Kids Mystery
THE MYSTERY OF BLACK HOLLOW LANE by Julia Nobel
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People think it must be great growing up as the daughter of a famous child-rearing expert. But sometimes Emmy wishes she had a normal mom–or at least that her mom spent less time on her work and more time paying attention to the things Emmy is interested in. When her mom announces that she has accepted a job on a reality TV program and that Emmy will have to go to boarding school on the other side of the ocean, it seems like proof that her mom’s work is more important than she is. It makes her feel a little bit less guilty about the secret she’s been keeping from her mom: the mysterious note and the box of “relics” from her long-absent father. “Keep them safe,” the note commanded. Emmy never knew her father, has no idea what these “relics” are, and doesn’t know who wrote the note or what kind of danger the mysterious writer anticipated. But when she arrives at her new elite English boarding school, she begins to uncover more pieces of the mystery of who her father was, and in the middle of the web of secrets is a danger much more real and terrifying than Emmy could have imagined.
This intriguing start to a mystery series is a great middle-grade page turner. The plot draws on common enough tropes–missing father, secret society, “heroic trio uncovering secrets at a boarding school” with a pleasant Harry Potter vibe–but what it lacks in originality, it makes up for in likable characters and an engaging mystery to puzzle out. I look forward to the sequel!
THE MISSING PIECE OF CHARLIE O’REILLY by Rebecca K. S. Ansari
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Charlie’s little brother, Liam, disappeared almost exactly a year ago, and Charlie is the only one who remembers him. When he disappeared, every trace of him vanished with him–his clothes, his photographs, even the top bunk of Charlie’s bed. Charlie’s mother also changed when Liam disappeared. Even though she can’t remember him, she almost never gets out of bed these days. Charlie is determined to find Liam and bring him back, because he knows it’s his fault Liam is gone. After all, the night before Liam disappeared, Charlie fell asleep wishing he didn’t have a brother. As Charlie and his best friend Ana search for Liam, they stumble upon a secret asylum full of disappeared children and realize that Charlie’s unusual dreams about an Irish family from the past may hold the key to freeing the trapped children–but only if they want to be released.
No mistake is too big to be forgiven in this novel about how family makes us whole. As Charlie discovers what happened to Liam, the mystery of his disappearance gives way to a race to escape from a magical prison. Interwoven with this suspenseful story is the theme of self-forgiveness as the characters must learn to accept themselves and their past mistakes. Character development and plot work together beautifully to drive the story forward. I highly recommend this book to middle grade readers who enjoy realistic fiction with a touch of fantasy and character-driven suspense.
DEEP, DARK, AND DANGEROUS by Mary Downing Hahn
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Ali is so excited to get away from her overprotective mother for the summer and stay at the old cabin on the lake with her aunt and cousin, Emma. She feels a little bad for going, knowing how frightened her mother is of the lake. But it will be fun to babysit for Emma. And more importantly, maybe Ali can solve the mystery of the torn picture of her mother, aunt, and a mysterious girl that Ali found in the attic. The summer starts going all wrong, though, when a girl named Sissy shows up and starts taunting Emma. Ali tries to keep her cousin away from the “bad influence,” but instead uncovers a tragedy that may still be haunting the old cabin–and her mother’s memories.
Not as creepy some of MDH’s other books, this ghost story is more mysterious than harrowing. It will be good for middle grade readers who are looking for a less scary ghost story or who enjoy character driven mysteries.
EMMY AND THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING RAT by Lynne Jonell
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Emmy used to be happy, back when people noticed her, before her parents got rich and forgot she existed, traveling sometimes for months at a time and leaving Emmy with her terrible new nanny, Miss Barmy. Now the students in her class seem to look right through her; her teacher can’t even remember her name. In fact, the only creature who notices Emmy is her class pet rat–and for some reason, Emmy can hear him speak. One day, in a fit of rebelliousness, Emmy sets her rat free and decides to skip her gymnastics class and explore her town instead. That is how she happens upon Professor Vole’s rodent shop and sees Miss Barmy place a mysterious, secret order for rodents. What’s more, she finds a caged rat in the shop that is identical to the rat she set free. And the twin rat, along with all of the other rodents, are labeled with strange special powers. Sure that something sinister is happening, Emmy is determined to find out the secret of the rats and to stop Miss Barmy and Professor Vole from whatever evil they might be plotting. Unfortunately, Miss Barmy is on to her and it will take all of Emmy’s cleverness–and a lot of help from her friends Joe and the Rat–to solve the mystery before it’s too late.
This book is a fun, silly, and suspenseful story. It has plenty of mystery and intrigue to keep you turning pages, as long as you have a taste for the absurd and unbelievable. Personally, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to middle grade readers who like fantasy set in the real world.
If you liked Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat ,you might also like Mousenet and Whales on Stilts.
THE EXTRAORDINARY EDUCATION OF NICHOLAS BENEDICT by Trenton Lee Stewart
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When Nicholas Benedict first arrived at a new orphanage he had high hopes for new friendships and adventures. But when he cleverly outwits some bullies during his first few days, he makes powerful enemies who are determined to make his life miserable. To make matters worse, because of his narcolepsy and night terrors, the head of the orphanage insists on locking him into a private bedroom every night. But Nicholas will not let these challenges keep his spirits down. Fueled by a new friendship with a boy called John and the secret knowledge that a treasure might be hidden somewhere on the orphanage’s grounds, Nicholas Benedict is determined to escape his prison and defeat his bullies once and for all.
If you liked the Mysterious Benedict Society trilogy, you should definitely read this fun prequel! It is full of all of the puzzles, mystery, and suspense of the original series–though falling short of The Mysterious Benedict Society’s cast of quirky characters.
THE MISSING MANATEE by Cynthia DeFelice
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Skeet Waters loves living in his small Florida town. He loves going fishing with his father, listening to his eccentric Memaw sing karaoke, and speeding out on the water in his own little boat, going nowhere in particular. But over Spring Break, two things happen that threaten Skeet’s peace of mind. First, his mother kicks his father out of the house for good. Second, Skeet discovers a dead manatee with a bullet wound in his head. Horrified that anyone would kill such a gentle creature, Skeet hurries to fetch the sheriff. When they return to the scene of the crime, however, the manatee’s body is gone. Without evidence, there is nothing much the sheriff’s office can do. And so Skeet forces his parents and his homework out of his mind and decides to solve the mystery himself.
There is a bit of suspense in this mystery story, but The Missing Manatee is primarily about relationships, particularly family relationships. DeFelice blurs the line between right and wrong and forces her protagonist to accept that many situations–and all people–are more complicated than they seem. A fun mystery and coming-of-age story, sure to be enjoyed by middle grade readers who like mysteries and/or the great outdoors.
If you liked The Missing Manatee, you might like The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester.
THE WESTING GAME by Ellen Raskin
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Sixteen seemingly unconnected people are invited to live in Sunset Towers, a strange apartment building with the West wall made solely of window glass, looking out toward the beautiful sunsets and millionaire Samuel Westing’s old mansion. But when several of the children sneak into the Westing house on a dare and discover the millionaire’s dead body, the sixteen strangers learn that they are not unconnected after all. They are all named as heirs in Samuel Westing’s will. The will itself, however, is unconventional to say the least. It claims that Samuel Westing was murdered by someone in Sunset Towers and challenges the heirs to find the murderer in order to inherit the $200 million fortune that Westing left behind. The heirs divide into eight teams, and each team receives a different clue. Now the race is on to discover who killed Samuel Westing and nab the $200 million before the mysterious killer strikes again.
Anyone who enjoys the Thirty-Nine Clues series should check out this 1979 Newbery Award winner. Although similar in plot, however, the style could not be more different. Sixteen eccentric characters compete in a bizarre and confusing game that will keep the reader as invested as the characters in puzzling it out. Ultimately, however, the point of the story is not the murder mystery but the development of the characters individually and as a community.
If you liked The Westing Game, try The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. If you enjoyed the somewhat eccentric characters, you may also enjoy A Wrinkle in Time and Saffy’s Angel.
THE 100 YEAR OLD SECRET by Tracy Barrett
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Xena and Xander Holmes have always been very observant. They can notice things about a person and deduce his occupation or details about his personal history. It is their favorite game. But when they learn that they are the great-great-great-grandchildren of the famous Sherlock Holmes and that they have files upon files of his unsolved cases at their disposal, they decide to upgrade their game to solving real-life mysteries. Their first mission: to find a priceless painting that disappeared over a century ago.
If you like the Thirty-Nine Clues series, you need to check out the Sherlock Files. There are plenty of clues to unravel and a decent amount of suspense in this mystery series. If you like character-driven mysteries, however, you will not find a lot of depth here. For character-driven Sherlock Holmes-related mysteries, I would instead recommend the Enola Holmes books by Nancy Springer.
ROOM ONE: A MYSTERY OR TWO by Andrew Clements
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Ted Hammond loves mysteries. He loves reading them, but most of all he loves solving them. Unfortunately, in a tiny town with only one sixth-grader (Ted), there aren’t too many new or mysterious things going on. Until Ted sees a face in the window of the abandoned Anderson farm, that is. Ted’s investigation leads him to April and her family who are hiding out in the old farm and trying to avoid a man who is bothering April’s mom. This mystery is not as simple as the ones in the story books, and Ted finds that he must make a lot of difficult decisions in order to balance his friendship with April, his responsibility to be honest with the adults in his life, and his desire to make sure that April and her family are well taken care of.
Room One is more about friendship and responsibility than it is a mystery. Although there are certainly clues to unravel throughout the story, it will appeal most to readers who enjoy realistic fiction, stories about families, or stories about friendships. I would recommend this book to readers in grades 3-5.
THE MAN WHO WAS POE by Avi
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Edmund is close to despair. He, his sister, and his aunt had not been in American very long at all before his aunt disappeared. What’s worse, they still have seen no sign of Edmund’s mother, whom they came to America to seek. After going out in search of his aunt and failing to find her, Edmund returns to their small apartment to discover that his sister has also vanished from inside their locked apartment. He has no hope of finding any of his family again until a mysterious stranger turns up. The man is drunk and possibly a bit mad, but he seems sure that he can unravel the mystery and find Edmund’s aunt, mother, and sister. Edmund sees no other option than to trust the sullen, disturbed gentleman and hope for the best. Unfortunately, it seems as though the stranger’s troubled past may interfere with his abilities as a detective.
The Man Who Was Poe is a dark, somewhat gothic mystery story. Readers who are familiar with Poe’s stories and biography will probably find this fictional imagining of Poe both believable and fascinating. Readers without an interest in Poe may be frustrated by the detective’s mood swings and the passive, whiny helplessness of the leading child character, Edmund. Edmund’s character does improve by the end of the novel, however, and the mystery itself is very intriguing. I would recommend this book to all Poe fans and to readers in grades 5-8 who enjoy dark, gothic novels.
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