Vanished!, second in the TOAST mystery series by James Ponti, finds Florian Bates and his friend Margaret being called upon to help the FBI out again. This time they go undercover to a prestigious private school with students from all the high ranking, DC-elite families, including the President’s daughter. She just may or may not be involved in something a little nefarious, which Florian and Margaret have been asked to look into. What seem to be innocent school pranks lead them to secret societies, conspiracies, international espionage, and kidnappings. All keeping the reader eagerly flipping pages and guessing to the very end of the novel.
The TOAST sleuthing series is the perfect mix of modern mysteries, with a little of the Sherlock Holmes feel and middle school fun, without the middle school drama and angst to weigh it down. Such a fun series that is like a breath of fresh air in the literary world that seems to be bogged down with serious issues and adult content in middle grade novels.
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: None
Violence/Gore: Bully flicks a person on the ear; character grabs someone’s finger and twists in a way to inflict pain; bully slams someone and knocks them to the ground.
Sex/Nudity: None
Mature Subject Matter:
Kidnapping, bullying.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
None
