Friday may be an excellent detective, but she never suspected that she'd be the criminal the police were looking for! She needs to clear her name fast, so that she can figure out the story behind the mysterious figure hiding on the school grounds, as well as continue helping her classmates with their problems, such as a missing calculator and a fraudulent quiche. Spratt's second Friday Barnes mystery picks up immediately after the end of the first book, and judging by the tease ending, book three will do the same. But even readers new to Friday will find a lot to like here. Spratt's droll humor, often expressed through Friday's spacey friend Melanie, is the perfect complement to the offbeat mysteries Friday encounters. The result is a series of frothy adventures with mild bullying (that Friday rarely notices), inept educators, and tween-age love-hate relationships. Give this to readers who like humor but also want more intelligent characters and jokes, as well as those who like quirky mysteries.

Gr 4-6 Eleven-year-old Friday Barnes is in serious trouble: she has just been arrested on suspicion of terrorism. Luckily, being an experienced detective, Friday is quickly able to prove not only her own innocence but that of a stranger being held at the police station for stealing. This is only the beginning of Friday's latest series of madcap adventures, which include uncovering a case of cheating in a cooking class, solving a kidnapping, and discovering why large holes keep popping up all over the school grounds. As with the first book in the series, this novel's key strengths are its offbeat situations and persistent humor. Spratt's tongue-in-cheek portrayals of the lazy teachers, spoiled students, and petty administrators at the elite Highcrest Academy are often hilarious, as are the obscure facts and observations Friday employs to solve each mystery. Fans of the first book will not be disappointed, and the cliffhanger at the end will leave them anxious for the next installment. VERDICT This second book in the "Friday Barnes" series is even funnier and quirkier than its predecessor. Ashley Larsen, Pacifica Libraries, CA