*An asterisk means the title is more mature in content / tone.
Authors who write the best mysteries around!
Avi
Blue Balliett
Agatha Christie
Stuart Gibb
Carl Hiaasen
Anthony Horowitz
Pete Hautman
Robin Stevens
Sheila Turnage
Protagonist is often involved in a larger conspiracy or issue. May feature minor sci-fi or fantasy elements.
Adam Canfield of the Slash [series]
The Postcard - Tony Abbott
The Secret of Zoom - Lynne Jonell
Six - M.M. Vaughan
South by Southeast - Anthony Horowitz
“Capers” tend to be more lighthearted, adventurous mysteries where the protagonist solves the mystery with a neat conclusion.
The Case of the Goblin Pearl - Laurence Yep
The Case of the Lion Dance - Laurence Yep
The Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen - M.T. Anderson
Elvis & Olive - Stephanie Watson
The Great Shelby Holmes - Elizabeth Eulberg
Horton Halfpott - Tom Angleberger
Lizzie! - Maxine Kumin
Minerva Clark Goes to the Dogs - Karen Karbo
The Brixton Brothers [series] - Mac Barnett
Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator [series] - Jennifer Allison
Half Moon Investigations - Eoin Colfer
The Hardy Boys [series] - Franklin Dixon
Houdini & Nate [series] - Tom Lalicki
The Lady Grace Mysteries [series] - Patricia Finney
Nancy Drew [series] - Carolyn Keene
Nooks & Crannies - Jessica Lawson
Pals in Peril [series] - M.T. Anderson
Pieces & Players - Blue Balliett
The Red Blazer Girls [series] - Michael D. Beil
Ruby Redfort [series] - Lauren Child
The Sherlock Files [series] - Tracy Barrett
Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer [series] - John Grisham
Wells & Wong [series] - Robin Stevens
Who Was That Masked Man, Anyway? - Avi
A character with a sketchy past is investigated. Blackmail! Creepy motives! Secrets! Adventure!
The Bloodwater Mysteries: Doppelganger - Pete Hautman
Change-Up: Mystery at the World Series - John Feinstein
Hideout - Watt Key*
Last Shot: A Final Four Mystery - John Feinstein
Panda-Monium - Stuart Gibbs
The Rivalry: Mystery at the Army-Navy Game - John Feinstein
A valuable item, often historical, was stolen/lost and must be recovered.
Absolutely Truly - Heather Vogel Frederick
The Bloodwater Mysteries: Skullduggery - Pete Hautman
Chasing Vermeer - Blue Balliett
Curiosity - Gary Blackwood
The Danger Box - Blue Balliett
Finders Keepers - Shelley Tougas
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - E.L. Konigsburg
The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn - Dorothy & Thomas Hoobler
The Girl From Felony Bay - J.E. Thompson
Madhattan Mystery - John J. Bonk
Masterpiece - Elise Broach
The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World - E.L. Konigsburg
Nooks & Crannies - Jessica Lawson
Olivia Kidney and the Secret Beneath the City - Ellen Potter
The Parker Inheritance - Varian Johnson
The Star of Kazan - Eva Ibbotson
A loved one or a pet is missing, and must be found!
Big Game - Stuart Gibbs
The Bloodwater Mysteries: Snatched - Pete Hautman
The Detective’s Assistant - Kate Hannigan
The Goldfish Boy - Lisa Thompson
The Great Shelby Holmes - Elizabeth Eulberg
Hidden - Helen Frost
Hideout - Watt Key*
Hold Fast - Blue Balliett
I Am Princess X - Cherie Priest*
The London Eye Mystery - Siobhan Dowd
The Magician’s Elephant - Kate DiCamillo
One Came Home - Amy Timberlake
Runaway Twin - Peg Kehret
Silent to the Bone - E.L. Konigsburg
Skink No Surrender - Carl Hiaasen
Something’s Fishy, Hazel Green - Odo Hirsch
Terror at Bottle Creek - Watt Key*
The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle - Leslie Connor
Vanishing Act: Mystery at the US Open - John Feinstein*
Who Stole Halloween? - Martha Freeman
And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie*
Belly Up [FunJungle series]- Stuart Gibbs
Dovey Coe - Frances O’Roark Dowell
First Class Murder - Robin Stevens
Houdini & Nate: Frame-Up on the Bowery - Tom Lalicki
I Am Princess X - Cherie Priest
The Magician’s Bird - Emily Fairlie
The Murder of Roger Akroyd- Agatha Christie*
Murder on the Ridge - Ted Stenhouse*
Neil Flambe and the Marco Polo Murders - Kevin Sylvester
Red Kayak - Priscilla Cummings
South by Southeast - Anthony Horowitz
Space Case [Moon Base Alpha series] - Stuart Gibbs
Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer [series] - John Grisham*
Three Times Lucky - Sheila Turnage
The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle - Leslie Connor
The View from the Cherry Tree - Willo Davis Roberts
The Westing Game - Ellen Raskin
Protagonists uncover a conspiracy and/or organization with nefarious motives.
Big Game - Stuart Gibbs
The Mysterious Case of the Allbright Academy - Diane Stanley
Hoot - Carl Hiaasen
Raven’s Gate [series] - Anthony Horowitz
Scar Island - Dan Gemeinhart
The Secret of Zoom - Lynne Jonell
A Series of Unfortunate Events [series] - Lemony Snicket
Readers solve elaborate puzzles alongside the protagonists.
Book Scavenger - Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
Chasing Vermeer - Blue Balliett
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library - Chris Grabenstein
Floors - Patrick Carman
The Gollywhopper Games - Jody Feldman
Horten’s Miraculous Mechanisms - Lissa Evans
The League of Beastly Dreadfuls: The Witch’s Glass - Holly Grant
The Puzzling World of Winston Breen [series] - Eric Berlin
The 13th Reality: The Journal of Curious Letters - James Dashner