Following in the tradition of fine police procedurals and thrillers, “Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse” offered a great story with mystery and intrigue. The rich are being methodically murdered and two detectives are trying to solve the crimes before anyone else, or themselves, get killed.

It should probably be mentioned that the book takes place in Toy City. The two detectives are a teenager named Jack and Eddie, the Teddy Bear Private Investigator. The rich victims included Humpty Dumpty who was boiled alive in his pool, Mother (actually "Madame" as she runs a bordello in the story) Goose was roasted and Little Boy Blue who was killed in such a heinous fashion that it can’t be mentioned here. (It involved his shepherd’s crook.)

One of the most entertaining facets of the story are the authors use of unusual language tricks throughout the book. Eddie has a verbal tick in that he can’t use collaborative nouns. Alliterations are peppered profusely in scenes dealing with food and dining. Finally, some sentence structures plays on the toy theme in being reminiscent of childrens’ books. (The sentence "Eddie was in trouble deep, and such trouble troubled him deeply" for example.) At first, I was put off, but then started enjoying the the flavor it added to the setting and plot.

The plot was amazing and it remained true to the thriller genre. The final 15 pages had so many plot turns that you’re literally spinning (maybe it was supposed to elicit thoughts of the sit-and-spins we had as kids?) but it was simply a lot of fun. I didn’t expect much going into this book at first but now it may actually be one of my top 10 casual reads. ( )

Fun read - twisted fairy tales ( )

So so so strange, this book really leaves you thinking that maybe someone should check on Rankin to make sure he is ok. A young by runs away from home to seek his fortune and ends up in toy town as the assistant to a teddy bear detective who is investigating the grusome and ironic murders of characters from nursery rhymes. This book has a laugh n every single page and endless puns and clever witticisms. Buy it and read it now. ( )

Once again I just have to say how thoroughly but enjoyably crazy this author is. This is the story of Jack, a 13-year-old who runs away from home to go to The City to seek his fortune. He doesn’t realize that the city he’s headed for is Toy City, where toys live just as people do. He teams up with a teddy bear named Eddie to try to solve the murder of Humpty Dumpty. But when Little Boy Blue, Mother Goose and Jack Spratt also get sent into oblivion, they realize that a serial killer is at work…and he leaves a hollow chocolate bunny at each crime scene as his calling card. Full of wordplay, puns and wry, wacky British humor, this was an enjoyable romp into nursery rhyme land—but I wouldn’t read this one to a little kid! LOL ( )

Have you ever thought of living amongst the stars of your favorite childhood nursery rhymes? Now imagine if you will, them being murdered one-by-one. Just suspend you beliefs one step more; (well actually there are a bunch more, but this is a short review, so bear with me) you and your stuffed bear friend must solve these heinous crimes. Well this is just the start of Robert Rankin’s, witty tale of nursery rhymes, talking toys, and hollow chocolate bunnies. A laugh-out-loud tale that makes you wonder, “why weren’t my childhood stories this much fun?” ( )