Move over, Nancy Drew! We have discovered the perfect series by R.A. Spratt that will introduce new readers aged 8+ to the mystery-solving sleuth, cosy crime genre. This main character is sassy and smart and can solve any mystery that comes her way.
Imagine if Sherlock Holmes was an 11-year-old girl! Friday Barnes is courageous, resourceful and extremely intelligent and wears a brown cardigan and a porkpie hat. When she solves a bank robbery, she uses the $50,000 reward to send herself to the most exclusive boarding school in the country. Then, things truly take a turn for the exciting when she discovers it is positively rife with crime and mysteries just waiting to be solved. Plus, it’s where she’ll meet new people, hone her craft and perhaps even befriend the handsomest boy in school...
This is a fantastic series to tuck into if you enjoyed reading books like Sally Lockhart, Montgomery Bonbon, Laura Marlin and Agatha Oddly. If you read this series and would like to read more books like this, do take a look at our blog post about the Best Crime and Mystery Series for ages 9 and 10.
All the Friday Barnes books in order:
Book 1: Girl Detective (2014)
Book 2: Under Suspicion (2015)
Book 3: Big Trouble (2015)
Book 4: No Rules (2016)
Book 5: The Plot Thickens (2016)
Book 6: Danger Ahead (2017)
Book 7: Bitter Enemies (2018)
Book 8: Never Fear (2015)
Book 9: No Escape (2021)
Book 10: Undercover (2022)
Book 11: Last Chance (2023)
Book 12: Collision Course (2024)