A final outing for James Ponti’s very entertaining trilogy in which two junior sleuths help the FBI solve baffling cases, it is perhaps unsurprising that Trapped! (2018) follows the age-old tradition of having this case cut Very Close To Home.

When teenagers Florian Bates and Margaret Campbell are consulted on the small matter of a book being used as a dead drop for the sharing of information between spies, it’s not long — and it will require a few leaps in logic, it must be said — before they find themselves on the trail of deep cover mole who has been working either within or very close to the National Security Agency for potentially years. The whole thing, as with a lot of juvenile mysteries, is too ridiculous for words but, as with the best juvenile mysteries, Ponti does a superb job in making this feel surprisingly likely.

Key to Ponti’s success, as has been the case with all three books in this too-short series, is that he grounds much of the intelligence that Florian and Margaret demonstrate in reasonable behaviour and intelligence. This is really just an extension of the observational skills of the likes of Sherlock Holmes, but Ponti gives it a new twist by calling it TOAST — the Theory of All Small Things — and updating it into the modern world. Look at the use of social media in the opening chapter, when the two must gain entry to a swanky party when they have neither invites nor a suitable excuse for being there; look at Margaret unmasking an undercover agent at an FBI dinner early on based on the simple matter of contradictory qualities in his appearance — none of this is new, but it shows application which feels well within the capabilities of the young people deploying it, and it really does ground the events to come superbly.

It’s a fault I’ve levelled at Ponti previously that he doesn’t always declare the information Florian and Margaret use, and that’s in evidence again here, especially in the matter of the key piece of reasoning that blows the lid off the whole thing in the closing stages, but in taking the time to show it’s possible, Ponti has at least laid the groundwork well even if the links made don’t feel probable. So, for instance, when trying to impress a stuck-up librarian by commenting on the plans he has for his library, Ponti uses a lot of backwards reasoning (i.e., if this had happened, these things would be in evidence) but it’s always fun, never intended as anything more sombre than that, and I’ve had a lot of fun reading these books. You could argue that the pointing of a finger at someone and accusing them of espionage should have more than fun behind it — and, man, the terminal deduction in that regard is…flawed — but, honestly, it’s not like every book aimed at grown-up readers is flawless in its logical reasoning, so why should we hold slightly loose standards against this, which is written with an infectious joy that it would be curmudgeonly to deny?

There are also some nice themes packed in here: Margaret’s search for her birth parents, about which Florian knows more than he’s letting on, comes to a head, with notions of race and identity — and how much we are able to separate these two facets over which we have no control — forming the backbone of some interesting reflections. And the way mobster Nicolae Nevrescu, who appears throughout the series, folds into these events as well as the core plot is well-handled and not without moments of levity. It’s in elements such as these that you appreciate the slightly long game Ponti has been playing with this trilogy, and, even though this very much feels like a final chapter, seeing someone write so well about difficult topics makes it difficult not to hope that he’ll return to these characters before too long.

You shouldn’t start the series here — hell, it’s only three books, go back to the beginning like I didn’t — but it’s perhaps unsurprising that Trapped! represents all that’s good and all that’s slightly less good about this series as a whole. Some very intelligent reasoning — the vaccination scars, say — rubs shoulders with some slightly awkward plotting — the timing of what our villain is supposed to have done as their master plan to discredit Marcus Rivers, Florian and Margaret’s FBI handler, doesn’t work…does it? — but it’s such an enjoyable time, and written with such a human eye on its target market, that it’s difficult to mind too greatly when the pieces don’t quite click.

And so, to wrap us this review of the final entry in an engaging mystery series which doesn’t hang around and holds the attention well throughout, let me not outstay my welcome. James Ponti has created something very engaging, written it well, and chosen perhaps the right moment to get out while the quality of what he produced is still high. I’d love to think that more adventures with Florian and Margaret might follow, but if they don’t he can be very proud of what he has achieved in such a short time.

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The Framed! trilogy by James Ponti