Eight-year-old Alfie’s dad isn’t anything to do with the secret services. He is the local postman and thinks that Thunder Raker Manor is a great school to send his son to. When the headteacher gets a letter from the prime minister asking for Alfie to be given a place at the school he isn’t to know that it was written by Alfie’s dad who slipped it in with the post whilst he was out on his rounds...

Alfie’s new friends, Jake whose dad is head of the Secret Service; Alice whose dad is a double agent and Harry whose dad has infiltrated SPUD - the Secret Partners for Undertaking Destruction, are just some of the fabulous characters at his new school. As well as getting to know them and their unusual habits, such as arriving at school under heavy guard, Alfie also has to come to terms with his unusual new curriculum which includes lessons on Camouflage, if the teacher can be found and Assassination, if the children can survive the class. It seems he and his classmates are also in a state of permanent danger due to the activities of SPUD and yet Alfie quickly discovers that he might actually be quite good at spying!

This is a fabulously quirky, amusing and action packed story from a great writer. Justin Richards has turned his skills to writing for a younger age group with great success. The reader will be drawn into the humour and intrigue from page one, always wondering if Alfie’s dad is really all he seems and trying to decide whether the school and its quirky curriculum are for real! Packed with spy jargon, codes, teachers who seem to be verging on incompetence and a curriculum that many young children would do anything for this book will be a real draw for younger readers looking for some action and adventure.

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2008-08-07