The secret five and the stunt nun legacy

A comic novel, a surreal parody of children’s adventure stories aimed at adult readers in which, unnervingly, the time-travelling characters are aware of their place in the narrative, and the author treats them with curmudgeonly disdain.

The plot, creaky and with more holes than a Swiss cheese, is the vehicle for the quirky and unusual humour which is packed onto every page.Our young-adult heroes, Betty, Daniel, Ricky, Amy and their dog Whatshisname, think that they live life on the edge, dominated by secret passwords and meetings.

They have a tetchy relationship with Whatshisname, who might just be cleverer than they think; they also have a tetchy relationship with the author, who definitely isn’t.

The characters sometimes become uncontrollable. Ricky walks out of the book at one stage and, at another critical point, Daniel demands that his character should wear spectacles.

A feeble attempt by the author to kill off his characters fails miserably.

This book for adults is crammed with humour, occasionally a little cheeky, never offensive, but always unashamedly silly.