I talk a lot about mystery novels for tweens.
Whether I’m at school visits or literary festivals or on the Your Kid’s Next Read podcast, it’s a subject close to my heart – probably because there’s usually a mystery, if not at the heart, then not far from it in most of my books.
I’ve always loved reading mysteries – to this day – and I love writing them.
My Maven & Reeve novels are detective stories set in a world of knights and castles.
The First Summer of Callie McGee and Willow Bright’s Secret Plot are cosy mysteries wrapped in coming-of-age stories.
Danger Road, coming in July, features two brothers trying to solve a cold-case mystery that comes a little too close to home.
Even my fantasy adventure series, The Mapmaker Chronicles and The Ateban Cipher, hold mysteries at their hearts – because curiosity drives my writing and nothing drives a story better than a big question.
And, if the number of requests for ‘mystery novels’ for tweens in the Your Kid’s Next Read community is anything to go by, I’m not alone in my obsession.
Megan Daley and I recently had a discussion about the enduring appeal of mystery stories in this podcast episode, and it was at that point that I realised that a) not only did I not have an updated list of terrific mystery novels for readers 9-14 but b) I didn’t have a list here on my site at all.
Over the years I’ve written lots of different book lists full of terrific mystery reads (see some of them here) for other people’s websites and blogs, but not one for my own.
I know.
Anyway, I’m rectifying that here with a list of books that are either recommended over and over in the Your Kid’s Next Read community, are recommended over and over by Megan and/or I, or are new and exciting and will not doubt be recommended over and over in the months and years to come.
You might need a cup of tea for this one because it’s not going to be a short list.
Mystery novels for tweens
I’ve loosely divided it into three sections, just to help us all keep track, but there remains a wide range of books under each heading, from gentle detective stories to murder mysteries, so click the links* to check the descriptions to ascertain suitability for your young reader.
Detective stories
Friday Barnes (series) by R. A. Spratt
‘Copycat’ by Kelli Ann Hawkins
‘The First Summer Of Callie McGee’ by A. L. Tait
‘Willow Bright’s Secret Plot’ by A. L. Tait
Solve It Your Way (series) by Rachel Jackson
Murder Most Unladylike (series) by Robin Stevens
Enola Holmes (series) by Nancy Springer
Stella Montgomery Intrigue (series) by Judith Rossell
‘Miss Penny Dreadful and The Midnight Kittens’ (series) by Allison Rushby, Bronte Rose Marando
Kat Wolfe Investigates (series) by Lauren St John
The London Eye Mystery (series) by Siobhan Dowd
Agatha Oddly (series) by Lena Jones
Flavia De Luce (series) by Alan Bradley
‘The Very Merry Murder Club’ (anthology), edited by Serena Patel and Robin Stevens
The Swifts (series) by Beth Lincoln, Claire Powell
The Winterhouse Mysteries (series) by Ben Guterson
‘Adventures on Trains’ (series) by M.G. Leonard, Sam Sedgman, Elsa Paganelli
‘The Detective’s Guide To Ocean Travel’ (series) by Nikki Greenberg
‘Montgomery BonBon: Murder At The Museum’ (series) by Alasdair Beckett-King, Claire Powell
‘Poppy Pym’ (series) by Laura Wood
A Girl Called Justice (series) by Elly Griffiths
Scarlet and Ivy (series) by Sophie Cleverly
Rose Raventhorpe Investigates (series) by Janine Beacham
Ella at Eden (series) by Laura Sieveking
‘Her Majesty’s League of Remarkable Young Ladies’ by Alison D. Stegert
‘When This Bell Rings’ by Allison Rushby
200 Minutes of Mystery (series) by Jack Heath
Mystery thrillers
Theodore Boone (series) by John Grisham
‘The Book Of Chance’ by Sue Whiting
‘Into The Wild’ by Hayley Lawrence
City Spies (series) by James Ponti
Spy Academy (series) by Jack Heath
Young Bond (series) by Charlie Higson
YA mysteries for tweens (12+)
Eleanor Jones Is Not A Murderer (series) by Amy Doak
The Fire Star (Maven & Reeve Mysteries #1) (series) by A. L. Tait
‘The Stand In’ by A. J. Rushby
Truly Devious (series) by Maureen Johnson
‘Tracks of the Missing’ by Carl Merrison and Hakea Hustler
‘Medici Heist’ by Caitlin Scheiderhan
‘Storm Of Lies’ by Sophie McKenzie
‘My Family And Other Suspects’ by Kate Emery’
‘If You Tell Anyone, You’re Next’ by Jack Heath
A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder (series) by Holly Jackson
The Inheritance Games (series) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
‘Watch Your Back’ by Sue Wallman
Are you new here? Welcome to my blog!
I’m Allison Tait, aka A.L. Tait, and I’m the author of 11 middle-grade novels, including epic adventure fantasy series such as The Mapmaker Chronicles, The Ateban Cipher, and the Maven & Reeve Mysteries, and contemporary stories including THE FIRST SUMMER OF CALLIE McGEE, WILLOW BRIGHT’S SECRET PLOT and DANGER ROAD (July).
You can find out more about me here, and more about my books here.
If you’re looking for book recommendations for young readers, join the Your Kid’s Next Read Facebook community, tune in to the Your Kid’s Next Read podcast and sign up for the Your Kid’s Next Read newsletter
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