Art Attack (The Sherlock Society #3) by James Ponti

with a special shout-out to Yaoyao Ma Van As, who’s done an even better than usual job on the terrific cover.

Young sleuth Alex Sherlock is absolutely stunned when one of the most popular girls in school sits down next to him and his best friend Yadi while they’re having lunch one day. He’s crestfallen when his older sister Zoe almost immediately chases her away, but Zoe has arrived with both Lina, the last member of their detecting club, and some exciting news. The website that The Sherlock Society set up to receive inquiries has finally landed a credible and potentially profitable case. The siblings’ Grandpa, former investigative reporter and current honorary member of TSS, will arrive after school to pick them up and chaperone their appointment.

Bennett Turner is a property developer who wants to attract a young, hip crowd to his most recent property, the luxurious but also eco-friendly and socially responsible Grove Bohemia. After reading about TSS’s success in solving a case that had baffled detectives for years, he decides that they’re perfect for a somewhat delicate business matter of his that requires investigation. The Miami graffiti artist known only as Funky Munky has recently ascended to near-Banksy levels of fame, and Turner wants to hire them to paint a buzzworthy ten-storey mural for the Grove Bohemia. He’s willing to pay FM two hundred thousand dollars — and TSS a ten percent finder’s fee — but has no way of making contact with the deliberately elusive art provocateur, whose graffiti is not always legal nor welcome by the powers that be.

After some discussion amongst themselves, TSS decides to take the case but with one caveat: they’re to act strictly as a go-between for Turner and FM. While they want to make sure that FM learns about a potentially life-changing gig, they don’t want to reveal the artist’s identity without explicit consent. Turner negotiates them to allowing one phone call between himself and their target, in case he needs to sell the artist on the commission. After agreeing to the deal — and receiving the first of four promised weekly stipends — TSS throws themselves into the case in earnest, applying their considerable wit and ability to the investigation. Nothing, however, goes quite as planned as they discover that the world of emerging art can be far more treacherous than it appears.

Set against the backdrop of the thriving Miami art scene, James Ponti’s latest excellent Middle Grade mystery realistically immerses four young sleuths in a case that’s educational to both them and the reader, without being at all preachy about it. As a big trivia nerd, I loved learning not only about the different kinds of graffiti but also Miami geography, Harshad numbers and other fascinating bits of information. The mystery itself is very well done, with the book opening on a suspenseful chapter involving Alex himself being apprehended by the police for tagging a building.

The third installment of The Sherlock Society is just as excellent as the first two, with our sleuths’ endeavors growing in a very realistic fashion as the series progresses. Mr Ponti writes some of the best MG mysteries out there (and I chuckled at the allusion in these pages to his earlier Framed! series, which I’m still looking forward to reading.) His books are a can’t-miss for fans of the genre.

Art Attack (The Sherlock Society #3) by James Ponti was published today September 8 by Aladdin and is available from all good booksellers, including