Can You Solve the Mystery?

 This week, I'm sharing chapter book mysteries.  Here are a few of my favorites . . . .

Charlie & Frog: A Mystery by Karen Kane
While staying with his grandparents in Castle-on-the-Hudson, Charlie stumbles upon a mystery but must learn American Sign Language to keep up with Frog, a deaf girl who wants to help solve it.

The Haunted Serpent by Dora M. Mitchell
New kid in school Spaulding Meriwether teams with cool kid Marietta, her euphonium-playing sister Lucy, and popular jock Kenny to investigate a mysterious boa constrictor that lives next door to Spaulding that may have eaten its owner.

The Uncanny Express by Kara LaReau
When their Aunt Shallot, aka Magique, Queen of Magic, goes missing on the Uncanny Express, Jaundice, Kale, and the famous detective Hugo Frommage seek to solve the mystery and rescue the magician.

The Real McCoys by Matthew Swanson

Elementary school detective Moxie McCoy looks for a missing school mascot and a new best friend, with the help of her annoying little brother.

More Mysteries --
Ernestine, Catastrophe Queen by Merrill Wyatt

The Guggenheim Mystery by Robin Stevens

The Harlem Charade by Natasha Tarpley

Kazu Jones and the Denver Dognappers by Shauna M. Holyoak

Mystery in the Mansion by Lauren Magaziner

Premeditated Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce

Room One: A Mystery or Two by Andrew Clements

Strike Three, You're Dead by Josh Berk

Under Locker and Key by Allison K. Hymas

The Unforgettable Guinevere St. Clair by Amy Makechnie

The Unknowns: A Mystery by Benedict Carey

Who Killed Darius Drake? by Rodman Philbrick

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through October 1, 2021.

Chapter Book Mysteries

 This week I'm sharing some chapter books featuring detectives.  Here are some of my favorite mysteries . . . .

Little Wolf, Forest Detective by Ian Whybrow

Through a series of letters to his parents, Little Wolf relates his adventures as a member of Yelloweyes Forest Detective Agency, crime solvers of the Frettnin Forest, as they investigate a series of mysterious disappearances.

The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley

Orphans Sabrina and Daphne Grimm are sent to live with an eccentric grandmother that they have always believed to be dead.

The Real McCoys by Matthew Swanson

After officially forming their detective agency, Moxie McCoy and her little brother Milton are on the case to find the mysterious Squiggler at Tiddlywhump Elementary.

The Detective's Assistant by Kate Hannigan

In 1859, eleven-year-old Nell goes to live with her aunt, Kate Warne, the first female detective for Pinkerton's National Detective Agency. Nell helps her aunt solve cases, including a mystery surrounding Abraham Lincoln, and the mystery of what happened to Nell's own father. 

More Mysteries --
Big, Bad Detective Agency by Bruce Hale

Bug Muldoon: The Garden of Fear by Paul Shipton

Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective by Donald Sobol

Framed! by James Ponti

Friday Barnes, Girl Detective by R.A. Spratt

The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing by Sheila Turnage

Judy Moody, Girl Detective by Megan McDonald

Marty Frye, Private Eye by Janet Tashjian

Rex Tabby: Cat Detective by Daniel Kirk

Sam the Man & the Secret Detective Club Plan by Frances O'Roark Dowell
Snowise and Snitch: Highly Effective Defective Detectives by K.H. Briner

Under Locker and Key by Allison K. Hymas

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through October 30, 2020.

Can You Solve the Mystery? Teen Mysteries

This week I'm sharing mysteries for teens.  Here are a few of my favorites . . . .

The Golden Day by Ursula Dubosarsky

Eleven schoolgirls embrace their own chilling history when their teacher abruptly goes missing on a field trip. Who was the mysterious poet they met in the garden? What actually happened that day? and most importantly, Who can they tell about it?

Paper Towns by John Green

One month before graduating from his Central Florida high school, Quentin "Q" Jacobsen basks in the predictable boredom of his life until the beautiful and exciting Margo Roth Spiegelman, Q's neighbor and classmate, takes him on a midnight adventure and then mysteriously disappears.

Period 8 by Chris Crutcher

Period 8 has always been a safe haven and high school senior Paulie "The Bomb" Baum a constant attendee, but as Paulie, Hannah, their friends, and a sympathetic teacher try to unravel the mystery of a missing classmate, the ultimate bully takes aim at the school.

Blink by Sasha Dawn

Sixteen-year-old Josh falls in love with newcomer Chatham Claiborne, who has come to town to find her missing sister, but when Chatham suddenly disappears Josh unearths a web of lies and secrecy surrounding her life, and in doing so unwittingly discovers vital clues to the town's longest unsolved mystery.

More Teen Mysteries --

The Breathless by Tara Goedjen

The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan

The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington

The Diviners by Libba Bray

Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham

Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte

I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest

Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig

The Lost Causes by Jessica Koosed Etting

A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos

The Opposite of Here by Tara Altebrando

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

People Like Us by Dana Mele

Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coly

Sadie by Courtney Summers

Spin by L.R. Giles

A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke

With Malice by Eileen Cook

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through September 11, 2020.

The Leaving by Tara Altebrando

Eleven years ago, six kindergartners disappeared on the first day of school.
No one knows what happened to them.  The only clues were a man carrying wrapping paper and a comment one of the kids made that she was "going to the leaving".

Now, five of the kids have come back. 
They still don't know what happened as none of the kids have memories of their time away.  They were simply dropped off at a playground with maps to their homes.

Who took them?  Where have them been?  And where is the sixth kid?



This book's unusual incorporation of spacial blocking, imagery, and highlighted text add to the heightened sense of strangeness and mystery.  It's told from the point of view of two of the victims as well as the sister of the kids who never returned.  It's a great mystery for teens to read.

Bungo Stray Dogs series by Kafka Asagiri

Atsushi Nakajima's existence has been bleak since being kicked out of the orphanage that's been his only home.  He's homeless, hungry and being chased by a supernatural tiger when he saves the life of a man trying to commit suicide. 

In thanks, he is given a job at the Armed Detective Agency.  The agency is staffed by individuals with supernatural powers that solve mysteries for the police and the government.  However, it seems that they're also in a fight against the Port Mafia . . .



This is a very interesting manga series.  The characters are based upon literary authors from around the world.  The powers the various characters possess are derived from those authors' works.  The characters are interesting and the mysteries intriguing.  Definitely a series worth checking out!

Who-Dun-It? It's a Mystery!

This week, I'm sharing some of my favorite mystery chapter books for kids . . .

Horton Halfpott by Tom Angleberger
Horton, an upstanding kitchen boy in a castle in nineteenth-century England, becomes embroiled in a mystery surrounding a series of thefts, which is also connected to the pursuit of a very eligible and wealthy young lady's affections.

Mr. and Mrs. Bunny -- Detectives Extraordinaire by Polly Horvath
Middle-schooler Madeline's hippie parents have been kidnapped from Hornby Island, Canada, by foxes, and Madeline, upon discovering that she can understand animal languages, hires two rabbit detectives to find them.

Below by Megan McKinlay
On the day Cassie was born, the mayor flipped a lever and everyone cheered as Old Lower Grange was submerged beneath five thousand swimming pools' worth of water and now, twelve years later, Cassie is drawn to the mysterious manmade lake.


More Mysteries for Kids --
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
The Forgetting Machine by Pete Hautman
The Inquisitor's Apprentice by Chris Moriarity
Knightley & Son by Rohan Gavin
Madhattan Mystery by John H. Bonk
Murder Is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens
The Mystery of Meerkat Hill by Alexander McCall Smith
Ruby Redfort: Look Into My Eyes by Lauren Child
The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
Sensible Hare and the Case of Carrots by Daren King
Snowize & Snitch: Highly Effective Defective Detectives by K.H. Briner
The Trouble with Chickens: A J.J. Tully Mystery by Doreen Cronin
Walls Within Walls by Maureen Sherry
Who Could That Be at This Hour? by Lemony Snicket

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through January 13, 2016.

Alchemy by Margaret Mahy

Roland is given two choices by his favorite teacher -- either spy on fellow student Jess or be turned into the authorities as a thief.  Roland has no choice but to spy on Jess.

But why is his teacher so obsessed with Jess and her family?

Who is the mysterious man who keeps following Roland?

And what is the voice in his head trying to protect him from?



This is another great supernatural romance from Australian author Margaret Mahy.  This book combines family drama, mystery, magic and romance into a story that keeps you guessing until the end.

The Family Fletcher Takes Rock Island by Dana Alison Levy

The Family Fletcher is back!

This time they're spending the month of August on Rock Island -- just like they do every summer.

The boys are looking forward to all of their favorite things about Rock Island -- playing soccer on the beach, going for ice cream in town, and most of all the lighthouse.

But this year, change is coming to Rock Island!

For the first time ever, there are people staying in the big house next door with children.  There is an ice cream that comes out to their house.  And worst of all, the lighthouse is closed due to safety concerns.


This is the second book about the Fletcher family.  It's a lot of fun to catch up with the four boys during the summer.  Those who read the first book -- The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher -- will definitely want to read this book.

Masterminds by Gordon Korman

Serenity, New Mexico is the perfect town.  Honesty and integrity are valued above all else.  The kids who live there never lie -- they know it's a short leap from lying to the awful problems found elsewhere in the world.

Eli has never left Serenity . . . why would he want to?

Then one day, he bikes to the edge of the city limits and something so crazy and unexpected happens that it changes everything.  Eli convinces his friends to investigate further and it's soon apparent that nothing in Serenity is as it seems.  The clues lead to an awful discovery . . . one that will causes them to realize they can trust no one -- especially their parents.


Masterminds is the first book in a new adventure series by Gordon Korman.  It's a great, suspenseful read for kids.  Each chapter is narrated by one of five children in the town.  They each discover shocking secrets about their lives that will change everything they've every thought and believe.  I would recommend this to anyone looking for an adventure, suspense or a mystery.

It's a Mystery

I love a good mystery book.  I like to see if I can solve the mystery before the characters in the book.  Sometimes I can.  Sometimes I can't.  Here are some great mystery books for kids . . .

Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs
Twelve-year-old Teddy investigates when a popular Texas zoo's star attraction--Henry the hippopotamus--is murdered.

Madhattan Mystery by John J. Bonk
On her first day in New York City with her younger brother, Kevin, twelve-year-old Lexi overhears thieves discussing where to hide stolen jewels, and the siblings, along with their aunt's neighbor, Kim Ling, skip day camp to investigate "the crime of thecentury."

Reality Leak by Joni Sensel
Train noises without trains and mysterious explosions baffle the residents of South Wiggot as eleven-year-old Bryan and his friend Spot try to connect the strange happenings with the town's newest industry and its president, Mr. Keen.

Kepler's Dream by Juliet Bell
While her mother undergoes radical cancer treatment, eleven-year-old Ella stays with her father's mother in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she learns about grammar and family history, and helps investigate the theft of an extremely rare book from her grandmother's library.

The Inquisitor's Apprentice by Chris Moriarity
In early twentieth-century New York, Sacha Kessler's ability to see witches earns him an apprenticeship to the police department's star Inquisitor, Maximillian Wolf, to help stop magical crime and, with fellow apprentice Lily Astral, Sacha investigates who is trying to kill Thomas Edison, whose mechanical witch detector could unleash the worst witch-hunt in American history.

Somebody on This Bus is Going to be Famous by J.B. Cheaney

Nine kids get picked up every morning at the Hidden Acres Subdivision.  They ride the bus for over an hour going to and from school each day.

Shelly - determined to be a singing star
Bender - the bully with a problematic homelife
Miranda - the girl who will do anything for a friend
Kaitlynn - the girl who wants to be Mother Teresa
Spencer - the genius who isn't sure he's a genius
Jay - the football player whose grandfather has dementia
Matthew - the friendless boy who is secretly smart
Igor - the boy whose father can never find him
Alice - the girl who never talks

Nine kids who have a mystery to solve . . .

Who is the kid at Farm Road 152 that never rides the bus?  Each morning they go down the road to the bus shelter . . . and no one every gets on.  Mrs. B, the bus driver, won't say who the kid is.

So Bender sets out to find out about the kid and the mystery of Farm Road 152.  But it will take all nine kids to discover the truth.  For each one has a part of the secret.


This book works best as a character study of nine diverse kids.  While they are all very distinct characters, they are also similar in their goals, desires, and fears.  The mystery of the unknown kid is supposed to be a mystery until nearly the end of the book, but the clues are fairly obvious as to who the kids is from the beginning of the book.  The real mystery is to how the kids will survive a huge bus accident that is told about in the first chapter before going back nine months to tell how they get to that point.

Solve the Mystery!

See if you can crack the mystery before the detectives in these books for kids . . .

Mr. and Mrs. Bunny -- Detectives Extraordinaire! by Polly Horvath
Middle-schooler Madeline's hippie parents have been kidnapped from Hornby Island, Canada, by foxes, and Madeline, upon discovering that she can understand animal languages, hires two rabbit detectives to find them.

Missing on Superstition Mountain by Elise Broach
Simon, Henry, and Jack Barker decide to ignore their parents' warning to stay away from Superstition Mountain in order to search for their missing cat Josie, but they begin to see the wisdom of their mom and dad's advice when they find three human skulls.

Smells Like Dog by Suzanne Selfors
When farm boy Homer Pudding's explorer-uncle dies and leaves him a droopy dog with a mysterious coin hidden on its collar, it leads him to The City, where they meet Madame la Directeur, the conniving head of the Museum of Natural History, who is trying to steal the coin and take Homer's place in a secret society of adventurers.

Walls Within Walls by Maureen Sherry
When the Smithfork family moves into a lavish Manhattan apartment building, they discover clues to a decades-old mystery hidden behind the walls of their new home.

The Pickle King by Rebecca Promitzer
During an endlessly rainy summer in the town of Elbow, twelve-year-old Bea and her misfit friends solve an unlikely mystery involving an unidentified dead man who is missing an eye, an evil surgeon, a ring shaped like an old castle, a bag of smelly intestines, and a helpful ghost.

It's a Mystery!

Mystery books are one of the most common genre of books written.  Here are some great mysteries for teens . . . .

The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington
New student Jade uncovers a murder mystery when she moves into a house haunted by the ghost of a beautiful, mean girl who ruled Jade's high school.

From Charlie's Point of View by Richard Scrimger
Best friends Bernadette and Charlie begin seventh grade and help unravel the mysterious case of the Stocking Bandit.

The Season by Sarah MacLean
Showing no interest in the sumptuous balls, lavish dinner parties, and country weekends enjoyed by the rest of early nineteenth-century London society, seventeen-year-old Lady Alexandra Stafford seeks adventure as she investigates the puzzling murder of the Earl of Blackmoor, father of devilishly handsome Gavin.

The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin by Josh Berk
When Will Halpin transfers from his all-deaf school into a mainstream Pennsylvania high school, he faces discrimination and bullying, but still manages to solve a mystery surrounding the death of a popular football player in his class.

Suspect by Kristin Nitz
As the family gathers at her grandmother's bed-and-breakfast for a murder mystery weekend, seventeen-year-old Jen confronts her ambivalent feelings about her mother, who disappeared fourteen years earlier, and about the possibility that she might be dead.

More Mysteries for Teens --
Blood Trail by Nancy Springer
Burning Blue by Paul Griffin
Creature of the Night by Kate Thompson
The Death Collector by Justin Richards
The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die by April Henry
Legacies: A Shadow Grail Novel by Mercedes Lackey & Rosemary Hill
Phoning a Dead Man by Gillian Cross
Something Rotten by Alan Gratz
Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas
Trash by Andy Mulligan

It's a Mystery!

Here are some great mysteries for teens . . .

The Uninvited by Tim Wynne-Jones
After a disturbing freshman year at New York University, Mimi is happy to get away to her father's remote Canadian cottage, only to discover a stranger living there who has never heard of her or her father and who is convinced that Mimi is responsible for leaving sinister tokens around the property.

First Shot by Walter Sorrells
David Crandall, haunted by his mother's murder two years ago, uncovers a dark family secret that leads him to believe that his father, headmaster of the military school in which David is currently a senior, is the killer.

Acceleration by Graham McNamee
Stuck working in the Lost and Found of the Toronto Transit Authority for the summer, seventeen-year-old Duncan finds the diary of a serial killer and sets out to stop him.

Jasper Jones: A Novel by Craig Silvery
In small-town Australia, teens Jasper and Charlie form an unlikely friendship when one asks the other to help him cover up a murder until they can prove who is responsible.

Below by Meg McKinlay

On the day Cassie was born, the mayor flipped the switch and flooded her hometown of Old Lower Grange.  They rebuilt New Lower Grange right next to the lake created by the dam.  Twelve years later, Cassie is drawn to the man-made lake.  Cassie and her friend Liam spend the days swimming and exploring the revealed city as the water levels drop in the lake due to drought.  The problem is that someone doesn't want them finding the secrets at the bottom of the lake.

I really enjoyed this mystery story.  The characters were of Cassie and Liam could have been any child in the world.  It wasn't until towards the end of the book that I realized that the story was actually set in Australia.  The mystery was interesting and fun to uncover with the characters.  A great book for all kids.

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal

Jeremy Johnson Johnson is left alone in his town because of the voice he hears in his head -- the ghost of fairy tale writer Jacob Grimm.  Very few people will even talk to Jeremy - one of the few being classmate Ginger.  But that isn't the only problem Jeremy has.  The bank is about to foreclose on his house as his father hasn't left the house in years to work.  Jeremy is further ostracized when Ginger convinces him to play a prank on the town baker.  And then he becomes the fixation of a man who has been kidnapping children from around the area.

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal was on several best book lists for the past year including YALSA's Best Books for Teens.  It was also a finalist for the National Book Award. 

It is a great mix of fairy tale, paranormal, suspense, mystery and romance.  It has an old-fashioned feel to the story as if it was taking place many years in the past yet is timely in its portrayal of a recession and bank foreclosures.  This is a great book for teens and adults who enjoy fairy tale retellings and mysteries.

Who-Dun-Its for Kids

Looking for a good mystery?  Check out one of the following . . .

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd
When Ted and Kat's cousin Salim disappears from the London Eye ferris wheel, the two siblings must work together--Ted with his brain that is "wired differently" and impatient Kat--to try to solve the mystery of what happened to Salim.

I Put a Spell on You by Adam Selzer
When Gordon Liddy Community School's resident tattletale-detective, Chrissie Woodward, realizes that the adults are out to fix the big spelling bee, she transfers her loyalty to her fellow students and starts collecting evidence. Told through in-class letters, administrative memos, file notes from Chrissie's investigation, and testimony from spelling bee contestants.

The Potato Chip Puzzles by Eric Berlin
Winston and his friends enter an all-day puzzle contest to win fifty-thousand dollars for their school, but they must also figure out who is trying to keep them from winning. Puzzles for the reader to solve are included throughout the text.

Sensible Hare and the Case of Carrots by Daren King
When Mazy Rabbit arrives at the Hare Detective Agency, she asks Sensible Hare to find her missing suitcase of carrots.