Friday Barnes, No Escape

This book is the first book in the continuation of the Friday Barnes series.  The series originally had only eight books, and the last book provided a somewhat nice conclusion (even if it did leave it open-ended).  But, apparently, the author decided to to continue the adventures of this Sheldon-like young female sleuth, for which I am very glad.  However, this book is a clear departure from the previous eight books for a number of reasons.  In fact, the book feels very much like a transition for the character, which makes me wonder what the future books have in store for our dear Friday.

Friday Barnes, No Escape opens with the usual recap from the end of the last book - Ian is leaving for Italy with his mother and her new husband, and Friday is left behind; but they make a promise to meet at that very spot in the airport in four years when they both finish school - to solve a mystery, of course!  Then, we get to the first chapter, which finds Dr. Belcredi (the school's headmistress) and Melanie Polly (Friday's best friend) sitting in a prison waiting room for Friday to be released.  Wait, what?!  I actually went back and read the end of the last book to make sure I didn't miss anything, and I confirmed that I did not.  So, how in the world did Friday end up in jail?  Well, remember how I said this book was a departure?  This is one of those instances.  Author R.A. Spratt actually does a time jump here, leaving readers with a bit of a mystery as to why and how Friday Barnes got thrown in jail, and how exactly is she getting out nearly a year later?  Spratt gives readers a few clues here and there before finally revealing the whole truth - Friday created a hypothetical scenario that was used by real terrorists, and so she ended up in jail (even though she didn't mean to do it, she still did it, however unintentionally).

So, it's back to Highcrest for Friday, whose whole demeanor has now changed.  She no longer wants to solve mysteries, and she has no desire to face all of her old classmates.  But, as she quickly finds out, she is not the only one who changed.  Her enemies have younger classmates to terrorize, so she is not a target on their radar any more.  Ian is gone, having to moved to Italy.  And speaking of Italy, it seems the upper class students are taking a trip to Italy, and the headmistress thinks it would be a good idea for Friday to join them - but Friday has no desire to go.  She would rather stay at the school and NOT solve mysteries.  Like helping Parker find his lost passport.  Or figuring out why Dr. Msamati has been so sleepy in the mornings.  Until Uncle Bernie calls.  He needs her help.  The museum where he provides security is fearful of being robbed, and only Friday can help him ensure the security system will prevent any thefts!  Thus, it's off to Italy for Friday and Melanie (and the rest of the upper class students).

The trip overseas turns out to be an interesting one - not just for Friday and her classmates, but for the reader as well.  Friday keeps telling everyone that she is no longer solving crimes or other mysteries, but it seems the one she really has to convince is herself.  Because no matter how hard she tries, it seems she is always solving one mystery or another - like how the airplane attendant got a chocolate-covered macadamia in his pocket ... or working out why the nun's tractor was not working ... or how the nuns' raspberry gelato got food coloring in it ... or even fixing a water heater problem when the heater isn't broken.  But, ultimately, it's the mystery surrounding the stolen lens from Galileo's telescope that scores Friday her biggest mystery in this book (other than why Ian claims to have written to Friday in jail, when she never received any of his correspondence).  The solution is not necessarily overly surprising, nor is Ian's involvement in the whole thing - but what does come as a big surprise is the offer Friday gets at the end of the book - an offer that, if she takes it, will definitely change the direction of this book going forward!

As always, there are a lot of fun moments in the book, mostly involving either Friday's lack of social skills or Melanie's unusual observation abilities.  Friday has a number of emotional moments throughout the book, which, again, marks another departure from previous books, as she has pretty much been lacking in a lot of the self-pitying emotions that many other students feel at her age.  Her self-doubt and constant wonder over whether Ian still likes her or not is a marked change in the character, and perhaps it is a sign of growth (both physically and emotionally).  The one constant is the overarching mystery that runs alongside all of the smaller, done-in-one-chapter mysteries that Friday solves along the way.  In any event, the series is definitely going in a completely different direction from here, and I, for one, can't wait to see what's next!

RATING:  9 cups of crema all'arancia gelato out of 10 for keeping the Friday Barnes series going, keeping it fresh, and keeping the surprises coming!