Friday Barnes, Bitter Enemies

Well, we've reached book seven, and the never-ending troubles and mysteries that surround Friday Barnes continue, with surprises around every corner.  As you may recall (or maybe you don't, and that's why there's a "Previously in Friday Barnes..." prologue at the beginning of each book), when we last left our intrepid young sleuth, she and her friends returned to Highcrest Academy after spending a rather eventful summer vacation at camp (where they, of course, solved another mystery, this time involving an illegal mink-farming operation).  But their relief at returning to school was short-lived when they met Friday's brother and sister, Orion and Quasar.  Who were there to take Friday back home with them.  "Home" being in Switzerland, where the entire family (except Friday) were currently working and thriving in their respective scientific fields - and where Friday Barnes is about to attend a brand new school!

Author R.A. Spratt provides readers with an opportunity to see how the bonds Friday has formed with her friends, and even her enemies, at Highcrest Academy have grown over the course of the books as the new school year begins without Friday there.  Bitter Enemies opens with a rather depressed Ian and an even sadder Melanie, both of whom are unsure just what the new year is going to bring without Friday Barnes.  Even the school's Headmaster misses the young trouble-magnet, although he could certainly never admit that to anyone.  But, since this Friday's series of books, we can't exactly have a book without Friday in it - so, surprise, surprise! (or not really much of a surprise, considering how you want to look at it), Friday Barnes shows up unexpectedly, ready to start the new semester and return to her normal life at Highcrest.  The only problem is, her spot at the school has already been given away to a new student - Harrison Abotomey!  And even though the Headmaster informs her that she unenrolled and is no longer a student there, that doesn't stop Friday Barnes from moving back into the dorm with Melanie and resuming her studies  - - and crime-solving adventures!

Now, usually within each Friday Barnes book, Friday has solved a number of small (minor) mysteries along the way to solving the "big" over-arching mystery for that particular book; however, this time around, Friday's focus seems to be on uncovering who has it out for the headmasters of Highcrest Academy!   The school is preparing to dedicate a new fountain in the middle of the swamp (yeah, yeah, you have to read it to understand that one), when an accident results in one of the school's headmasters mysteriously disappearing!  Then another headmaster becomes violently ill.  Then the current one nearly has a heart attack.  Friday can see clearly that someone is determined to get even with the headmasters - but the questions are:  who and why?  And if that weren't enough to figure out, Friday also has to deal with Harrison Abotomey, who seems to be following her and Melanie everywhere they go.  Melanie is convinced Harrison is in love with Friday (why else would he be so angry with Ian all the time?  he sees Ian as competition!), but Friday does not have time to deal with a potential suitor when she's trying to save the lives of the headmasters before any more disappear.

Spratt keeps the humor that has made this series so much fun, with Friday's Sheldon-like thinking and Melanie's ever-so-lazy and clueless personality.  She also keeps that tension between Friday and Ian, with the ongoing "will they" or "won't they" tug-of-war between them.  Spratt manages to throw some great surprises and twists along the way when it comes to the mystery, which is yet another reason why reading these books is so enjoyable.  And, in case you were wondering, yes, she keeps the traditional book-ending cliffhanger - this time, Friday finds herself finally rewarded for her intelligence, analytical thinking, and well-above standard IQ - but it leaves Friday with a very important question that the reader will want to know as well - where will Friday go from here?

The final page encourages readers "To find out what happens next, read the final book in the series...Never Fear."  And the eighth book was the final book in the series - until I discovered on Amazon that book eight was, in fact, NOT the final book in the series, as there are available for purchase book nine (No Escape), book ten (Undercover), and book eleven (Last Chance).  And for that, I am eternally grateful, because Friday Barnes is just too good of a character to retire, and I hope to see her adventures continue for many years to come!

RATING:  10 identical dummy offices out of 10 for outrageously fun mysteries with a genius-level sleuth with no interpersonal skills whatsoever!