as Chymes is eventually revealed to be the polar opposite of Sherlock Holmes—a corrupt, selfish, incompetent, opportunistic, backstabbing fraud, who regularly steals credit from other, worthier detectives and even fakes his own investigations for the sake of popularity. Other Captains Ersatz that are mentioned to exist in the narrative include Hercule Porridge, Miss Maple, and Oxford's Inspector Moose, who Chymes has a bitter rivalry with.
Nursery Crime / int_25b5600	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_25b5600	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_25b5600
Nursery Crime / int_26ac510e	type	Mythology Gag
Nursery Crime / int_26ac510e	comment	Mythology Gag: Ashley's Uncle Colin's ramblings about the Zhark Wars are a reference to the Thursday Next novels, in which Emperor Zhark is a villain from a Book Within A Book sci-fi series who in his own books is bent on conquering the galaxy. The Nursery Crime series is something of a Spin-Off from the Thursday Next books.
Nursery Crime / int_26ac510e	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_26ac510e	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_26ac510e
Nursery Crime / int_26d0fa3b	type	Hot Skitty-on-Wailord Action
Nursery Crime / int_26d0fa3b	comment	Hot Skitty-on-Wailord Action: Ashley, who's an alien, and Mary go out on a date and have a lot of fun, but she notes that they're entirely incompatible on a physical level.
Nursery Crime / int_26d0fa3b	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_26d0fa3b	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_26d0fa3b
Nursery Crime / int_27690f66	type	Literary Allusion Title
Nursery Crime / int_27690f66	comment	Literary Allusion Title: A pun based on The Third Man.
Nursery Crime / int_27690f66	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_27690f66	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_27690f66
Nursery Crime / int_29fb4ade	type	Withholding the Cure
Nursery Crime / int_29fb4ade	comment	Withholding the Cure: Lord Spongg laments that if this was his business strategy, then Spongg Footcare wouldn't be going under; as it is, his products are too effective, and they're going bankrupt because they've cured the foot ailments of millions of people who no longer need their products.
Nursery Crime / int_29fb4ade	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_29fb4ade	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_29fb4ade
Nursery Crime / int_2bdae2ae	type	Awesome, but Impractical
Nursery Crime / int_2bdae2ae	comment	Awesome, but Impractical: When fighting the Gingerbreadman, Jack questions to himself why the Ginja Assassin program was axed, despite the Gingerbreadman's startling effectiveness, bloodlust, and immunity to bullets. The reason? He's a cookie, and cookies dissolve in water. Not the best idea to have an assassin that can fall apart in moderate rain, especially in England.
Nursery Crime / int_2bdae2ae	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_2bdae2ae	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_2bdae2ae
Nursery Crime / int_2c385759	type	Massive Multiplayer Crossover
Nursery Crime / int_2c385759	comment	Massive Multiplayer Crossover: Contains characters from all different fairy tales and nursery rhymes, as well as works of literature by Shakespeare and Edward Lear, among others.
Nursery Crime / int_2c385759	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_2c385759	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_2c385759
Nursery Crime / int_2cd6b637	type	Fantastic Nuke
Nursery Crime / int_2cd6b637	comment	Fantastic Nuke: One of the mysteries driving the plot is the destruction of record-size cucumbers and their growers by what would appear to be nuclear explosions if not for the low level of radiation. It turns out that at a critical mass of 50kg cucumbers become cuclear bombs. The villain steals some for his plan to kill the protagonists and go into the energy/weapons business.
Nursery Crime / int_2cd6b637	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_2cd6b637	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_2cd6b637
Nursery Crime / int_2d1d46bb	type	Lotsa People Try to Dun It
Nursery Crime / int_2d1d46bb	comment	Lotsa People Try to Dun It: Nearly every suspect in the book actually tried to kill Humpty Dumpty, but didn't succeed. His ex-wife thought she shot him, but actually killed his friend, his mistress poisoned his coffee but he didn't drink it, Lord Spongg wired his car with a bomb but Humpty didn't drive it, and Solomon Grundy hired a hit man who shot Humpty when he was already dying. The real killer? Humpty's crazy doctor who used him to incubate a monster, killing Humpty (who is literally a large egg) when it hatched.
Nursery Crime / int_2d1d46bb	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_2d1d46bb	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_2d1d46bb
Nursery Crime / int_2d4fa515	type	Ax-Crazy
Nursery Crime / int_2d4fa515	comment	Ax-Crazy: The Gingerbread Man. Yes, really.
Nursery Crime / int_2d4fa515	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_2d4fa515	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_2d4fa515
Nursery Crime / int_2d7ef923	type	Mistaken for Cheating
Nursery Crime / int_2d7ef923	comment	Mistaken for Cheating: Jack gets a tip from an anonymous source who asks him to meet in a seedy motel room... only to find out it's Brigg's wife and his Abhorrent Admirer, Agatha Diesel. A drunk Briggs finds Spratt fleeing the hotel room and punches him out, while Madeleine Spratt hits him over the head with a rolling pin after Briggs informs her.
Nursery Crime / int_2d7ef923	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_2d7ef923	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_2d7ef923
Nursery Crime / int_2f329e3c	type	Tomato in the Mirror
Nursery Crime / int_2f329e3c	comment	Tomato in the Mirror: Being forced to confront your fictional status can be very traumatic, especially if you don't have a lot of characterization.
Nursery Crime / int_2f329e3c	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_2f329e3c	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_2f329e3c
Nursery Crime / int_30adeff3	type	Defective Detective
Nursery Crime / int_30adeff3	comment	Defective Detective: Invoked. One of the many tropes deliberately enforced by the Guild of Detectives, who demand that their members have broken marriages and drinking problems. In The Big Over Easy, Jack spins a web of lies about his dysfunctional personal life on his Guild application, and the investigator who shadows him is ultimately disappointed to learn that Jack is a happily married father of five.
Nursery Crime / int_30adeff3	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_30adeff3	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_30adeff3
Nursery Crime / int_31c5e7fb	type	Starfish Aliens
Nursery Crime / int_31c5e7fb	comment	Starfish Aliens: The Rambosians, despite looking like The Greys, actually have incredibly Bizarre Alien Biology and Bizarre Alien Psychology.
Nursery Crime / int_31c5e7fb	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_31c5e7fb	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_31c5e7fb
Nursery Crime / int_3437ee2c	type	Inheritance Murder
Nursery Crime / int_3437ee2c	comment	Inheritance Murder: Lola Vavoom secretly married Humpty in order to gain possession of his Spongg footcare shares, which would become valuable once Humpty's scheme came into fruition. She then plotted to kill Humpty together with Lord Spongg.
Nursery Crime / int_3437ee2c	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_3437ee2c	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_3437ee2c
Nursery Crime / int_3517000d	type	Mad Scientist
Nursery Crime / int_3517000d	comment	Mad Scientist: Dr. Quatt, who despite being a psychologist spends all her time creating creepy Mix-and-Match Creatures by grafting, and has bizarre, grandiose plans involving the same.
Nursery Crime / int_3517000d	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_3517000d	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_3517000d
Nursery Crime / int_35b429f3	type	Weird Trade Union
Nursery Crime / int_35b429f3	comment	Weird Trade Union: the Guild of Detectives, with an iron grip on the publication of crime write-ups. Membership can make or break a detective's career.
Nursery Crime / int_35b429f3	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_35b429f3	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_35b429f3
Nursery Crime / int_39ed1c8a	type	Conspiracy Theorist
Nursery Crime / int_39ed1c8a	comment	Conspiracy Theorist: Dr. Parks. The community has a popular magazine.
Nursery Crime / int_39ed1c8a	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_39ed1c8a	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_39ed1c8a
Nursery Crime / int_3b4f620a	type	No Fourth Wall
Nursery Crime / int_3b4f620a	comment	No Fourth Wall: An inspector threatens to write a report about Jack's inadequacy as an NCD officer. He convinces her otherwise by pointing her out as an incidental character with whose only purpose in life is to be a problem for him to get around. She breaks down in existential despair until he promises to write a complete Backstory for her. When the Vicar finds out that Cripps' last words were "it's full of holes", he speculates that maybe he was talking about plot holes, hurriedly pointing out that they were holes in his vegetable plot. Characters frequently commenting on Fforde's use of language. Mary mentioning after a motorcycle drives away that "screeching tyre" doesn't look or sound right despite being perfectly correct.
Nursery Crime / int_3b4f620a	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_3b4f620a	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_3b4f620a
Nursery Crime / int_3cb6468e	type	Bad Liar
Nursery Crime / int_3cb6468e	comment	Bad Liar: Due to his lack of familiarity with Earth culture, Ashley's lies are outlandish stories. One of his excuses (given in his capacity as a police officer) involves pirates, another involves the theft of elephants as an excuse to demand grocery store surveillance footage. Ashley claims that Rambosians are better liars since they have perfect memories, but it doesn't seem evident from his behavior. As the Rambosians originally came to Earth to complain about the cancellation of Fawlty Towers, it's likely that the issue is his reference pool for bad human lying.
Nursery Crime / int_3cb6468e	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_3cb6468e	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_3cb6468e
Nursery Crime / int_3dc1e273	type	Not Enough to Bury
Nursery Crime / int_3dc1e273	comment	Not Enough to Bury: The killers obscure the details of Goldilocks's death by subjecting her to SommeWorld's simulated artillery barrage. The police find her in a lot of gruesome little pieces.
Nursery Crime / int_3dc1e273	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_3dc1e273	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_3dc1e273
Nursery Crime / int_3dd3951e	type	Cowboy Cop
Nursery Crime / int_3dd3951e	comment	Cowboy Cop: Jack, particularly in the second book, where his unconventional gambits increase in frequency and he relies on several questionably-legal gambits to solve cases. Downplayed in The Big Over Easy, where Jack is a By-the-Book Cop compared to Chymes, who outright falsifies many of his cases. Throughout the series he relies on unusual allies and narrative intuition more than conventional police tactics. Seems to be a deliberately Invoked Trope by Briggs (through his frequent suspensions) and many of the Detective's Guild members to make for better press.
Nursery Crime / int_3dd3951e	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_3dd3951e	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_3dd3951e
Nursery Crime / int_3ed8a8b9	type	I'm Melting!
Nursery Crime / int_3ed8a8b9	comment	I'm Melting!: The demise of the Gingerbread Man. The deluge of the water from the fire sprinklers causes his body to absorb water and dissolve into goo.
Nursery Crime / int_3ed8a8b9	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_3ed8a8b9	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_3ed8a8b9
Nursery Crime / int_3fe6a857	type	Public Domain Character
Nursery Crime / int_3fe6a857	comment	Public Domain Character: The purpose of the Nursery Crime Division is to investigate crimes involving nursery characters, stories, or tropes; for instance, when The Big Over Easy starts, the Three Little Pigs have gotten off scott free for the murder of the Big Bad Wolf. Prometheus from Classical Mythology is also a major character in the first book. The Fourth Bear also features Dorian Gray as a used car dealer peddling appropriately macabre merchandise, and Caliban from Shakespeare's The Tempest as a pest in the Spratt household.
Nursery Crime / int_3fe6a857	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_3fe6a857	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_3fe6a857
Nursery Crime / int_44abc60d	type	FictionFiveHundred
Nursery Crime / int_44abc60d	comment	Fiction 500: Discussed in an Epigraph regarding, of all things Thursday Next's Goliath Corporation, where there's controversy as to whether or not it's the largest fictional corporation in existence.
Nursery Crime / int_44abc60d	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_44abc60d	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_44abc60d
Nursery Crime / int_46ec76fb	type	Working the Same Case
Nursery Crime / int_46ec76fb	comment	Working the Same Case: Jack gets taken off the Gingerbreadman escape case and has to work on the murder of Goldilocks instead. The Gingerbreadman keeps showing up at sites Jack's investigating anyway, causing Jack to be reprimanded repeatedly for secretly trying to work on the case. It turns out that the man who created and released the Gingerbreadman also killed Goldilocks.
Nursery Crime / int_46ec76fb	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_46ec76fb	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_46ec76fb
Nursery Crime / int_47fea76b	type	Butt-Monkey
Nursery Crime / int_47fea76b	comment	Butt-Monkey: DS Floatsam, Freidland Chymes's assistant, isn't treated kindly throughout the book; he's forced to affect a Cockney accent because it tests well with audiences, Mary calls his prose trash and is actively gunning for his position, and he seems to be based on the more inept and comical characterizations of Dr. John Watson that forget he's a war veteran.
Nursery Crime / int_47fea76b	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_47fea76b	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_47fea76b
Nursery Crime / int_48d87e94	type	Planet of Steves
Nursery Crime / int_48d87e94	comment	Planet of Steves: The scientist at the foot institute claims that most people's names are too hard to remember, and nicknames everyone he meets Ronald and Nancy.
Nursery Crime / int_48d87e94	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_48d87e94	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_48d87e94
Nursery Crime / int_496569e8	type	Race Against the Clock
Nursery Crime / int_496569e8	comment	Race Against the Clock: Happens several times, as fitting for any mystery/thriller: An epigraph in The Big Over Easy mentions that Chymes is attempting to break Inspector Moose's record for time spent solving a case; moose apparently managed it in just under four hours. In the first book, Jack has five minutes to defuse a sandwich-based bomb. In The Fourth Bear, Jack initiates his own race against the clock, giving himself 12 hours to solve the case. 12 hours is the amount of time for the Secret Service to find out he helped Bartholemew, their Fall Guy escape capture. This is when the plot starts snowballing.
Nursery Crime / int_496569e8	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_496569e8	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_496569e8
Nursery Crime / int_4d044580	type	Motive Rant
Nursery Crime / int_4d044580	comment	Motive Rant: Demetrios, the villain of the book, talks in extensive detail about the creation of the Gingerbread Man when Jack calls him out as the creator.
Nursery Crime / int_4d044580	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_4d044580	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_4d044580
Nursery Crime / int_4e6cb27f	type	Rambling Old Man Monologue
Nursery Crime / int_4e6cb27f	comment	Rambling Old Man Monologue: Ashley's Uncle Colin delivers a continuous stream of rambling reminiscences about the Zhark Wars which are ignored by his family. This continues in the background the entire time of Mary's visit to his house.
Nursery Crime / int_4e6cb27f	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_4e6cb27f	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_4e6cb27f
Nursery Crime / int_51ecf708	type	Self-Disposing Villain
Nursery Crime / int_51ecf708	comment	Self-Disposing Villain: In both books, a villain meets his downfall in a way that's not directly caused by Jack. As Jack says, "It's an NCD thing". In The Big Over Easy, Dr. Quatt and the monster she created from Humpty Dumpty are running away, with a different squad of police in hot pursuit. Seized by an impulse, Jack cuts down the beanstalk, which just happens to fall exactly on top of them, crushing them to death. In The Fourth Bear, The Big Bad Demetrios, after some Evil Gloating about his many powerful friends, steals Jack's car to make his escape. Fortunately for Jack and unfortunately for him, Jack's car was cursed to kill its driver, and just as Demetrios drives away the curse comes into affect, and Demetrios is crushed to death in a horrible car accident.
Nursery Crime / int_51ecf708	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_51ecf708	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_51ecf708
Nursery Crime / int_537dd8fe	type	Affably Evil
Nursery Crime / int_537dd8fe	comment	Affably Evil: Lord Spongg is extremely sympathetic and helpful to the investigators, but leads a bioterrorism plot, tries to kill Jack (twice!) and Humpty.
Nursery Crime / int_537dd8fe	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_537dd8fe	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_537dd8fe
Nursery Crime / int_5603d2d5	type	Coming Straight Story
Nursery Crime / int_5603d2d5	comment	Coming Straight Story: In The Fourth Bear, Jack's investigations reveal that a prominently gay MP is into women.
Nursery Crime / int_5603d2d5	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_5603d2d5	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_5603d2d5
Nursery Crime / int_5679208c	type	No Bisexuals
Nursery Crime / int_5679208c	comment	No Bisexuals: At one point a politician breaks down claiming he was 'living a lie' when it is revealed that although he was allegedly the first gay MP he is having an affair with a woman. Jack and Mary immediately assume that he is straight.
Nursery Crime / int_5679208c	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_5679208c	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_5679208c
Nursery Crime / int_567beeb6	type	Theory of Narrative Causality
Nursery Crime / int_567beeb6	comment	Theory of Narrative Causality: Very much in effect in regards to the nursery characters. However, Jack takes care to point out that things don't always play out exactly like in the stories. Nevertheless, he often exploits this to solve or prevent crimes.
Nursery Crime / int_567beeb6	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_567beeb6	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_567beeb6
Nursery Crime / int_56c63b42	type	Didn't We Use This Joke Already?
Nursery Crime / int_56c63b42	comment	Didn't We Use This Joke Already?: Jack Spratt is given a piece of evidence, a manila envelope with "Important" written on the front, and quips, "This could be important." When he shows it to Mary, she makes the same quip, but Jack informs her that he already made that joke, and she apologizes.
Nursery Crime / int_56c63b42	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_56c63b42	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_56c63b42
Nursery Crime / int_56ff2e35	type	Bat Deduction
Nursery Crime / int_56ff2e35	comment	Bat Deduction: This is actually invoked by many detectives, as it makes for more interesting stories and adaptations. Jack is one of the few who actually prefers to, y'know, investigate crimes. Chymes is easily the most popular detective in Reading. In one of his press confrences he explains that he deduced from some custard on the victim's sock that he was trying to send a message to Chymes, the only person smart enough to figure it out. Custard in French is "creme anglaise", which is an anagram for one of the suspects. Unfortunately, anagram-based clues had recently been ruled inadmissable, so he had to DNA test the crumbs around the fatal gunshot wound, which turned out to be from a certain bakery chain, which they staked out and caught the suspect fingered earlier entering. She immediately confessed. Towards the end, we find that Friedland Chymes basically faked a case entirely; the person who confessed and got "jailed" was an actor. The implication is that most of his cases, were faked, as well as those of lots of other detectives, which means that there are plenty of murderers running around scot-free.
Nursery Crime / int_56ff2e35	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_56ff2e35	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_56ff2e35
Nursery Crime / int_57b80b45	type	Fantastic Racism
Nursery Crime / int_57b80b45	comment	Fantastic Racism: "Ursism" is the discrimination against anthropomorphic talking bears.
Nursery Crime / int_57b80b45	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_57b80b45	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_57b80b45
Nursery Crime / int_5973fab5	type	Does Not Like Spam
Nursery Crime / int_5973fab5	comment	Does Not Like Spam: Jack Spratt hates fat.
Nursery Crime / int_5973fab5	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_5973fab5	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_5973fab5
Nursery Crime / int_5a62c428	type	Exaggerated
Nursery Crime / int_5a62c428	comment	Exaggerated in The Big Over Easy, Friedland Chymes deduces the culprit's identity based on one of the words he picked during a Scrabble game.
Nursery Crime / int_5a62c428	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_5a62c428	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_5a62c428
Nursery Crime / int_5c446b43	type	Aliens in Cardiff
Nursery Crime / int_5c446b43	comment	Aliens in Cardiff: Reading is a haven for fictional characters and anthropomorphic animals, and all of Earth's alien visitors live there.
Nursery Crime / int_5c446b43	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_5c446b43	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_5c446b43
Nursery Crime / int_5e2e55e4	type	The Casanova
Nursery Crime / int_5e2e55e4	comment	The Casanova: Humpty-Dumpty, somehow. May be shades of Kavorka Man (he is a large egg, after all), but Humpty is recalled as a kind gentleman who was popular with the ladies for this.
Nursery Crime / int_5e2e55e4	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_5e2e55e4	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_5e2e55e4
Nursery Crime / int_624c868	type	Transplant
Nursery Crime / int_624c868	comment	Transplant: Sommeworld first appeared as a one-off joke in the second Thursday Next novel.
Nursery Crime / int_624c868	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_624c868	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_624c868
Nursery Crime / int_6439de78	type	Heroic Sacrifice
Nursery Crime / int_6439de78	comment	Heroic Sacrifice: Ashley lets himself be stabbed in order for his vitae to be used as a cooling agent to prevent the cuclear bombs from going off. Thanks to his Bizzare Alien Biology allowing for a form of organic Brain Uploading, he gets better, but he doesn't remember the events of the novel.
Nursery Crime / int_6439de78	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_6439de78	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_6439de78
Nursery Crime / int_660d1f3e	type	Amusement Park of Doom
Nursery Crime / int_660d1f3e	comment	Amusement Park of Doom: Sommeworld is a... unique example. It's an attraction based off of the Battle of the Somme from World War I, and the Quangle Wangle hopes that people going there are so terrified by the experience of war (which includes wearing ill-fitting uniforms and being shelled for two hours straight by compressed air mortars) that they become ardent pacifists. While not yet ready to open, it's continually mentioned that it'll be open by Christmas. Nonetheless, it's used to cover up Goldilocks's death and almost kill Mary in the climax.
Nursery Crime / int_660d1f3e	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_660d1f3e	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_660d1f3e
Nursery Crime / int_6627695f	type	Author Appeal
Nursery Crime / int_6627695f	comment	Author Appeal: Fforde really seems to like his cars. If a car is mentioned, you can count on him giving the year, model, and even a brief manufacturing history. Characters with double-letters in their names, likely due to the author's own last name.
Nursery Crime / int_6627695f	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_6627695f	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_6627695f
Nursery Crime / int_67fedd35	type	Bizarrchitecture
Nursery Crime / int_67fedd35	comment	Bizarrchitecture: Castle Spongg was inspired by German Expressionism and contains strange angles, sloping floors, rotating rooms, and rooms that are clones of each other. It's almost impossible to navigate.
Nursery Crime / int_67fedd35	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_67fedd35	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_67fedd35
Nursery Crime / int_69a54df1	type	Chest Burster
Nursery Crime / int_69a54df1	comment	Chest Burster: How Humpty ultimately died. Doctor Quatt had been secretly incubating a mutant experimental creature inside him, fittingly for an egg. When the creature hatched, an alien being burst of of Humpty's body, ending his life.
Nursery Crime / int_69a54df1	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_69a54df1	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_69a54df1
Nursery Crime / int_6b35bdff	type	Serious Business
Nursery Crime / int_6b35bdff	comment	Serious Business: True Crime, to the point where the press care less about whether a criminal gets caught and more about if the detective who recounts the case is doing so in an entertaining manner.
Nursery Crime / int_6b35bdff	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_6b35bdff	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_6b35bdff
Nursery Crime / int_6d0c6ed6	type	Lead Police Detective
Nursery Crime / int_6d0c6ed6	comment	Lead Police Detective: Jack Spratt is the head of the Nursery Crimes Division, and the lead on all the cases chronicled in the books.
Nursery Crime / int_6d0c6ed6	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_6d0c6ed6	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_6d0c6ed6
Nursery Crime / int_6d5ab39e	type	Fractured Fairy Tale
Nursery Crime / int_6d5ab39e	comment	Fractured Fairy Tale: The premise of the books is to essentially turn nursery stories and fairy tales into a Police Procedural. The basic plot of every nursery story covered (including the story of Humpty Dumpty, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and The Gingerbreadman) adheres to the original, but is given humorous treatment and new context due to the modern, Urban Fantasy setting.
Nursery Crime / int_6d5ab39e	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_6d5ab39e	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_6d5ab39e
Nursery Crime / int_6d70ac30	type	Touch Telepathy
Nursery Crime / int_6d70ac30	comment	Touch Telepathy: Rambosians have this, and as a result, when Mary shakes Ashley's hand, she's treated to an image of the two of them having sex under an alien sky.
Nursery Crime / int_6d70ac30	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_6d70ac30	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_6d70ac30
Nursery Crime / int_6e37c196	type	Once Done, Never Forgotten
Nursery Crime / int_6e37c196	comment	Once Done, Never Forgotten: Jack has a reputation for killing giants that he's at pains to deny. ("Technically, only one of them was a giant; the others were just tall.")
Nursery Crime / int_6e37c196	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_6e37c196	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_6e37c196
Nursery Crime / int_71329e49	type	Turn in Your Badge
Nursery Crime / int_71329e49	comment	Turn in Your Badge (and watch Columbo.) Happens to Jack quite a lot - he holds the record for "Most Suspended Police Officer (UK)" - as much for dramatic purposes as anything else.
Nursery Crime / int_71329e49	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_71329e49	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_71329e49
Nursery Crime / int_72e0023f	type	Invoked Trope
Nursery Crime / int_72e0023f	comment	Seems to be a deliberately Invoked Trope by Briggs (through his frequent suspensions) and many of the Detective's Guild members to make for better press.
Nursery Crime / int_72e0023f	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_72e0023f	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_72e0023f
Nursery Crime / int_776a06eb	type	All Myths Are True
Nursery Crime / int_776a06eb	comment	All Myths Are True: Fairy tale characters coexist with Greek Gods.
Nursery Crime / int_776a06eb	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_776a06eb	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_776a06eb
Nursery Crime / int_776ce0ac	type	Speaks in Binary
Nursery Crime / int_776ce0ac	comment	Ashley's alien race has binary as their native tongue. So, naturally, they play a binary version of Scrabble to show off their intelligence and vocabulary.
Nursery Crime / int_776ce0ac	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_776ce0ac	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_776ce0ac
Nursery Crime / int_7eebe99c	type	The Alcoholic
Nursery Crime / int_7eebe99c	comment	The Alcoholic: Humpty-Dumpty. Also defied with Jack, who is not one even though it is expected of him as a Detective (and would make for better press).
Nursery Crime / int_7eebe99c	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_7eebe99c	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_7eebe99c
Nursery Crime / int_810c980e	type	Serial Spouse
Nursery Crime / int_810c980e	comment	Serial Spouse: Lola Vavoom was married fifteen times. Actually, seventeen.
Nursery Crime / int_810c980e	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_810c980e	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_810c980e
Nursery Crime / int_814356cb	type	White-Dwarf Starlet
Nursery Crime / int_814356cb	comment	White-Dwarf Starlet: Lola Vavoom was formerly a big movie star, but she fell out of favor and is now a recluse. But this middle-aged woman is looking to make a comeback...
Nursery Crime / int_814356cb	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_814356cb	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_814356cb
Nursery Crime / int_896459e2	type	Adaptation Decay
Nursery Crime / int_896459e2	comment	In The Big Over Easy Fforde's fears of Adaptation Decay shine through when an actress' career is destroyed after she appears in a terrible film based on The Eyre Affair.
Nursery Crime / int_896459e2	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_896459e2	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_896459e2
Nursery Crime / int_8a7488a4	type	They Walk Among Us
Nursery Crime / int_8a7488a4	comment	They Walk Among Us: Fairy Tale characters, Greek gods, anthropomorphic bears...
Nursery Crime / int_8a7488a4	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_8a7488a4	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_8a7488a4
Nursery Crime / int_8ad43dc9	type	Ragtag Bunch of Misfits
Nursery Crime / int_8ad43dc9	comment	Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The members of the severely-underfunded NCD are all rejects from other divisions due to some combination of utter weirdness or a tendency to piss off their superiors, but they make a good team.
Nursery Crime / int_8ad43dc9	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_8ad43dc9	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_8ad43dc9
Nursery Crime / int_8b568cb7	type	Posthumous Character
Nursery Crime / int_8b568cb7	comment	There's one involving several of the NCD officers. Neither Alan Butcher, Charlie Baker, nor Gretel Kandelstick-Maeker, have Punny Names on their own, but together they are the Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick-maker, making these characters Nursery Characters and perhaps PDRs.
Nursery Crime / int_8b568cb7	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_8b568cb7	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_8b568cb7
Nursery Crime / int_8c96ae78	type	No One Could Survive That!
Nursery Crime / int_8c96ae78	comment	No One Could Survive That!: Angus McGuffin managed to survive the complete destruction of his laboratory by an explosion that he set.
Nursery Crime / int_8c96ae78	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_8c96ae78	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_8c96ae78
Nursery Crime / int_8cb4ea46	type	By-the-Book Cop
Nursery Crime / int_8cb4ea46	comment	By-the-Book Cop: David Copperfield does everything by the book, including reading the book. He directs a crime scene investigation with a checklist, and is always frustrated by Jack's apparently wacky suggestions on how to catch the Gingerbreadman.
Nursery Crime / int_8cb4ea46	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_8cb4ea46	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_8cb4ea46
Nursery Crime / int_8fa43c7c	type	Nursery Rhyme
Nursery Crime / int_8fa43c7c	comment	Nursery Rhyme: Obviously.
Nursery Crime / int_8fa43c7c	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_8fa43c7c	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_8fa43c7c
Nursery Crime / int_970c790a	type	Big Bad
Nursery Crime / int_970c790a	comment	Big Bad: All the murders that drive the plot of the book were directly or indirectly caused by Nick Demetrios, aka the Small Olympian Bear. He personally killed Goldilocks, attempted to kill the Bruins, ordered the creation and release of the mass-murderer the Gingerbreadman, and spearheaded the cuculear fusion project which killed countless other characters. Jack attempts to arrest him, but is unable to.
Nursery Crime / int_970c790a	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_970c790a	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_970c790a
Nursery Crime / int_9dab0a6e	type	Continuity Nod
Nursery Crime / int_9dab0a6e	comment	Continuity Nod: Jack makes an early reference to his happily married family life that's actually a joke for anyone who's read The Well Of Lost Plots and remembers the early drafts of "Caversham Heights". Mary lives in a converted flying boat on the nearby lake, as she did when Thursday Next was playing her character in "Caversham Heights" (in The Well Of Lost Plots). One of her neighbours lives in an old submarine. In WoLP it was Captain Nemo, living away from the narrative on a book transfer. Here, she doesn't know how the submarine got there. In The Big Over Easy, Mary pulls out in front of a convertible with the top down and a "distinctive color scheme". Ashley's Uncle Colin fought in the Zhark Wars, which are the subject of Emperor Zhark's native book series. Zhark is a recurring character in the Thursday Next series.
Nursery Crime / int_9dab0a6e	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_9dab0a6e	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_9dab0a6e
Nursery Crime / int_a24670a4	type	Benevolent Boss
Nursery Crime / int_a24670a4	comment	Benevolent Boss: Lord Spongg's company is known for being a great place to work, offering a lifetime of benefits for workers.
Nursery Crime / int_a24670a4	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_a24670a4	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_a24670a4
Nursery Crime / int_a2492aff	type	Dogged Nice Guy
Nursery Crime / int_a2492aff	comment	Dogged Nice Guy: Mary's ex-boyfriend Arnold, who she dumped a total of 734 times, and who was awarded "Most Dumped Boyfriend" in a recordbook. Mary's schemes to avoid his phone calls are an ongoing gag.
Nursery Crime / int_a2492aff	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_a2492aff	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_a2492aff
Nursery Crime / int_a4be7043	type	Da Chief
Nursery Crime / int_a4be7043	comment	Da Chief: Geoffrey Briggs, commissioner at the NCD. Duty bound to suspend Jack at least once an investigation.
Nursery Crime / int_a4be7043	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_a4be7043	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_a4be7043
Nursery Crime / int_a60f7120	type	Physical God
Nursery Crime / int_a60f7120	comment	Physical God: Prometheus and the Jellyman.
Nursery Crime / int_a60f7120	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_a60f7120	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_a60f7120
Nursery Crime / int_a70223	type	Karma Houdini
Nursery Crime / int_a70223	comment	Karma Houdini: Solomon Grundy escapes to a country with no extradition treaty with the UK (rather unnecessarily, as Jack has no evidence to prove he did anything). Bessie Brooks, Humpty's girlfriend who tried to poison him. The NCD briefly arrest her, but after it comes out that her murder attempt failed she gets released since the CPS tends to ignore NCD cases (other than murders) due to their poor conviction record. Possibly Randolph Spongg and Lola Vavoom. Both of them are last seen fleeing in a light aircraft, the remains of which are later found in the English Channel, but they Never Found the Body and it remains unconfirmed whether or not they survived.
Nursery Crime / int_a70223	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_a70223	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_a70223
Nursery Crime / int_a8de2a46	type	Eccentric Millionaire
Nursery Crime / int_a8de2a46	comment	Eccentric Millionaire: Lord Randolph Spongg, the wealthy owner of Spongg footcare, who lives in a mansion inspired by German Expressionism that is absurd and almost impossible to navigate. He also collects low-quality Victorian furniture because it's infinitely harder to find, and therefore, more valuable to him.
Nursery Crime / int_a8de2a46	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_a8de2a46	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_a8de2a46
Nursery Crime / int_ac448cdc	type	Van in Black
Nursery Crime / int_ac448cdc	comment	Van in Black: Used in The Fourth Bear by the Men in Green to transport cucumbers, among other things.
Nursery Crime / int_ac448cdc	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_ac448cdc	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_ac448cdc
Nursery Crime / int_aed65980	type	All for Nothing
Nursery Crime / int_aed65980	comment	All for Nothing: Villainous example. The efforts of Professor McGuffin, the Small Olympian Bear, and Quang Tech to develop cold fusion from cucumbers ends in failure as the last specimen capable of doing this is dismissed as the SOB's lunch after he's killed, and thrown away.
Nursery Crime / int_aed65980	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_aed65980	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_aed65980
Nursery Crime / int_b0f4db8b	type	TanksForTheMemories
Nursery Crime / int_b0f4db8b	comment	Tanks for the Memories: The Rambosians store backup memories in jars in their kitchen cabinets
Nursery Crime / int_b0f4db8b	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_b0f4db8b	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_b0f4db8b
Nursery Crime / int_b1efb7a7	type	Mayflyâ€“December Romance
Nursery Crime / int_b1efb7a7	comment	Mayfly–December Romance: Jack's daughter falls in love with (and later marries) Prometheus. Yes, that Prometheus. Actually Averted, as Prometheus has decided to give up his immortality when Pandora gets to match his apparent age.
Nursery Crime / int_b1efb7a7	featureApplicability	-1.0
Nursery Crime / int_b1efb7a7	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_b1efb7a7
Nursery Crime / int_b2d8059f	type	Innocent Aliens
Nursery Crime / int_b2d8059f	comment	Innocent Aliens: Ashley, and his parents.
Nursery Crime / int_b2d8059f	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_b2d8059f	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_b2d8059f
Nursery Crime / int_b40bb08a	type	Living Weapon
Nursery Crime / int_b40bb08a	comment	Living Weapon: The Gingerbread Man was engineered to be a killing machine.
Nursery Crime / int_b40bb08a	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_b40bb08a	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_b40bb08a
Nursery Crime / int_b8ad38	type	Blended Family Drama
Nursery Crime / int_b8ad38	comment	Blended Family Drama: The Genre Savvy Detectives' Guild expect and demands that detectives have dramatic, tragic home lives. As part of Jack's continued defiance of the tropes expected of him, he has a very harmonious family life. He's Happily Married to a woman with children from a previous marriage, who get along great with his own children.
Nursery Crime / int_b8ad38	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_b8ad38	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_b8ad38
Nursery Crime / int_b8b7a21a	type	Fairy Tale Free-for-All
Nursery Crime / int_b8b7a21a	comment	Fairy Tale Free-for-All: Nursery rhyme and fairy tale characters all exist in the same world.
Nursery Crime / int_b8b7a21a	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_b8b7a21a	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_b8b7a21a
Nursery Crime / int_b8e3f20a	type	Demoted to Extra
Nursery Crime / int_b8e3f20a	comment	Demoted to Extra: Mrs. Singh, a forensic pathologist who worked alongside the NCD in the first book, is only ever name-dropped in The Fourth Bear. Considering that there's not much of Goldilock's body to be found, this is justified.
Nursery Crime / int_b8e3f20a	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_b8e3f20a	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_b8e3f20a
Nursery Crime / int_bb4b7f7c	type	Threshold Guardians
Nursery Crime / int_bb4b7f7c	comment	Threshold Guardians: Discussed. Jack realizes that Virginia Kreeper is merely a narrative obstacle to overcome to continue on in his journey as a hero; this breaks her when he points it out.
Nursery Crime / int_bb4b7f7c	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_bb4b7f7c	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_bb4b7f7c
Nursery Crime / int_bd79d896	type	Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot
Nursery Crime / int_bd79d896	comment	Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot: The seemingly accidental and inevitable death of Humpty Dumpty leads to an investigation that reveals a vast conspiracy involving smuggled gold, stock fraud, mad science, multiple murders, and a massive bioterrorism plot.
Nursery Crime / int_bd79d896	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_bd79d896	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_bd79d896
Nursery Crime / int_bec0417c	type	Happily Married
Nursery Crime / int_bec0417c	comment	Happily Married: Jack and Madeline, much to the chagrin of Guild of Detectives, who expect a more dramatic love-life.
Nursery Crime / int_bec0417c	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_bec0417c	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_bec0417c
Nursery Crime / int_bf74d357	type	Ugly Guy, Hot Wife
Nursery Crime / int_bf74d357	comment	Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: The pugnacious, bull-necked 60-something Solomon Grundy is married to Rapunzel.
Nursery Crime / int_bf74d357	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_bf74d357	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_bf74d357
Nursery Crime / int_c01027a6	type	Better than a Bare Bulb
Nursery Crime / int_c01027a6	comment	Better than a Bare Bulb: Set in a world occupied by Genre Savvy fictional charcaters, and the series takes great delight in lampooning plot devices and detective tropes.
Nursery Crime / int_c01027a6	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_c01027a6	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_c01027a6
Nursery Crime / int_c1d1d6ad	type	Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?
Nursery Crime / int_c1d1d6ad	comment	Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: In "The Fourth Bear," Jack is required to meet with a therapist named Virginia Kreeper. He Lampshades this and gives her an existential crisis by calling her a Threshold Guardian. See No Fourth Wall above.
Nursery Crime / int_c1d1d6ad	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_c1d1d6ad	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_c1d1d6ad
Nursery Crime / int_c25c7890	type	Fun with Acronyms
Nursery Crime / int_c25c7890	comment	Fun with Acronyms: Defied; Acronym-based clues are no longer admissable in court, and the most popular true crime magazine in the world has forbade its use in stories.
Nursery Crime / int_c25c7890	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_c25c7890	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_c25c7890
Nursery Crime / int_c2fd3484	type	Relationship Reset Button
Nursery Crime / int_c2fd3484	comment	Relationship Reset Button: In The Fourth Bear, Mary and Ashley get one of these when he forgets to back up his memories of the last few weeks, and then makes a Heroic Sacrifice. As far as he knows, he never got up the courage to ask her out.
Nursery Crime / int_c2fd3484	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_c2fd3484	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_c2fd3484
Nursery Crime / int_c75df49a	type	Shout-Out
Nursery Crime / int_c75df49a	comment	Shout-Out: At Castle Spongg, Lord Spongg mentions that the Norwegian Blue has "beautiful plumage". Among many, many more. The bears live at the Bob Southey, named after Robert Southey, the Romantic poet who also happened to be one of the earliest people to write down Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
Nursery Crime / int_c75df49a	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_c75df49a	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_c75df49a
Nursery Crime / int_cb0743c0	type	Lame Pun Reaction
Nursery Crime / int_cb0743c0	comment	Lame Pun Reaction: Elevated to epic art form, where inane gossip made throughout the book turns out much later to have been the set-up for an incredibly long punchline similar to the classic "Peter Piper picks a pepper" tongue-twister. The characters even break the fourth wall to complain about the pun. "Pippa Piper picked Peck over Pickle or Pepper? Which of the Peck pair did Pippa Piper pick?" "Peter 'Pockmarked' Peck of Palmer Park! He was the Peck that Pippa Piper picked!" "No, no! You've got it all wrong! Paul Peck is the Palmer Park Peck. Peter Peck is the pockmarked Peck from Pembroke Park. Pillocks! I'd placed a pound on Pippa Piper picking P.C. Percy Proctor from Pocklington." [pause] "It seems a very laborious setup for a very lame joke, doesn't it?" "Yes", said Mary, shaking her head sadly, "I really don't know how he gets away with it".
Nursery Crime / int_cb0743c0	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_cb0743c0	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_cb0743c0
Nursery Crime / int_cb360d4e	type	Supernatural Hotspot Town
Nursery Crime / int_cb360d4e	comment	Supernatural Hotspot Town: Reading, Berkshire, UK as it's portrayed here is... interesting. It's home to all sorts of Persons of Dubious Reality ranging from Punch and Judy to Humpty Dumpty to anthropomorphic pigs, wolves, and bears, on top of having the titan Prometheus living there to avoid extradition to Olympus, every alien visitor that's ever come to earth, and crimes so formulaic that detectives are able to cite specific plot devices to use when solving them.
Nursery Crime / int_cb360d4e	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_cb360d4e	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_cb360d4e
Nursery Crime / int_cb54721a	type	Fun with Palindromes
Nursery Crime / int_cb54721a	comment	Fun with Palindromes: Otto Tibbit (and his sister Hannah).
Nursery Crime / int_cb54721a	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_cb54721a	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_cb54721a
Nursery Crime / int_cbe687ab	type	Corrupt Corporate Executive
Nursery Crime / int_cbe687ab	comment	Corrupt Corporate Executive: Executives Biskey-Batt and the Small Olympian Bear, of Quang-Tech, are responsible for a secret conspiracy involving the creation of cold-fusion nuclear devices, the creation of an unstoppable killing machine gingerbread man, and countless murders.
Nursery Crime / int_cbe687ab	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_cbe687ab	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_cbe687ab
Nursery Crime / int_ce9f550c	type	My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels
Nursery Crime / int_ce9f550c	comment	My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels: When Mary attempts to speak binary with Ashley's family, she turns simple greetings into something Ashley's mother would never do or a statement about how her prawns have asthma.
Nursery Crime / int_ce9f550c	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_ce9f550c	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_ce9f550c
Nursery Crime / int_cf479cd8	type	Bomb Disposal
Nursery Crime / int_cf479cd8	comment	Bomb Disposal: Jack has to defuse a bomb near the end, with an elaborate puzzle involving a two-way mirror, an identical twin butler, and a rapidly-curling sandwich.
Nursery Crime / int_cf479cd8	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_cf479cd8	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_cf479cd8
Nursery Crime / int_cfbd1467	type	Never Suicide
Nursery Crime / int_cfbd1467	comment	Never Suicide: Jack initially thinks Humpty's death was a suicide, but then the forensics results reveal that he was shot, and it becomes a murder investigation.
Nursery Crime / int_cfbd1467	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_cfbd1467	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_cfbd1467
Nursery Crime / int_d013cd12	type	Lovable Rogue
Nursery Crime / int_d013cd12	comment	Lovable Rogue: Humpty Dumpty. Involved in money laundering and all sorts of illegal schemes, but does it all to fund causes he believes in.
Nursery Crime / int_d013cd12	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_d013cd12	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_d013cd12
Nursery Crime / int_d1cedb73	type	Slap-Slap-Kiss
Nursery Crime / int_d1cedb73	comment	Slap-Slap-Kiss: Punch and Judy move in next to Jack in The Fourth Bear. They're well known, in-universe, for domestically abusing each other, and arguing very, very loudly. Yet they do seem to actually love each other—very, very loudly. They're also fairly successful marriage counselors. They beat each other into the hospital, but as they point out, this is their mutually acceptable way of working out issues (and foreplay), and after hundreds of years of marriage, they are still in love with one another.
Nursery Crime / int_d1cedb73	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_d1cedb73	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_d1cedb73
Nursery Crime / int_d46ddfa2	type	CloudCuckooLander
Nursery Crime / int_d46ddfa2	comment	Cloud Cuckoolander: Ashley. Understandable considering that he's an alien, and naturally doesn't understand all the complexities of human social interactions.
Nursery Crime / int_d46ddfa2	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_d46ddfa2	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_d46ddfa2
Nursery Crime / int_d4ba9971	type	Deceased Fall-Guy Gambit
Nursery Crime / int_d4ba9971	comment	Deceased Fall-Guy Gambit: Defied. Jack realizes that NS 4, who were involved in Goldilocks' death, are trying to frame Bartholemew for the same and will probably kill him soon after. Jack pretends to take the bait by ordering his arrest, but secretly tips Bartholemew off, allowing him to go into hiding and escape death.
Nursery Crime / int_d4ba9971	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_d4ba9971	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_d4ba9971
Nursery Crime / int_d64c3cd4	type	Living MacGuffin
Nursery Crime / int_d64c3cd4	comment	Living MacGuffin: The aptly-named Angus McGuffin. Everyone's looking for him, he seems to be "involved" in all the plots of the story, but he never actually appears.
Nursery Crime / int_d64c3cd4	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_d64c3cd4	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_d64c3cd4
Nursery Crime / int_d6ddddf1	type	Anomalous Art
Nursery Crime / int_d6ddddf1	comment	Anomalous Art: Jack buys a car from someone named Dorian Gray, which contains a portrait of the car in the back. In a nod to The Picture of Dorian Gray, the car is immune to damage, as anything happens to the picture instead, as Jack finds out after he wrecks his car a few times only to for it to repair itself. But once the odometer on the car reaches zero, the car destroys itself spectacularly, dragging the owner into hell.
Nursery Crime / int_d6ddddf1	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_d6ddddf1	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_d6ddddf1
Nursery Crime / int_d93c5989	type	Stepford Suburbia
Nursery Crime / int_d93c5989	comment	Stepford Suburbia: The Fourth Bear opens in Cautionary Valley, a suburb where children are so all perfectly well behaved it's creepy. This is because in the valley, cautionary tales do come true, and so liars' pants catch on fire, etc. The children there are scared into obedience in a way that is remarked upon as deeply unnatural.
Nursery Crime / int_d93c5989	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_d93c5989	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_d93c5989
Nursery Crime / int_db2b02bf	type	Horrible Housing
Nursery Crime / int_db2b02bf	comment	Horrible Housing: Humpty Dumpty is found dead near his home in Grimm's Row, where he lived in a dingy, tiny room in a boardinghouse run by the world's meanest landlady in a bad part of town. The police are shocked by this fall from grace, as he was once a well-respected local luminary who recently publicly claimed to have a whole lot of money. Prometheus also lives there, due to his poverty and political persecution that resulted from his long imprisonment by Zeus. It turns out that that room wasn't Humpty's actual apartment, just his office, but one of his other residencies was just as bad- a nearly-abandoned row of flats filled with mold and about to be demolished. The reason for these poor living conditions was that Humpty was involved in all sorts of illegal money-laundering and suspected people were out to kill him.
Nursery Crime / int_db2b02bf	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_db2b02bf	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_db2b02bf
Nursery Crime / int_dbb414ed	type	Hand Wave
Nursery Crime / int_dbb414ed	comment	Hand Wave: Parks, a conspiracy theorist in "had latched onto Jack's outlandish explanation without too much difficulty, as should you."
Nursery Crime / int_dbb414ed	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_dbb414ed	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_dbb414ed
Nursery Crime / int_de763115	type	Hollywood Board Games
Nursery Crime / int_de763115	comment	Hollywood Board Games: Exaggerated in The Big Over Easy, Friedland Chymes deduces the culprit's identity based on one of the words he picked during a Scrabble game. Ashley's alien race has binary as their native tongue. So, naturally, they play a binary version of Scrabble to show off their intelligence and vocabulary.
Nursery Crime / int_de763115	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_de763115	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_de763115
Nursery Crime / int_de9047ac	type	Gambit Pileup
Nursery Crime / int_de9047ac	comment	Gambit Pileup: Pretty much everyone was trying to kill Humpty Dumpty, either as part of a larger plan, or just out of revenge.
Nursery Crime / int_de9047ac	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_de9047ac	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_de9047ac
Nursery Crime / int_e1ff8ff6	type	Fantasy Kitchen Sink
Nursery Crime / int_e1ff8ff6	comment	Fantasy Kitchen Sink: The world is full of nursery characters and other fictional characters from a number of different traditions.
Nursery Crime / int_e1ff8ff6	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_e1ff8ff6	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_e1ff8ff6
Nursery Crime / int_e4965307	type	Composite Character
Nursery Crime / int_e4965307	comment	Composite Character: Jack Spratt, in addition to being from the "Jack Spratt ate no fat" rhyme, has elements of Jack the Giant Killer, though he insists repeatedly that all but one of the incidents of giant-killing were 1) accidental and 2) just very tall people.
Nursery Crime / int_e4965307	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_e4965307	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_e4965307
Nursery Crime / int_e61718a5	type	108
Nursery Crime / int_e61718a5	comment	108: Mentioned to be the Gingerbread Man's body count shortly after his escape and it ends up being the final total, as the Bruins survive their attack, and Jack kills him before anyone else dies.
Nursery Crime / int_e61718a5	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_e61718a5	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_e61718a5
Nursery Crime / int_e851b5	type	The Plan
Nursery Crime / int_e851b5	comment	The Plan: Guaranteed in anything Jasper Fforde writes.
Nursery Crime / int_e851b5	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_e851b5	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_e851b5
Nursery Crime / int_e88e8a8f	type	Writer on Board
Nursery Crime / int_e88e8a8f	comment	Writer on Board: In The Big Over Easy Fforde's fears of Adaptation Decay shine through when an actress' career is destroyed after she appears in a terrible film based on The Eyre Affair. The Fourth Bear also offers a scene where Jack and his wife attend a gala honoring the year's most prolific writers, and Jasper Fforde, author of wacky fantasies, really seems to have some fun portraying authors of serious drama as a bunch of shallow, self-obsessed, slow-witted snobs with no imagination.
Nursery Crime / int_e88e8a8f	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_e88e8a8f	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_e88e8a8f
Nursery Crime / int_e8bb3043	type	Kill It with Water
Nursery Crime / int_e8bb3043	comment	Kill It with Water: How Jack, true to the fairy tale, defeats the Gingerbread Man, by turning on the sprinklers and melting his cookie body.
Nursery Crime / int_e8bb3043	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_e8bb3043	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_e8bb3043
Nursery Crime / int_e96faeb5	type	Houseboat Hero
Nursery Crime / int_e96faeb5	comment	Houseboat Hero: Mary lives on a converted flying boat (that is, a seaplane) on a Lake, next to other fictional characters including Captain Nemo.
Nursery Crime / int_e96faeb5	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_e96faeb5	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_e96faeb5
Nursery Crime / int_eadeb4d6	type	Climbing Climax
Nursery Crime / int_eadeb4d6	comment	Climbing Climax: The climax of the book involves Jack frantically climbing the beanstalk in his mother's yard, while a deadly, giant lizard-monster created from Humpty attenpts to kill him.
Nursery Crime / int_eadeb4d6	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_eadeb4d6	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_eadeb4d6
Nursery Crime / int_eb251937	type	Dirty Cop
Nursery Crime / int_eb251937	comment	Dirty Cop: Friedland Chymes, and maybe lots of other guild detectives as well. Chymes tampers with evidence and falsifies entire cases in order to sell books.
Nursery Crime / int_eb251937	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_eb251937	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_eb251937
Nursery Crime / int_f0982bbf	type	Aliens Steal Cable
Nursery Crime / int_f0982bbf	comment	Aliens Steal Cable: The Rambosians originally learned about Earth by picking up television signals. Due to the speed-of-light delay, most of their initial interest in Earth revolved around British comedies of the 1970s.
Nursery Crime / int_f0982bbf	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_f0982bbf	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_f0982bbf
Nursery Crime / int_f19b8b46	type	The Coroner
Nursery Crime / int_f19b8b46	comment	The Coroner: Mrs. Singh, the department assistant pathologist who's the only one willing to work with the NCD. She collects evidence at crime scenes and provides scientific views on time of death etc., even for bizarre crimes such as the death of an anthropomorphic egg.
Nursery Crime / int_f19b8b46	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_f19b8b46	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_f19b8b46
Nursery Crime / int_f237981e	type	The Alleged Car
Nursery Crime / int_f237981e	comment	The Alleged Car: Jack's cars. He chooses bland, poorly designed 70's British cars to differentiate himself from Chymes. His cars have a tendency to end up wrecked by the end of the book. In The Fourth Bear, he purchases a car designated "Feeblest British car of the seventies," which turns out to actually be this trope weaponized. The odometer runs backward, and once it reaches zero, the car explodes, killing the villain in the process. It even has a portrait inside that gets more and more damaged a la The Picture of Dorian Gray- who happens to be the guy who sold him the car.
Nursery Crime / int_f237981e	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_f237981e	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_f237981e
Nursery Crime / int_f3c801ef	type	Cranky Landlord
Nursery Crime / int_f3c801ef	comment	Cranky Landlord: Mrs. Hubbard is a mean, miserly old woman who seems to regard her boarders as subhuman and constantly nags and judges them for bringing guests home or being sarcastic.
Nursery Crime / int_f3c801ef	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_f3c801ef	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_f3c801ef
Nursery Crime / int_f516f938	type	Never Found the Body
Nursery Crime / int_f516f938	comment	Never Found the Body: The fact that Angus McGuffin's body was never found makes Jack immediately suspicious that he is alive despite other characters pointing out that the explosion levelled the entire building. Jack is right.
Nursery Crime / int_f516f938	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_f516f938	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_f516f938
Nursery Crime / int_f70bcdc3	type	External Combustion
Nursery Crime / int_f70bcdc3	comment	External Combustion: How Lord Spongg intended to kill Humpty: he wired his car to blow up. Instead, Jack ends up on the receiving end of it.
Nursery Crime / int_f70bcdc3	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_f70bcdc3	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_f70bcdc3
Nursery Crime / int_f9f2c33	type	Running Gag
Nursery Crime / int_f9f2c33	comment	Running Gag: Every time Mary's home town of Basingstoke comes up, people will tell her that being from Basingstoke is 'nothing to be ashamed of'. Jack's accidental murder of several giants is brought up as a mark against him (he insists that only one was an actual giant, the rest were just very tall).
Nursery Crime / int_f9f2c33	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_f9f2c33	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_f9f2c33
Nursery Crime / int_fd4f8299	type	Well-Intentioned Extremist
Nursery Crime / int_fd4f8299	comment	Well-Intentioned Extremist: Lord Spongg's desire to revive his company is understandable given its upstanding role in the community and for the workers, but his plan involves several murders and infecting the entire city with verrucas.
Nursery Crime / int_fd4f8299	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_fd4f8299	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_fd4f8299
Nursery Crime / int_ff0f3915	type	Memory Jar
Nursery Crime / int_ff0f3915	comment	Memory Jar: The Rambosian aliens are filled with a fluid that keeps their memories. They keep jars of this fluid, and regularly back them up with newer memories. If they suffer some fatal misfortune, they can be patched up, refilled and returned to life.
Nursery Crime / int_ff0f3915	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_ff0f3915	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_ff0f3915
Nursery Crime / int_ffaa675b	type	Asian Speekee Engrish
Nursery Crime / int_ffaa675b	comment	Asian Speekee Engrish: In a brief gag, Prometheus mentions that Asia couldn't pronounce her "r"s.
Nursery Crime / int_ffaa675b	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_ffaa675b	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_ffaa675b
Nursery Crime / int_name	type	ItemName
Nursery Crime / int_name	comment
Nursery Crime / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
Nursery Crime / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Crime / int_name
Nursery Crime / int_name	itemName	Nursery Crime

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Ambiguous Syntax / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Attempted Homewrecker / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Bedlam House / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Bizarrchitecture / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Blended Family Drama / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Coming Straight Story / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Da Chief / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Deceased Fall-Guy Gambit / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Deconstruction Crossover / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Didn't We Use This Joke Already? / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Encyclopedia Exposita / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	English Literature / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Fairy Tale Free-for-All / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Fantastic Noir / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Fractured Fairy Tale / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Fun with Palindromes / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Funny Animal / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	G-Rated Drug / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Glass-Shattering Sound / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Gravity Screw / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Hollywood Board Games / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Honest John's Dealership / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Houseboat Hero / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	I Can't Believe It's Not Heroin! / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Innocent Aliens / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Invincible Classic Car / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Is the Answer to This Question "Yes"? / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Lead Police Detective / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Lions and Tigers and Humans... Oh, My! / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Locked Room Mystery / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Lotsa People Try to Dun It / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Mad Doctor / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Memory Jar / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Missing Reflection / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Mistaken Confession / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Mondegreen Gag / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Never Heard That One Before / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	No-Tell Motel / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nominal Importance / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Not Enough to Bury / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Not-So-Innocent Whistle / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Nursery Rhyme / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Once Done, Never Forgotten / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Overly Pre-Prepared Gag / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Red Herring Mole / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Relationship Reset Button / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Repetitive Name / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Ruritania / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Scare 'Em Straight / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Sequel Escalation / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Shipped in Shackles / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Speaks in Binary / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Starfish Language / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Stock Animal Diet / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Supernatural Hotspot Town / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	The Alleged Car / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	The Hermit / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	The Watson / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	They Walk Among Us / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Unions Suck / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Van in Black / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Who Writes This Crap?! / int_86f433bb
Nursery Crime	hasFeature	Working the Same Case / int_86f433bb

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