I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Art Attack
by
James Ponti
Series: Sherlock Society #3 Series Rating:
Published by Aladdin on September 8, 2026
Setting: Miami, Florida
Genres: Middle Grade Mystery Pages: 320
Format: Audible Audiobook,
Audio CD,
Hardcover,
Kindle Source: NetGalley Goodreads Bookhype BookBub Storygraph Get Your Copy at: Amazon The Sherlock Society goes undercover in the Miami street art scene to find an anonymous graffiti artist in this third book in the hilarious, New York Times bestselling Sherlock Society middle grade series from Edgar Award–winning author James Ponti!
The Sherlock Society’s latest case is tracking down stealth graffiti artist Funky Munky—well-known for their artistic statements calling out local politicians—on behalf of a developer who wants them to create a mural for a new hotel. Their investigation leads Alex, Zoe, Lina, and Yadi deep into the very colorful south Florida art scene.
But finding someone who doesn’t want to be found is challenging, and it doesn’t help that Miami Art Week is coming up, bringing lots of attention—and lots of new artists—to the area. The Sherlock Society’s best bet is an elaborate sting operation, which involves them picking up spray cans themselves. Can they trap their quarry without exposing themselves?
Art Attack by James Ponti showcases four friends solving a mystery.
Can the Sherlock Society find an artist that doesn’t want their identity to be revealed?
The Sherlock Society is onto their third case and this one they have been tasked to find out who the real person is of Funky Munky. For this the gang’s biggest worries aren’t finding the artist but of staying out of trouble with the law. I have to say that this is my first book from this series and it was great. It kept me entertained and I loved all of the characters.
The Sherlock Society
The Society has five members. The members are Alex Sherlock, Zoe Sherlock, Lina, Yadi, and Grandpa Sherlock. Alex is the point of view character so we are only really privy to what he knows. I like how a decision that was made in the summer has lead to them solving at least three cases and still getting hits on their website. Another thing that I like is how all five of them have their own strengths that are all utilized in this detective agency. Grandpa Sherlock being a retired journalist is pretty much the most helpful in a lot of ways.
I like all five of these characters and how Alex interacts with them all. The core four have an awesome friendship. I believe this helps them out when they are investigating a case. Grandpa helps out a lot and is probably the main reason why all of their parents allowed this detective agency to keep going.
The Mystery
The mystery that the Sherlock Society is working on they got from their website and they thought looked the most promising. I liked how the five of them handled the investigation and figuring out who Funky Munky is. Mr. Ponti definitely had me going with a lot of clues that he was leaving behind and a twist that I wasn’t expecting to hit.
Five Stars
My rating for Art Attack by James Ponti is five stars. Mr. Ponti is a fantastic writer and this is a great book to pick up as an introductory. It’s great to see his writing style but also to get introduced to a series. I am definitely going to try to read the first two of this series and maybe try out some of his other books.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Art Attack by James Ponti.
Until the next time,

Happy Reading!
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About James Ponti

James Ponti is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of four Middle Grade book series, including City Spies and The Sherlock Society. His novels have been named to more than seventy state award lists, translated into sixteen languages, and sold over one million copies. City Spies has been optioned by Amazon MGM Studios for development as a film franchise. He’s a two-time Edgar Award-nominee, winning in 2018 for Vanished!
James was born in Italy and grew up in Atlantic Beach, Florida, where he could usually be found on the beach, at the movies, or playing sports. Despite being a reluctant reader, he decided to become a writer in the fifth grade.
A graduate of the University of Southern California’s film school, he spent thirty years working in television, first as a scriptwriter for Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, and PBS; and then as a writer/producer for History Channel, Spike TV, Golf Channel, and NBC Sports. He wrote, produced, and co-directed the Emmy-nominated documentary 27 Years: The Exoneration of Valentino Dixon.
He loves to travel with his family and visit museums, historic landmarks, major league baseball parks, and, most of all, bookstores. He lives in Orlando, Florida.
^ taken from his website
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2026 Goodreads RC
- 2026 Middle Grade Reading Challenge
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