Alex Sparrow and the Zumbie Apocalypse

Even though Mrs Spires was a mean, miserable old crone, Alex and Jess have been forced to go to her funeral just because Mum and Nanny Sparrow were there when she collapsed and died at Zumba class. Actually, when the corpse starts to knock loudly from inside the coffin and comes dramatically back to life, they are glad they are there. Nothing this exciting has happened to them for ages. 

When it becomes clear that the curse of the Zumba class is spreading, and Nanny’s keep-fit pals are dropping like flies, Alex, Jess, their best mate Darth Daver and a goldfish called Bob join forces to solve the mystery and unmask the evil genius responsible.

With a plot that is ludicrous but ingenious, this is the third, bonkers book in the Alex Sparrow series. It is clear that Alex has a long way to go before he can be the fabulous secret agent he thinks he is but he does have an ear that releases the smelliest farts imaginable whenever someone tells a lie. So he’s effectively a human lie-detector – and that’s very useful when tracking down a criminal mastermind.