In this gripping third book in the Agatha Bilke series, our jeune fille terrible finds herself back in all kinds of trouble – she launches a plague of frogs’ legs; trashes the Ritz; halts a vicious email virus and shoplifts in the Poulet Vuittonne Luxury Luggage Boutique – all in a bid to bring Holby to his senses. But it’s not easy, with barely a word in French and only a few Euros to rub together… This is number three in the fantastic Agatha Bilke series. The first being The Awful Tale of Agatha Bilke and the second being Operation Ward Ten.
It is summer in Nice and Agatha is on a disastrous French exchange. Her host, Demone Canard is, if anything, a worse girl than she is. A small, spiteful computer hacker, Demone hates Agatha – she puts dog food in with her washing and posts her picture up on the internet claiming that Bilke is a wanted criminal. Making her escape, Agatha soon hooks up with her old friend, Holbeck Folbeck – now apparently running some sort of cult on the Riviera. Enthralled, Agatha joins Holbeck’s crew. But when they head off to “seize” Paris, she realises that Holby is not quite what he seemed.
Siân Pattenden is an illustrator, author and journalist who lives in London.
She has written for publications such as Smash Hits, NME, The Face, the Guardian, Independent and many more. She is also the author of How to Make it in the Music Business (Virgin Books). She has appeared on national radio and TV as a so-called pop pundit.
Earlier in her life, as a child, she did some acting (see ‘other stuff’) and wrote a play which went to Edinburgh called Steven Newman Doesn’t Eat Quiche. At 16, she was the fringe’s youngest playwright ever. That was in the ’80s.
She has just illustrated the playing cards for “Unhappy Families” by Portobello Games (see Portfolio for examples), as featured in the Daily Telegraph and London Evening Standard.
