Electra's totally out of her depth. Everyone's giving her the third degree!
Freak Boy's dad wants to know whether he's being bullied. Sorrel's interrogating Electra about Lucy's private life. Even her dad is cross-examining her about her mum's love-life, over his Deep Pan Super Supreme.
And all Electra can think is, How far can you get a piece of melted cheese to stretch without it breaking?
Welcome to the crazy world of Electra Brown.
Helen Bailey was born and brought up in Northumberland, a county she always regarded as home.
Barely into her teens, Helen invested her pocket money in buying a copy of The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook and spent the next few years sending short stories and poems to anyone she could think of. Much to her surprise, she sometimes found herself in print.
After a degree in science, Helen worked in the media, running a successful London-based character licensing agency handling internationally renowned properties such as Snoopy, Felicity Wishes, Dilbert and Zorro.
Helen died in 2016, leaving behind a significant body of work. She is best known for her Electra Brown series, of which the first is 'Life in the Shallow End'.