4.0 out of 5 stars Derek on Good Form, 13 May 2013 By Brett H “pentangle” (Brighton) – (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Derek’s Revenge (Paperback)
I was looking forward to getting to grips, as it were, with Derek for the third time as I have read the first two in this series. When I read the second book, Derek’s In Trouble , I did feel that it was very much a standalone novel in that it was not necessary to have read the preceding book to enjoy it. However, this time around there are quite a few references to what comes before and a new reader may be a bit bemused by comments about Derek’s cross dressing (all in the interests of research of course), the kidnapping and ransom, Tipsicorus and various other things which came before. Characters such as the two gardeners pop up again, which one understands if one has come across them before. Hence I would advise reading at least Derek’s In Trouble , and preferably both earlier Derek books before embarking on this one.

This time round the story is quite a lot more plausible than in the preceding tales. The main tenets are that Derek finally finds something to write a book about which may just be successful and at the same time begins to feel the lack of his mother, as his grandparents have brought him up from an early age and he has never known her. Predictably these two threads merge and the outcome is fairly obvious from quite early on in the book. This does not, however, diminish the enjoyment and the last part of the book was probably the strongest. Derek at last appears to have learned when it is best to keep his mouth shut and not say the first thing which comes into his head, at least with his wife, Sal, who seems to have become something of a shrew.

I think there is probably quite a bit more mileage in Derek who has now reached his early thirties so I am pleased to hear that a further installment is on its way. I have enjoyed each of these books more than the one which preceded it as I have become more familiar with Derek, Sal et al and their funny little ways but I would recommend that you start with the first and work through them rather than starting here to get the best out of the Derek series.