Many will welcome the arrival of a new R.A. Spratt novel with a small frisson of expectant excitement, but the publication of the first book in a new series by R.A. Spratt will no doubt pique the average reader's curiosity: Will the new series have cleverly self-contained, but determined characters like the schoolgirl detective, Friday Barnes? Will it include as much anarchic chaos as that created by the delightfully deluded, hyper-confident Nanny Piggins? (Introduction)