14 Must-Read Mystery Books for Tweens
by Jennifer Garry
One of my favorite things about the tween age is that one minute, kids in this age group feel ready to take on Serious Things, and the next, you might catch them role-playing in dress-up (that they will tell you is definitely not dress-up). They dream of big adventures, important jobs, and starring roles, and they’re energized by stories of kids doing those very things.
When I was a tween, I loved reading mysteries because they combine all those things. They require clever protagonists who piece together clues while taking on something big and bad — and getting home in time for dinner. I found mystery stories exciting and empowering.
If you have a young reader in your life who likes suspense and deciphering clues (and maybe a little snooping), these 14 books will be a hit.
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Shirley and Jamila Save Their Summer
Available from:Jamila and Shirley both hate their moms’ summer camp plans. When they meet at a neighborhood tag sale, they decide to join forces and pretend to be friends, so their moms will let them create a new summer plan. But when Jamila discovers Shirley is secretly the neighborhood’s number one detective, she also realizes she’s not so bad at crime-solving either. The girls partner up in this fun graphic novel whodunit about friendship, forgiveness, and growing up.
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Tornado Brain
Available from:Frankie is neurodivergent and has a tough time making friends. She had one friend — Colette — but not anymore. When Colette vanishes after an unexpected visit to Frankie’s house, and it seems Frankie was the last person to see her, Frankie becomes convinced that her ex-friend left clues for her to follow. She persuades her sister to help her unravel the clues and find Colette before it's too late.
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The Mystery of the Moon Tower
Available from:Fans of the Last Kids on Earth and Lumberjanes series, will love this intriguing story about five friends who uncover the secrets of their hometown, Windrose. During their summer camp, they stumbled upon an old film that shed light on the town's history and the camp’s founder, Henry Merriweather, who was an explorer and inventor. As they follow a shaky path they eventually discover Merriweather's old and illustrious castle, where time is distored. Will they be able to find their way back to their own time?
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Enola Holmes: The Case of the Missing Marquess
Available from:Enola Holmes is the quintessential middle grade mystery. It features a teenage girl (who is Sherlock Holmes’ little sister) who takes matters into her own hands when her mother goes missing, and no one can figure out where she went. After outwitting her brothers and caretakers, she heads to London to look for her mom but ends up in the middle of a second mystery — the kidnapping of a marquess.
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Fast Pitch
Available from:Shenice loves baseball and dreams of playing professionally one day. She's also the captain of the Fulton Firebirds, one of the few all-black girl's baseball teams. The team works hard to defend their place on the field, but Shenice's focus gets disrupted when her great-uncle reveals a shocking family secret. Can she cope with the revelations and maintain her position as captain of the team?
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Kingston and the Magician's Lost and Found
Available from:Kingston’s dad, a magician, disappeared into a mirror during a magic show four years ago. When he and his mom return to Echo City, Brooklyn, and his dad’s childhood home, Kingston begins a quest to solve the mystery of his missing father. But when he finds a magic box, Kingston accidentally opens a portal into the Realm and has to scramble to save his father and bring magic back to Echo City before it’s too late.
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The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels
Available from:The Swift family has a quirky tradition that every newborn child is named after a word from the Sacred Family Dictionary. Then Shenanigan was born! And she's determined to defy her name and become the best detective her family has ever seen. With her sharp mind and quick wit, she is on a mission to uncover the truth about Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude's unfortunate fall. Join Shenanigan on her hilarious journey to prove that she can be whoever she wants to be, regardless of the name she was given at birth.
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The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel
Available from:Follow Mars in this galactic mission to locate his missing friend Aurora. Drawing from his past experience of searching for his father as a child, Mars enlists the help of his intelligent friends to embark on this adventure. Along the way, a prominent podcaster starts providing them with clues, but they soon realize there is more to the situation than meets the eye.
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Stormbreaker
Available from:Everyone says his uncle died in a car accident, but bullet holes tell Alex Rider a different story. He finds out his uncle was a spy, and when M16 sees his potential, Alex gets recruited and armed with various gadgets to help find his uncle’s killers. The first book in the Alex Rider series, Stormbreaker, is like a teenage James Bond.
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The Many Mysteries of the Finkel Family
Available from:This novel centers on two autistic sisters and their evolving relationship. When Caroline starts middle school, Lara thinks she will show her the ropes, but Caroline wants to begin this new chapter in her own way. She makes a new friend (who Lara finds questionable) and doesn’t even want to join FIASCCO (Finkel Investigation Agency Solving Consequential Crimes Only), Lara’s new detective agency. Lara starts snooping around and uncovers family secrets. She notices that Caroline, who communicates via an app on her tablet, texts her new friend nonstop, and Lara wants to know what is going on. Things start to spiral out of control, but will Lara and Caroline be able to make amends?
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Serafina and the Black Cloak
Available from:Settle in for a grand tale about the grandest of all Gilded Age homes built in America: the Biltmore Estate, the legendary home of George Vanderbilt. The story of a young girl who must decide whether she has the courage to emerge from a hidden life to save others is told as a southern gothic mystery with a ghostly, suspenseful vibe.
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Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library Movie Tie-In Edition
Available from:Full of laugh-out-loud scenes and mind-bending puzzles, this first book in the Mr. Lemoncello’s Library series follows a group of 11-year-olds who try to work their way out of an elaborate escape room. Mr. Lemoncello is a famous game maker who designed a new library with an extra-special opening night. The winners of an essay contest get locked in and have to work through clues and puzzles to find their way out.
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Undercover Latina
Available from:As Andréa embarks on her first solo mission, she's met with the obstacle of keeping her integrity and identity intact. When she befriends the son of a dangerous white supremacist and dives into all of his interests, she finds difficulties she didn't anticipate. Will she make her family of spies and their organization proud? Will her crush on her target's friend get in the way? Can she keep her code-switching intact? Find out in this politically current and engaging novel.
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Midnight at the Barclay Hotel
Available from:This fun and spooky mystery story starts with an invitation to an all-expenses-paid weekend at the Barclay Hotel. JJ is thrilled because the hotel is one of the most haunted places in Colorado, and he plans to bring his ghost-hunting gear. But when they get to the hotel, they realize they are smack in the middle of a murder mystery — and everyone is hiding something. JJ and his new friends Penny and Emma are determined to find the killer… and hunt some ghosts along the way.
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