An Ounce Of Prevention

Marion Thomas feels she is settling nicely into her new life ‘down south’. Okay, so maybe it was a tad rash to dive into a noisy remodel of her old townhouse, barely minutes after the ink was dry on the purchase papers and there had been one or two teething troubles as she adjusted to a household of not-your-everyday pets.
That would include Charlie, her chatty vampire bat and Buck the very large dog; both downloaded from their stories into hers by Marion’s least-favourite Head Librarian, Mrs Sera Tosthene, better known to Marion as Mrs T.
When a pile of old comic books arrives on Marion’s doorstep -the result of the agreement she made with Mrs T. and The Athenaeum Library in order to keep her pets- Marion knows to expect a visitor ...or two. Because it doesn’t end with the arrival of the comics ...to Marion's consternation, a slim volume arrives shortly afterwards and she finds herself playing reluctant host to a certain over-bearing Consulting Detective of Baker Street fame (and no, unfortunately he looks nothing like Benedict Cumberbatch) as well as the female side-kick from a lesser-known crime-fighting comic book duo.
Now, if they could all just manage to work together, they may be able to fathom what the dickens the crime might be and perhaps prevent it so that Marion can get on with her new life!.