Friday Barnes, Last Chance

Friday Barnes has been an entertaining series of mysteries unlike any other.  The title character, a cross between Nancy Drew and Sheldon Cooper (of Big Bang Theory fame), is definitely one of the most quirky, unusual teenage sleuths, and the mysteries are always ingenuous with the right amount of humor mixed in.  What I had originally thought was going to be an eight-book series has expanded beyond that (to my overwhelming joy!), and it has been such fun following Friday and her friends as they travel beyond the halls of Highcrest Academy, where many of the first eight books took place.  After the last book's hi-jinks in Italy and Norway, I was curious to see where this book would take us - and R.A. Spratt did not disappoint!

Friday Barnes, Last Chance brings Friday, her sidekick and best friend Melanie, as well as her boyfriend (can she call him that?) Ian, and her Uncle Bernie to France in order to answer the all-important question - is the Mona Lisa hanging in The Louvre the real thing, or is it a masterfully reproduced fake?  It is interesting Spratt would use this premise for the mystery, as there has been speculation through the years as to whether the Mona Lisa that currently hangs in The Louvre is a masterful copy or the actual original painted by DaVinci.  And Spratt takes it a bit further, as Friday and Melanie observe the DaVinci, in the Mona Lisa and many of his other paintings, tended to paint prominent or misshapen noses on the people he painted.  This is a fact in the real world that has been a topic of discussion for art critics looking at his works.  Thus, Spratt integrates a bit of factual art history in this mystery.

So, in this book, after dealing with a bout of hypothermia (remember that last bit of adventure in Norway?), Friday heads to Paris to join her uncle and boyfriend as they investigate the claim that has been made about the Mona Lisa.  An aged letter was discovered behind some bathroom tiles of the home of one Signora Peruggia, a descendant of the infamous Vincenzo Peruggia, who stole the Mona Lisa back in 1911 (yet another integration of real facts!), which indicated the painting found and returned to The Louvre was actually a copy, and the original remained hidden somewhere, possibly painted over by another famous artist and hiding in plain sight!  This claim is bringing a lot of unwanted bad publicity to The Louvre, and so Interpol is called in - and since Friday, Ian, and Melanie are all now honorary Interpol assistants, they are on the case!

The series over the last couple of books has taken a departure from the original format of the series. In the beginning, each book had an over-arching mystery for Friday to solve, but along the way, she solved any number of smaller mysteries, seemingly in every other chapter.  In the last book and in this one, as well, there are fewer short mysteries along the way, and the text focuses more on the main mystery.  Yes, Friday does happen to solve a couple of quick problems (such as a missing passenger on the plane, the identity of a woman attacked by the police at the French airport, a girl using her phone to scam tourists in Paris, and tricking a young girl who has locked herself in the dorm bathroom to come out), but they are definitely fewer and farther between than what they were in the early books.

The book also features a couple of "identity" focal points that have never been raised before - the first being Agent Okeke, the woman sent to pick up Friday and Melanie from the airport.  She is tackled by the police at the airport for carrying a gun, and while Friday figures out who she is, the agent herself makes it clear she believes she was attacked only because of the color of her skin (being of African descent).  The second instance involves Ian.  When Friday and Melanie arrive in France, Friday's fear is that Ian has been enthralled by the beautiful French girls; however, she is surprised to be told that Ian is actually dating another boy now!  Of course, this turns out simply to be a ruse perpetrated by Ian to keep the girls away (since his heart belongs only to Friday); but I did find it interesting that the author used both of these somewhat topical issues in today's headlines as plot points in the book.

The villain in the story is not very difficult to spot; however, the ultimate goal of his criminal venture does make the story exciting, and how he and his group of bandits manage to steal the Mona Lisa from the most secure art museum in the world is rather ingenuous.  The supporting cast of characters are also unique (as is pretty much everything in this series!) and fun, giving Friday some challenges and surprises along the way.  In some ways, the series is developing into a soap opera, as there are elements that would clearly make for a good soap - does Ian really like Friday, or will he leave her for someone else?  why is the young girl in the bathroom so upset that her father is making her attend art school?  what secret does the boy who works for his uncle's pizzeria have?  how will Friday and her new friends escape from a locked chamber in the basement of The Louvre?  And why, oh why, is Friday being arrested yet again at the end of this book (leaving us a wonderful cliffhanger that will lead into the twelfth Friday Barnes mystery!)?  All the great trappings and tropes of a good soap!

As with every other book in this series, this mystery was a joy to read, and I am looking forward to the next one (hoping and praying that book 12 is not the last!).

RATING:  9 cases of bulletproof glass out of 10 for putting Friday Barnes in the middle of a real-life mystery and having her solve it in true Friday-style!