No Escape (Friday Barnes #9)

R.A. Spratt, No Escape (Friday Barnes #9), Penguin Random House Australia, February 2021, 288 pp., RRP $15.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760895761

Young enthusiasts for the detective story will be familiar with the clever Friday, whose logic and courage can solve most problems. In this one she protects the treasures of Florence from a menacing group of thieves hiding behind a respectable and prominent figure.

Spratt’s witty characterisation of her fifteen-year-old+ characters, flawed and surprisingly realistic, engages the reader. We are led on a dramatic romp through the Uffitzi and Galilleo Museums and the historic streets of Florence, as well as a race up the river. Friday also discovers that her attraction to Ian is as strong as ever, even though he appears to have dumped her. This is the first of Friday’s adventures in Italy, a second to follow soon.

Reviewed by Stella Lees

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