Bodley Head , 1993

     "The boat was rolling and pitching in the heavy sea. I lookeed up and saw foam smashing against the glass of the porthole. Every now and then, as we were thrown to the top of a wave, I caught sight of the islands and the fat storm clouds hanging over them. I gripped the metal sink and stared into the mirror..."

     Some of the practical jokes played by Ben, Barney and Jenks were practical jokes I played at school with (and on) my friends. Some were practical jokes played by my grandfather, who went in for that sort of thing. He once paused in front of a post box in the centre of Northampton and began speaking into the slot. 'Well, how on earth did you get in there...? Are you all right...? I'm sorry, I can't, but someone must have a key..." and so on and so forth. Pretty soon a large crowd had gathered intrigued by this poor idiot who had got themselves locked inside a post box. At which point my grandfather wandered off to get help...

     There are now new editions of all the Agent Z books available. They have new covers. They are lovely new covers. But they are not by me. So that is all I am going to say...