Mysteries for Middle Schoolers

Spine-Tingling Stories of Suspense and Secrecy

Baffling whodunits, daring heists, intriguing puzzles — if you love books that keep you guessing, go undercover and browse our collection of middle grade mysteries. Then use our word lists to help you solve the case of the vexing vocabulary.
  • When You Reach MeRebecca Stead
    After a fight with her best friend, Miranda starts receiving mysterious letters from a person who can predict the future — and who warns Miranda that someone is going to die.
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  • From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. FrankweilerE.L. Konigsburg
    When Claudia Kincaid and her brother run away from home, they find themselves caught up in a mystery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Learn these words from E. L. Konigsburg's award-winning novel.
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  • The Parker InheritanceVarian Johnson
    While spending the summer at her grandmother's house in Lambert, South Carolina, Candice finds an intriguing old letter in the attic. She joins forces with a neighbor to follow the clues in the letter and find a hidden treasure — but solving the mystery means uncovering past injustices in Lambert.
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  • Chasing VermeerBlue Balliett
    In this mystery, middle-schoolers Calder and Petra get caught up in the search for a stolen painting by Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer.
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  • The MarvelsBrian Selznick
    Two separate stories — the first told in illustrations and the second in prose — combine to create a marvelous whole in this book from the Caldecott-winning author of The Invention of Hugo Cabret.
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  • Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's LibraryChris Grabenstein
    Kyle and eleven other kids get the chance to stay overnight in Mr. Lemoncello's new, high-tech library. The children must solve a series of puzzles in order to find a way out of the library and win an amazing prize.
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  • The Westing GameEllen Raskin
    Where there's a will, there's a motive to solve a murder. When eccentric millionaire Sam Westing dies, he leaves instructions for sixteen people to come to the reading of his will. With a fortune on the line, Westing's death becomes a puzzle they'll race to solve.
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  • Liar & SpyRebecca Stead
    When Georges moves to a new apartment building, he meets Safer, who enlists Georges in a scheme to spy on a mysterious neighbor. Learn these words from the novel by Rebecca Stead.
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  • HolesLouis Sachar
    In this comic adventure, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a juvenile detention center where the inmates spend their days digging mysterious holes. But what on earth are they looking for?
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  • Insignificant Events in the Life of a CactusDusti Bowling
    When her parents take jobs at a western theme park in Arizona, Aven gets caught up in a local mystery — and tries to adjust to a new school.
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  • Moon Over ManifestClare Vanderpool
    During the Great Depression, Abilene Tucker tries to solve a mystery in her father's hometown of Manifest, Kansas, while also learning about Manifest's fascinating past.
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  • The London Eye MysterySiobhan Dowd
    Ted and Kat watch their cousin Salim board the London Eye, a famous Ferris wheel. When the ride ends, Salim is nowhere to be found — but Ted and Kat are determined to solve the mystery.
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  • Book ScavengerJennifer Chambliss Bertman
    When Emily and her friend James find an odd book in the subway station, they get caught up in a puzzling and dangerous literary game.
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  • Beyond the Bright SeaLauren Wolk
    As a baby, Crow was discovered in a boat adrift at sea and raised on an isolated island off of Cape Cod. When twelve-year-old Crow spots a fire on a nearby island, once the home of a leper colony, she begins to investigate her own past.
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  • HootCarl Hiaasen
    Twelve-year-old Roy Ebehardt takes an unexpected interest in the plight of a group of owls endangered by a local pancake house.
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  • FlushCarl Hiaasen
    While his father sits in jail for eco-terrorism, Noah sets out to prove that a casino boat is illegally polluting a local harbor.
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  • The Mysterious Benedict SocietyTrenton Lee Stewart
    After taking a strange exam, four children are admitted to a secret society and tasked with infiltrating the sinister Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened.
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  • BunniculaDeborah Howe and James Howe
    In this classic novel, Chester the cat is convinced that his family's new pet rabbit is a vampire.
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