Most Popular Books by James Ponti

Molly is ready for more nonstop, undead action in this follow-up to Dead City, which Kirkus Reviews described as “a fast-paced read for those who like their zombies with just a little fright.” When Molly Bigelow discovered that zombies shared New York with humans, she didn’t think life could get more shocking. Then she learned that her mother was once one of the greatest zombie killers ever—and she discovered that her dead mother is not technically dead after all (although she isn’t alive, either). Molly’s efforts to keep these secrets and to help her Omega team track down the identity of the original thirteen zombies will take her from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade to New Year’s Eve in Times Square. Her loyalties to friends and family will be put to the test. And her life will be changed in ways she never could have imagined.

In this second installment in the New York Times bestselling series from Edgar Award winner James Ponti, the young group of spies returns for another international adventure perfect for fans of Spy School and Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls. After thwarting a notorious villain at an eco-summit in Paris, the City Spies are gearing up for their next mission. Operating out of a base in Scotland, this secret team of young agents working for the British Secret Intelligence Service’s MI6 division have honed their unique skills, such as sleight of hand, breaking and entering, observation, and explosives. All of these allow them to go places in the world of espionage where adults can’t. Fourteen-year-old Sydney is a surfer and a rebel from Bondi Beach, Australia. She’s also a field ops specialist for the City Spies. Sydney is excited to learn that she’ll be going undercover on the marine research vessel the Sylvia Earle. But things don’t go exactly as planned, and while Sydney does find herself in the spotlight, it’s not in the way she was hoping. Meanwhile, there’s been some new intel regarding a potential mole within the organization, offering the spies a lead that takes them to San Francisco, California. But as they investigate a spy who died at the Botanical Gardens, they discover that they are also being investigated. And soon, they’re caught up in an exciting adventure filled with rogue missions and double agents! This mission is hot! The City Spies are a go!

Series title extrapolated from hardcover edition.

The City Spies head to the Big Apple when a credible threat is made to a young climate activist who is scheduled to speak in front of the upcoming United Nations General Assembly. With Rio acting as alpha and a new member in their ranks, the team''s m

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?

In this sixth installment in the New York Times bestselling series from Edgar Award winner James Ponti, the young group of spies stages a rescue in Rome in another international adventure perfect for fans of Spy School and Charlie Thorne. Cairo, the newest member of the City Spies, takes the lead when his sister disappears in Istanbul. Determined to save the family of one of their own, the team risks discovery as their search leads them to Rome. Meanwhile, there’s been intel that seems to threaten the royal wedding about to take place in Westminster, bringing the team back to the UK on an official case for MI6. With so much security all over the city, it’s harder than ever for the City Spies to go unnoticed. Will their skills be up to the task?

Molly’s up against the undead—and the fate of Manhattan is in her hands—in the third and final book of the Dead City trilogy, which Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins says “breathes new life into the zombie genre.” Molly and the Omegas fight to contain the storm unleashed by Operation Blue Moon. As they do, Molly’s personal life is thrown into turmoil when she discovers that one of her closest friends has joined the ranks of the undead, a development that threatens the Omegas as well as Molly’s relationship with her mother. As Molly and her friends battle the Dead Squad (a special NYPD task force made up entirely of zombies), they discover that the world’s largest gold reserve is kept in a vault eighty feet below the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. They find a photograph of the vault’s construction in the 1920s and realize that the construction crew was led by none other than the leader of the undead, Marek Blackwell. Could this explain the source of all his money? And if so, what is he planning to do with it? Is he rebuilding Dead City…or is he building an undead army?

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?

A hurricane unearths a decades-old mystery when a bell captain''s body is discovered at a historic Miami Beach hotel, leading twelve-year-old Alex and the other members of the Sherlock Society to uncover the truth behind a long-lost million-dollar jewel heist.

Twelve-year-old Alex Sherlock, his thirteen-year-old sister Zoe, and their friends Lina and Yadi decide to spend their summer in Miami investigating the many "cold cases" their grandfather accumulated during his years as a reporter--first up, Al Capone and a buried treasure.

“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.

A New York Times bestseller! A GMA3 Summer Reading Squad Selection! “Ingeniously plotted, and a grin-inducing delight.” —People “Will keep young readers glued to the page…So when do I get the sequel?” —Beth McMullen, author of Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls In this thrilling new series that Stuart Gibbs called “a must-read,” Edgar Award winner James Ponti brings together five kids from all over the world and transforms them into real-life spies—perfect for fans of Spy School and Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls. Sara Martinez is a hacker. She recently broke into the New York City foster care system to expose her foster parents as cheats and lawbreakers. However, instead of being hailed as a hero, Sara finds herself facing years in a juvenile detention facility and banned from using computers for the same stretch of time. Enter Mother, a British spy who not only gets Sara released from jail but also offers her a chance to make a home for herself within a secret MI6 agency. Operating out of a base in Scotland, the City Spies are five kids from various parts of the world. When they’re not attending the local boarding school, they’re honing their unique skills, such as sleight of hand, breaking and entering, observation, and explosives. All of these allow them to go places in the world of espionage where adults can’t. Before she knows what she’s doing, Sara is heading to Paris for an international youth summit, hacking into a rival school’s computer to prevent them from winning a million euros, dangling thirty feet off the side of a building, and trying to stop a villain…all while navigating the complex dynamics of her new team. No one said saving the world was easy…

In this third “thrilling” (Kirkus Reviews) installment in the New York Times bestselling series from Edgar Award winner James Ponti, the young group of spies help a fellow agent in another international adventure perfect for fans of Spy School and Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls. After taking down a mole within their organization, the City Spies are ready for their next mission—once again using their unique skills and ability to infiltrate places adults can’t. The sinister Umbra has their sights set on recruiting a North Korean nuclear physicist by any means necessary, and the City Spies plan to keep an eye on his son by sending Paris to the chess prodigy’s tournaments in Moscow and Beijing. Meanwhile, Sydney’s embedded as a junior reporter for a teen lifestyle site as she follows the daughter of a British billionaire on tour with the biggest act on her father’s music label to uncover what links both the band and the billionaire have to a recent threat from an old Soviet missile base. From a daring break-in at one of London’s most exclusive homes to a dangerous undercover mission to a desperate search and rescue operation on the streets of Beijing, the City Spies have their work cut out for them on their most dangerous mission yet.

In this fourth installment in the New York Times bestselling series from Edgar Award winner James Ponti, the young group of spies go codebreaking in Cairo in another international adventure perfect for fans of Spy School and Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls. Codename Kathmandu, better known as Kat, loves logic and order, has a favorite eight-digit number, and can spot a pattern from a mile away. So when a series of cyberattacks hits key locations in London while the spies are testing security for the British Museum, it’s clear that Kat’s skill for finding reason in what seems like randomness makes her the perfect candidate to lead the job. And while the team follows the deciphered messages to Egypt and the ancient City of the Dead to discover who is behind the attacks and why, Kat soon realizes that there’s another layer to the mystery. With more players, more clues, and involving higher levels of British Intelligence than ever before, this mission is one of the most complex that the group has faced to date. And it’s also going to bring about a change to the City Spies…

Seventh-grader Molly has always been an outsider, even at New York City''s elite Metropolitan Institute of Science and Technology, but that changes when she is recruited to join the Omegas, a secret group that polices and protects zombies.

Discover the truth about who really lives above and below New York City with the entire Dead City trilogy—now available in one volume! I hate zombies. I know that sounds prejudiced and I’m sure some are probably nice to kittens and love their parents. But it’s been my experience that these are the exceptions to the rule. Meet Molly Bigelow. She’s recruited to become a zombie hunter just like her mother. As part of an elite team, OMEGA, her job is to protect the living—and the almost living—who share the island of Manhattan. Molly has to come to terms with the idea that zombies exist, and that it’s her job to help police them and keep the peace. At the same time, she just wants to be a regular kid. But can she figure out how to do that when her mother was the most feared—or most revered—zombie hunter in the history of New York City? Molly’s missions take her from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade to New Year’s Eve in Times Square as her loyalties and relationships are tested. This omnibus edition includes: Dead City Blue Moon Dark Days

"When Umbra threatens to attack multiple high-level targets across Europe unless Le Fantôme is released from prison, the City Spies have to split up and race across the continent solving codes and chasing clues in hopes that they can thwart the attacks and keep Le Fantôme from going free"-- Provided by publisher.

¡Salvar el mundo es una misión para jóvenes! Bestseller de The New York Times. En sus tres años con el MI6, Sídney ya se ha colgado de un acantilado, ha atravesado la superficie de un estanque congelado, se ha quemado las cejas en más de una ocasión y ha corrido por el techo de un tren de pasajeros que se movía a toda velocidad mientras cargaba un explosivo elaborado por ella. Una vez incluso esquivó a la policía secreta escondiéndose en las alcantarillas. Pero de entre todas las dificultades y peligros, para Sídney lo peor es el hecho de no poder contárselo a nadie. Los trenes, las cejas, las alcantarillas... Todo es confidencial. Solo el equipo puede saber todo lo que han hecho. Nadie más. Los libros de City Spies han estado en las listas de los más vendidos de The New York Times y de la Asociación Estadounidense de Libreros. Las aventuras de James Ponti han sido escogidas libro del año por la revista Parents y libro del mes en Barnes & Noble. Han dicho: «Una historia donde no se usan las armas, sino el cerebro y la tecnología, para salvar al mundo.» La Vanguardia «Ponti convierte este peligroso mundo de los espías en un juego de niños ingenioso y trepidante.» ABC «Tan emocionante y adictiva que se lee de un tirón.» El País «Una historia original, emocionante y realmente divertida.» La Sexta