R.A. Spratt, No Rules (Friday Barnes #4), Random House Australia, 4 Jan 2016, 245pp., $15.99, ISBN 9780857987013
Non-stop action is the name of the game with detective Friday Barnes. In No Rules, the fourth book in the Friday Barnes series, our clever heroine has to save Highcrest Academy from being sold to developers and turned into a golf course. At the same time, she needs to clear the name of her “seriously good-looking” classmate, and key suspect, Ian Wainscott.
Within the first three chapters, Friday has been deported, befriended everyone in the Zurich airport, solved a mysterious necklace theft and been issued a passport so she could return home. This book moves at a relentless pace and each chapter comes to a clean resolution before the next adventure starts. It’s a great technique to pull a reader through to the end of each chapter, not to mention the suspense builds throughout the larger story, making it an addictive page-turner to the last sentence.
Friday is a lovable, quirky and highly original tween. She’s the daughter of a Nobel Laureate — both parents have PhDs, but are absent, hence her boarding at Highcrest Academy. She’s brilliant in all areas but social etiquette. She’s got her own unique style that seems to always include a brown cardigan. And she exudes a confidence in herself that makes for very entertaining interactions with authority figures whether that be the headmaster at her school or immigration officials in Europe.
It’s great fun to follow her thought processes as Friday solves mysteries throughout the book. From minor pranks to full fledged conspiracies, she jumps right in, takes a logical approach and allows young readers to put the solutions together with her. I quickly got used to thinking like Friday when a new case arose…and one did in almost all of the 26 chapters!
It’s also not hard to like the crazy cast of supporting characters in the book. VP Pete is a nightmare of a teacher who certainly shakes things up at the traditional boarding school. Melanie, Friday’s near-narcaleptic best friend, is loyal and hilarious. While Ian is the perfect first love type for Friday whether she knows it or not.
With wit and humour, Friday Barnes, No Rules is a fast-moving story that is sure to appeal to upper primary readers, aged 10 – 13.
Reviewed by Stephanie Ward