RECOMMENDEDREADS JFICTION:MYSTERY
J BAIT,E
THE SWIFTS
Elizabeth-Irene
Baitie
On the day they are born, every Swift child is brought before the sacred Family Dictionary. Meet Shenanigan Swift: Little sister. Risk-taker. Mischief-maker. Shenanigan is getting ready for the big Swift Family Reunion and she's excited to finally meet her arriving relatives--until one of them gives Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude a deadly shove down the stairs.
J SOUD, T
Taryn Souders THE MYSTERY OF THE RADCLIFFE RIDDLE
Grady and his father inherit the town oddball's old tapestry and discover it is a highly coveted treasure map.
THE WINTERTON DECEPTION: FINAL WORD J SUMN, J
Janet Sumner Johnson
Thirteen-year-old twins Hope and Gordon enter a spelling bee in a last-ditch effort to save their family from financial ruin, only to find themselves in a cut-throat competition to uncover a fortune and dark secrets about the wealthy relations they have never known.
DREW LECLAIR GETS A CLUE J BURY, K
Katryn Bury
Twelve-year-old Drew Leclair knows what it takes to be a great detective. But when her mother runs off to Hawaii with the school guidance counselor, Drew is shocked. How did she miss all of the clues? When a cyberbully starts posting embarrassing rumors about other students at school, it's only a matter of time before Drew's secret is out.
HANNAH SHARPE, CARTOON DETECTIVE J TASH, J
Janet Tashjian
Young cartoonist Hannah Sharpe has many strengths: she's curious, creative, has an amazing memory, and most important-she notices things. When Doug Williams moves into her family's Airbnb, Hannah can't shake the feeling that he's got something to hide. Can Hannah crack the case and unfold the mystery on her own?
LALO LESPÉRANCE NEVER FORGOT J DIED, P
Phillippe Diederich
A moving middle-grade mystery about a boy dealing with longrepressed memories of his father as he learns about his Mexican and Haitian heritage while spying on a mysterious stranger during the first weeks of COVID lockdown.
J FITZ, M
TURTLES OF THE MIDNIGHT MOON
María José Fitzgerald
Twelve-year-olds Barana and Abby come together to solve a sea turtle egg poaching mystery plaguing Barana's Honduran coastal village, and learn the true meaning of friendship, courage, and community along the way.
J HIAA, C
Carl Hiaasen WRECKER
Valdez Jones VIII calls himself Wrecker because his 5x great-grandfather salvaged shipwrecks for a living When Wrecker comes across a speedboat that has run hard aground on a sand flay, the men in the boat pay him to forget he ever saw them. Wrecker would be happy to forget, but he keeps seeing these men all over. And now they want more than his silence--they want a lookout.
J VAND, W
MR.
WHISKERS
AND THE SHENANGIAN SISTER
Wendelin Van Draanen
Streetwise stray dog Mr. Whiskers and sisters Misty and Zelda follow clues through the streets of San Francisco in their search for the sibling's kidnapped father.
Destiny Howell SECOND TO NONE
Twelve-year-old DJ has a reputation at his middle school for being able to solve just about any problem, so when somebody starts systematically sabotaging the kids who are the usual "first-raters" it is up to DJ and his crew to get to the bottom of what is happening.
Colleen Nelson THE UMBRELLA HOUSE J NELS, C
Middle-schooler Ruby and her friend Scout join together to stop a real-estate mogul from tearing down their historied New York City apartment building, called Umbrella House with the help of the anonymous Midnight Muralist.
J SWIN, C
WHAT HAPPENED TO RACHEL RILEY?
Claire Swinarski
Thirteen-year-old new girl Anna Hunt decides to make an investigative podcast about how fellow classmate Rachel Riley went from being the most popular girl in school to the most hated.
James Patterson MINERVA KEEN’S DETECTIVE CLUB J PATT, J
Twelve-year-old Minerva Keen forms a detective club to uncover who is poisoning residents of her storied Chicago apartment building, knowing that any one of her neighbors could be the poisoner-or the next victim.
THE IMPROBABLE TALES OF BASKERVILLE HALL J STAN, A
Ali Standish
When young Arthur Conan Doyle is offered a spot at Baskerville Hall, a secret school for extraordinarily gifted children, he is elated at being chosen--and being given a chance to turn his family's fortunes around. When Arthur and his friends are invited into a powerful secret society, they must pass three challenging tests to be accepted
Jane de Suza WHEN IMPOSSIBLE HAPPENS J SUZA, J
During the pandemic lockdown in India, almost-nine-year-old Swara's irrepressible spirit helps her come to terms with the death of her grandmother and solve a neighborhood mystery.