Books for Middle School Readers: Mystery

This is book one in the series. In this mystery filled with puzzles, Avery, a teenage girl finds out she is the heir to a fortune worth billions - and she has no idea why! In order to claim her fortune she must live in a twisty, puzzling mansion with a twisty, puzzling family and figure out if she is a player in the game or merely a part of the puzzle.

This is book one of the series. Cold cases are about to get hot. Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But, it's not a skill that she's ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they've begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

This classic whodunit mystery takes place on a train. See Christie's other mysteries too.

Who killed Brooke Donovan? It's the biggest mystery of the summer, and everyone in Castle Cove thinks they know what happened. But they're wrong. Two unlikely friends come together to solve the case in this fast-paced, fun, modern Agatha Christie inspired thriller.

This is book one of the series. “The story raises more questions than answers, leaving readers hoping Johnson has another entry up her clever sleeves. A classic mystery that would make Dame Agatha proud.” — Kirkus Reviews

This super twisty and suspenseful novel tells the story of four friends whose friendship turns destructive. See also Lockhart's

...in which the story is told backwards in time!

In Where the Crawdads Sing, Owens juxtaposes an exquisite ode to the natural world against a heartbreaking coming of age story and a surprising murder investigation. Thought-provoking, wise, and deeply moving, Owens's debut novel reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

This realistic novel with some mystery mixed in follows three girls as they start seventh grade and navigate issues including social media, friendship, and dating. We also recommend other books by Stead, including...

This realistic mystery-novel tells the story of Rico, a teenge girl who works as a cashier and may have just sold a winning lottery ticket. She and her wildly rich classmate Zan embark on an adventure to try to hunt down the ticket-winner, who might not realize she won. Themes include class, privilege, family responsibility, friendship, and love. See also Stone's other realistic fiction

Beautifully written, intricately plotted, and meticulously researched, Girl in the Blue Coat is an extraordinary novel about bravery, grief, and love in impossible times.

Germany, 1945. The soldiers who liberated the Gross-Rosen concentration camp said the war was over, but nothing feels over to eighteen-year-old Zofia Lederman. Her body has barely begun to heal, her mind feels broken. And her life is completely shattered: Three years ago, she and her younger brother, Abek, were the only members of their family to be sent to the right, away from the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Everyone else--her parents, her grandmother, radiant Aunt Maja--they went left. Zofia's last words to her brother were a promise: Abek to Zofia, A to Z. When I find you again, we will fill our alphabet. Now her journey to fulfill that vow takes her through Poland and Germany, into a displaced persons camp where everyone she meets is trying to piece together a future from a painful past.