Framed – serie

A budding genius gets recruited by the FBI to find stolen art in this first book in the hilarious middle grade mystery series that has “elements of Alex Rider, James Bond, and Sherlock Holmes” (School Library Journal) from New York Times bestselling, Edgar Award­–winning James Ponti.Twelve-year-old Florian Bates has just moved to Washington, DC, the latest of places he’s lived for his dad’s job a security specialist and his mom’s an art conservator—now with the National Gallery of Art. Florian keeps busy developing his technique TOAST (Theory of All Small Things) that focuses on details to solve life’s little mysteries such as where to sit on the on the first day of school or which Chinese restaurant has the best eggrolls. His observational skills haven’t earned him many friends in the past, but his neighbor Margaret turns out to be a kindred spirit and an excellent student of TOAST. While testing their talents in the National Gallery, they uncover a valuable lead about a piece of stolen art! After calling in their tip, Florian and Margaret catch the attention of the FBI…and a notorious crime syndicate known as EEL. Now, Florian is the only kid on the FBI Director’s speed dial and several international criminals’ most wanted lists, and he and Margaret might be in way over their heads. Can these amateur sleuths foil an art theft and forgery ring by looking at the small things, or will they find the devil is in the details?

An Edgar Award Winner for Juvenile Fiction Perfect for mystery buffs with “elements of Alex Rider, James Bond, and Sherlock Holmes,” (School Library Journal) the Framed! series continues with Florian and Margaret going undercover at an elite private school!After helping the FBI solve an art theft at the National Gallery and uncovering a DC spy ring, Florian’s finding life at Alice Deal Middle School a little boring. Then his FBI handler, Marcus, finally has a job for him. Florian can’t wait! Is it a bank robbery? Counterfeit ring? International espionage? Not even close. The mission is even more middle school. There’s been a series of pranks happening at a prestigious private school attended by the president’s daughter who may—or may not—be involved. So Florian and Margaret go undercover to see if they can use their TOAST skills to figure out what’s going on before the media gets hold of the story. However, once the crime-solving pair arrive at the school, they discover that there’s a lot more than a few pranks going on, and the conspiracy of silence reaches all the way to the top. Then things take a sinister turn when a student vanishes in the middle of a concert at the Kennedy Center! Can Florian and Margaret save the day? Or are they about to get toasted?

“A top-shelf test of courage, friendship, and ingenuity.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Florian Bates—the only kid on the FBI Director’s speed dial and several international criminals’ most wanted lists—must clear the name of a friend being framed for a crime he didn’t commit in this hilarious third novel in the Framed! series.When Florian and Margaret’s FBI supervisor, Marcus Rivers, is accused of a crime, it’s up to the mystery solving duo to jump into action and clear his name. After all, Marcus is more than their boss—he’s family. The case involves one of Marcus’s first investigations for the FBI and a Russian spy ring. But the spy they’re chasing learns what they’re up to and turns the tables. Now, Marcus is implicated in a variety of crimes, including theft, corruption, and espionage. For Florian and Margaret, it just got personal. They’re going to catch the spy and clear Marcus’s name…even if they have to break into (and out of) the Library of Congress to do it.