Focuses on a crime, puzzle or unusual problem to solve
Main character is realistic and is often a detective
Search to reveal hidden secrets and follow clues
Suspenseful
Settings can be dark, mysterious, or scary
Get into a Mystery Series!
The 100-Year-Old Secret by Tracy BarrettWhat if you inherited Sherlock Holmes's book of unsolved cases? Xena and Xander Holmes have just discovered they're related to Sherlock Holmes and have inherited his unsolved casebook! The siblings set out to solve the cases their famous ancestor couldn't, starting with the mystery of a prized painting that vanished more than a hundred years ago. Can two smart twenty-first-century kids succeed where Sherlock Holmes could not? Modern technology meets the classic detective story inThe 100-Year-Old Secret, the first in Tracy Barrett's terrific new mystery series that will intrigue young sleuths everywhere!
Bowling Alley Bandit by Laurie KellerAs Mr. Bing's new pet "doughnut dog," Arnie couldn't be happier. When Mr. Bing joins a bowling league, Arnie gets to go along to practices and competitions. But then Mr. Bing starts rolling gutter balls. Someone or something is behind the madness. Arnie, together with his team of goofball friends, must sort through the shenanigans and solve the mystery. Get ready for some sleuthing and even some magic. Full of Laurie Keller's winning charm and silly humor, this chapter book--the first in the series--is sure to please her many fans. This title has Common Core connections. Bowling Alley Bandit is aKirkus Reviews Best Book of 2013
The Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael BuckleyIn this first book in the series, orphaned sisters Sabrina and Daphne are sent to live with their recently discovered grandmother, Relda Grimm. The girls learn that they are descendants of the Brothers Grimm, whose famous tome of fairy tales is actually a history book. The girls are pitted against a giant, who has been rampaging through town. But who set the giant loose in the first place? Was it Mayor Charming (formerly Prince Charming), who has plans to get his kingdom back? The Three Not-So-Little Pigs, now working as police officers? Or a giant-killer named Jack, currently working at a Big & Tall store?
Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians by Jarrett J. KrosoczkaServing justice . . . and lunch! Lunch Lady can sniff out something rotten like no one else--and there's definitely something rotten going on in the library. The usually friendly librarians have become cold and secretive. Even Dee can't seem to crack a smile out of them. What darkness may lurk in the hearts of librarians? Lunch Lady is on the case! And Hector, Terrence, and Dee are along for a wild ride!
The Maze of Bones by Rick RiordanThe first book in the #1 bestselling phenomenon sends readers around the world on the hunt for the 39 Clues! Minutes before she died Grace Cahill changed her will, leaving her decendants an impossible decision: "You have a choice - one million dollars or a clue." Grace is the last matriarch of the Cahills, the world's most powerful family. Everyone from Napoleon to Houdini is related to the Cahills, yet the source of the family power is lost. 39 Clues hidden around the world will reveal the family's secret, but no one has been able to assemble them. Now the clues race is on, and young Amy and Dan must decide what's important: hunting clues or uncovering what REALLY happened to their parents.
Swindle by Gordon KormanAfter a mean collector named Swindle cons him out of his most valuable baseball card, Griffin Bing must put together a band of misfits to break into Swindle's compound and recapture the card. There are many things standing in their way -- a menacing guard dog, a high-tech security system, a very secret hiding place, and their inability to drive -- but Griffin and his team are going to get back what's rightfully his . . . even if hijinks ensue.
The Jaguar's Jewel by Ron Roy; John Steven Gurney (Illustrator)Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose visit New York City! Dink's uncle is the curator of a museum with a dazzling new treasure--a statue of a jaguar cradling an emerald between its front paws. But when it's discovered that the emerald has been replaced with a fake, Dink's uncle is the chief suspect. He'll go to jail if Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose can't uncover the real thief!
Search for a Mystery
Isabel Feeney, Star Reporter by Beth FantaskeyIt's 1920s Chicago--the guns-and-gangster era of Al Capone--and it's unusual for a girl to be selling the Tribune on the street corner. But ten-year-old Isabel Feeney is unusual . . . unusually obsessed with being a news reporter. She can't believe her luck when she stumbles not only into a real-live murder scene, but also into her hero, the famous journalist Maude Collier. The story of how the smart, curious, loyal Isabel fights to defend the honor of her accused friend and latches on to the murder case like a dog on a pant leg makes for a winning, thoroughly entertaining middle grade mystery.
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris GrabensteinKyle Keeley is the class clown and a huge fan of all games--board games, word games, and particularly video games. His hero, Luigi Lemoncello, the most notorious and creative gamemaker in the world, just so happens to be the genius behind the construction of the new town library. Lucky Kyle wins a coveted spot as one of twelve kids invited for an overnight sleepover in the library, hosted by Mr. Lemoncello and riddled with lots and lots of games. But when morning comes, the doors stay locked. Kyle and the other kids must solve every clue and figure out every secret puzzle to find the hidden escape route! Don't miss the next puzzle-packed adventures--Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics and Mr. Lemoncello's Great LIbrary Race! "Discover the coolest library in the world." --James Patterson, #1 New York Timesbestselling author 44 STATE AWARD LISTS AND COUNTING -- INCLUDING THE SUNSHINE STATE AWARD! Starred Review, Booklist * "An ode to libraries and literature that is a worthy successor to the original madman puzzle-master himself, Willy Wonka." Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews *"Full of puzzles to think about, puns to groan at . . . this solid, tightly plotted read is a winner for readers and game-players alike."
The Library: Mysterious Messenger (Book 1) by D. J. MacHaleThere's a place beyond this world where spirits tell their tales--stories that ended too soon, or don't end at all. It's a place for unexplainable things: mysteries without solutions. Ghosts. Boogeymen. They all have a story. Marcus and his friends have found the key to unlock the Library. And they need to use it, because, clearly, something is up. Some strange guy in a bathrobe haunts them; fires rage and flare out in an instant; a creepy old lady shows up at Marcus's house. . . . At first Marcus thinks he's going nuts, until the terror gets real. The Library may hold some answers, but if there's an unfinished mystery, the three friends will have to complete the story . . . any way they possibly can.
Dead Voices by Katherine ArdenHaving survived sinister scarecrows and the malevolent "Smiling Man" in Small Spaces, newly minted best friends Ollie, Coco and Brian spend winter break together along with their parents at Mount Hemlock, a down-on-its-heels ski resort run by the Beard family. With its sale to a big, shiny new resort just over the mountain imminent, this is the last season Mount Hemlock will be in operation. Ollie, Coco and Brian make the best of the situation spending their days learning to ski, but at night, Ollie is plagued by what sound like footsteps outside her door. When she gets up to look, there's no one there. Then Ollie and Brian start seeing a strange figure around the resort. After asking about him, they start to suspect the figure is actually a ghost--Gerald, Mr. Beard's former partner, who died the year before after getting lost on the mountain in a snowstorm. The friends realize after the events of Small Spaces, they've been left with the ability to see ghosts and this ghost wants something. They begin to investigate, but know not all ghosts can or should be trusted. Still they follow the clues that Gerald lays out and shortly come to understand Gerald is leading them to his killer. The closer they get, the more they risk joining Gerald in the shadow world. Dead Voices is a creep-tastic follow-up to Small Spaces with thrills and chills galore with the captive foreboding of a classic ghost story
Small Spaces by Katherine ArdenWhen eleven-year-old Ollie lost her mother in a plane crash, she sought solace in her books. So when she stumbles upon a distraught woman standing on the banks of the river intent on throwing a book into the water, Ollie stops her, steals the book and rides away on her bike. Upon reading, Ollie discovers a chilling ghost story about a girl, Elizabeth Morrison, who is being chased through cornfields filled with scarecrows by two brothers with deadly intent. When she finds the graves of Elizabeth Morrison and her tormentors, Jonathan and Caleb, on a farm during a school trip, on a day already full of odd occurrences, Ollie starts to think this book is more than just a book. On the ride home, the school bus breaks down along the side of the road and none of the kids or their teacher can get service on their cell phones to call for help. And then Ollie's digital wristwatch starts a mysterious countdown, with the word RUN spelled out on the face. She and two unlikely new friends are the only ones to heed its warning. As night begins to fall, they head out into the woods, bracketed by fearsome scarecrows. The bus driver gives them a word of advice. In order to survive whatever is coming, they'll need to keep to small spaces.
All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie ConnorEleven-year-old Perry was born and raised by his mom at the Blue River Co-ed Correctional Facility in tiny Surprise, Nebraska. His mom is a resident on Cell Block C, and so far Warden Daugherty has made it possible for them to be together. That is, until a new district attorney discovers the truth--and Perry is removed from the facility and forced into a foster home. When Perry moves to the "outside" world, he feels trapped. Desperate to be reunited with his mom, Perry goes on a quest for answers about her past crime. As he gets closer to the truth, he will discover that love makes people resilient no matter where they come from . . . but can he find a way to tell everyone what home truly means?
The Truth As Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie ConnorMason Buttle is the biggest, sweatiest kid in his grade, and everyone knows he can barely read or write. Mason's learning disabilities are compounded by grief. Fifteen months ago, Mason's best friend, Benny Kilmartin, turned up dead in the Buttle family's orchard. An investigation drags on, and Mason, honest as the day is long, can't understand why Lieutenant Baird won't believe the story Mason has told about that day. Both Mason and his new friend, tiny Calvin Chumsky, are relentlessly bullied by the other boys in their neighborhood, so they create an underground haven for themselves. When Calvin goes missing, Mason finds himself in trouble again. He's desperate to figure out what happened to Calvin and, eventually, Benny. But will anyone believe him?
The Secret Tree by Natalie StandifordWhen a group of students depend on a tree to keep their secrets for them, things don't turn out quite as they expect. Secrets are told, found, shared, and kept in the latest from the compelling imagination of Natalie Standiford.
When You Reach Me by Rebecca SteadShortly after a fall-out with her best friend, sixth grader Miranda starts receiving mysterious notes, and she doesn't know what to do. The notes tell her that she must write a letter--a true story, and that she can't share her mission with anyone. It would be easy to ignore the strange messages, except that whoever is leaving them has an uncanny ability to predict the future. If that is the case, then Miranda has a big problem--because the notes tell her that someone is going to die, and she might be too late to stop it.
Mistakes Were Made by Stephan PastisMeet "detective" Timmy Failure, star of the kids’ comedy of the year. Created by New York Times best-selling cartoonist Stephan Pastis. Take Timmy Failure — the clueless, comically self-confident CEO of the best detective agency in town, perhaps even the nation. Add his impressively lazy business partner, a very large polar bear named Total. Throw in the Failuremobile — Timmy’s mom’s Segway — and what you have is Total Failure, Inc., a global enterprise destined to make Timmy so rich his mother won’t have to stress out about the bills anymore.
The 100-Year-Old Secret by
What if you inherited Sherlock Holmes's book of unsolved cases? Xena and Xander Holmes have just discovered they're related to Sherlock Holmes and have inherited his unsolved casebook! The siblings set out to solve the cases their famous ancestor couldn't, starting with the mystery of a prized painting that vanished more than a hundred years ago. Can two smart twenty-first-century kids succeed where Sherlock Holmes could not? Modern technology meets the classic detective story inThe 100-Year-Old Secret, the first in Tracy Barrett's terrific new mystery series that will intrigue young sleuths everywhere!
Bowling Alley Bandit by
As Mr. Bing's new pet "doughnut dog," Arnie couldn't be happier. When Mr. Bing joins a bowling league, Arnie gets to go along to practices and competitions. But then Mr. Bing starts rolling gutter balls. Someone or something is behind the madness. Arnie, together with his team of goofball friends, must sort through the shenanigans and solve the mystery. Get ready for some sleuthing and even some magic. Full of Laurie Keller's winning charm and silly humor, this chapter book--the first in the series--is sure to please her many fans. This title has Common Core connections. Bowling Alley Bandit is aKirkus Reviews Best Book of 2013
The Fairy-Tale Detectives by
In this first book in the series, orphaned sisters Sabrina and Daphne are sent to live with their recently discovered grandmother, Relda Grimm. The girls learn that they are descendants of the Brothers Grimm, whose famous tome of fairy tales is actually a history book. The girls are pitted against a giant, who has been rampaging through town. But who set the giant loose in the first place? Was it Mayor Charming (formerly Prince Charming), who has plans to get his kingdom back? The Three Not-So-Little Pigs, now working as police officers? Or a giant-killer named Jack, currently working at a Big & Tall store?
Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians by
Serving justice . . . and lunch! Lunch Lady can sniff out something rotten like no one else--and there's definitely something rotten going on in the library. The usually friendly librarians have become cold and secretive. Even Dee can't seem to crack a smile out of them. What darkness may lurk in the hearts of librarians? Lunch Lady is on the case! And Hector, Terrence, and Dee are along for a wild ride!
The Maze of Bones by
The first book in the #1 bestselling phenomenon sends readers around the world on the hunt for the 39 Clues! Minutes before she died Grace Cahill changed her will, leaving her decendants an impossible decision: "You have a choice - one million dollars or a clue." Grace is the last matriarch of the Cahills, the world's most powerful family. Everyone from Napoleon to Houdini is related to the Cahills, yet the source of the family power is lost. 39 Clues hidden around the world will reveal the family's secret, but no one has been able to assemble them. Now the clues race is on, and young Amy and Dan must decide what's important: hunting clues or uncovering what REALLY happened to their parents.
Swindle by
After a mean collector named Swindle cons him out of his most valuable baseball card, Griffin Bing must put together a band of misfits to break into Swindle's compound and recapture the card. There are many things standing in their way -- a menacing guard dog, a high-tech security system, a very secret hiding place, and their inability to drive -- but Griffin and his team are going to get back what's rightfully his . . . even if hijinks ensue.
The Jaguar's Jewel by
Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose visit New York City! Dink's uncle is the curator of a museum with a dazzling new treasure--a statue of a jaguar cradling an emerald between its front paws. But when it's discovered that the emerald has been replaced with a fake, Dink's uncle is the chief suspect. He'll go to jail if Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose can't uncover the real thief!
Isabel Feeney, Star Reporter by
It's 1920s Chicago--the guns-and-gangster era of Al Capone--and it's unusual for a girl to be selling the Tribune on the street corner. But ten-year-old Isabel Feeney is unusual . . . unusually obsessed with being a news reporter. She can't believe her luck when she stumbles not only into a real-live murder scene, but also into her hero, the famous journalist Maude Collier. The story of how the smart, curious, loyal Isabel fights to defend the honor of her accused friend and latches on to the murder case like a dog on a pant leg makes for a winning, thoroughly entertaining middle grade mystery.
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by
Kyle Keeley is the class clown and a huge fan of all games--board games, word games, and particularly video games. His hero, Luigi Lemoncello, the most notorious and creative gamemaker in the world, just so happens to be the genius behind the construction of the new town library. Lucky Kyle wins a coveted spot as one of twelve kids invited for an overnight sleepover in the library, hosted by Mr. Lemoncello and riddled with lots and lots of games. But when morning comes, the doors stay locked. Kyle and the other kids must solve every clue and figure out every secret puzzle to find the hidden escape route! Don't miss the next puzzle-packed adventures--Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics and Mr. Lemoncello's Great LIbrary Race! "Discover the coolest library in the world." --James Patterson, #1 New York Timesbestselling author 44 STATE AWARD LISTS AND COUNTING -- INCLUDING THE SUNSHINE STATE AWARD! Starred Review, Booklist * "An ode to libraries and literature that is a worthy successor to the original madman puzzle-master himself, Willy Wonka." Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews *"Full of puzzles to think about, puns to groan at . . . this solid, tightly plotted read is a winner for readers and game-players alike."
The Library: Mysterious Messenger (Book 1) by
There's a place beyond this world where spirits tell their tales--stories that ended too soon, or don't end at all. It's a place for unexplainable things: mysteries without solutions. Ghosts. Boogeymen. They all have a story. Marcus and his friends have found the key to unlock the Library. And they need to use it, because, clearly, something is up. Some strange guy in a bathrobe haunts them; fires rage and flare out in an instant; a creepy old lady shows up at Marcus's house. . . . At first Marcus thinks he's going nuts, until the terror gets real. The Library may hold some answers, but if there's an unfinished mystery, the three friends will have to complete the story . . . any way they possibly can.
Dead Voices by
Having survived sinister scarecrows and the malevolent "Smiling Man" in Small Spaces, newly minted best friends Ollie, Coco and Brian spend winter break together along with their parents at Mount Hemlock, a down-on-its-heels ski resort run by the Beard family. With its sale to a big, shiny new resort just over the mountain imminent, this is the last season Mount Hemlock will be in operation. Ollie, Coco and Brian make the best of the situation spending their days learning to ski, but at night, Ollie is plagued by what sound like footsteps outside her door. When she gets up to look, there's no one there. Then Ollie and Brian start seeing a strange figure around the resort. After asking about him, they start to suspect the figure is actually a ghost--Gerald, Mr. Beard's former partner, who died the year before after getting lost on the mountain in a snowstorm. The friends realize after the events of Small Spaces, they've been left with the ability to see ghosts and this ghost wants something. They begin to investigate, but know not all ghosts can or should be trusted. Still they follow the clues that Gerald lays out and shortly come to understand Gerald is leading them to his killer. The closer they get, the more they risk joining Gerald in the shadow world. Dead Voices is a creep-tastic follow-up to Small Spaces with thrills and chills galore with the captive foreboding of a classic ghost story
Small Spaces by
When eleven-year-old Ollie lost her mother in a plane crash, she sought solace in her books. So when she stumbles upon a distraught woman standing on the banks of the river intent on throwing a book into the water, Ollie stops her, steals the book and rides away on her bike. Upon reading, Ollie discovers a chilling ghost story about a girl, Elizabeth Morrison, who is being chased through cornfields filled with scarecrows by two brothers with deadly intent. When she finds the graves of Elizabeth Morrison and her tormentors, Jonathan and Caleb, on a farm during a school trip, on a day already full of odd occurrences, Ollie starts to think this book is more than just a book. On the ride home, the school bus breaks down along the side of the road and none of the kids or their teacher can get service on their cell phones to call for help. And then Ollie's digital wristwatch starts a mysterious countdown, with the word RUN spelled out on the face. She and two unlikely new friends are the only ones to heed its warning. As night begins to fall, they head out into the woods, bracketed by fearsome scarecrows. The bus driver gives them a word of advice. In order to survive whatever is coming, they'll need to keep to small spaces.
All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by
Eleven-year-old Perry was born and raised by his mom at the Blue River Co-ed Correctional Facility in tiny Surprise, Nebraska. His mom is a resident on Cell Block C, and so far Warden Daugherty has made it possible for them to be together. That is, until a new district attorney discovers the truth--and Perry is removed from the facility and forced into a foster home. When Perry moves to the "outside" world, he feels trapped. Desperate to be reunited with his mom, Perry goes on a quest for answers about her past crime. As he gets closer to the truth, he will discover that love makes people resilient no matter where they come from . . . but can he find a way to tell everyone what home truly means?
The Truth As Told by Mason Buttle by
Mason Buttle is the biggest, sweatiest kid in his grade, and everyone knows he can barely read or write. Mason's learning disabilities are compounded by grief. Fifteen months ago, Mason's best friend, Benny Kilmartin, turned up dead in the Buttle family's orchard. An investigation drags on, and Mason, honest as the day is long, can't understand why Lieutenant Baird won't believe the story Mason has told about that day. Both Mason and his new friend, tiny Calvin Chumsky, are relentlessly bullied by the other boys in their neighborhood, so they create an underground haven for themselves. When Calvin goes missing, Mason finds himself in trouble again. He's desperate to figure out what happened to Calvin and, eventually, Benny. But will anyone believe him?
The Secret Tree by
When a group of students depend on a tree to keep their secrets for them, things don't turn out quite as they expect. Secrets are told, found, shared, and kept in the latest from the compelling imagination of Natalie Standiford.
When You Reach Me by
Shortly after a fall-out with her best friend, sixth grader Miranda starts receiving mysterious notes, and she doesn't know what to do. The notes tell her that she must write a letter--a true story, and that she can't share her mission with anyone. It would be easy to ignore the strange messages, except that whoever is leaving them has an uncanny ability to predict the future. If that is the case, then Miranda has a big problem--because the notes tell her that someone is going to die, and she might be too late to stop it.
Mistakes Were Made by
Meet "detective" Timmy Failure, star of the kids’ comedy of the year. Created by New York Times best-selling cartoonist Stephan Pastis. Take Timmy Failure — the clueless, comically self-confident CEO of the best detective agency in town, perhaps even the nation. Add his impressively lazy business partner, a very large polar bear named Total. Throw in the Failuremobile — Timmy’s mom’s Segway — and what you have is Total Failure, Inc., a global enterprise destined to make Timmy so rich his mother won’t have to stress out about the bills anymore.
