I fell in love with mystery novels as a tween (thank you, Hercule Poirot, Harriet the Spy, and the Boxcar Children), and my passion only intensified as I got older. The genre is a rich one. Whether young readers prefer their mysteries hardboiled or light and frothy, they’ll find something to tempt them among the titles highlighted here.
Lou, the protagonist of Anne Rellihan’s Not the Worst Friend in the World (Holiday House, Feb. 6), fills notebook after notebook with her observations. When new classmate Cece, whose parents recently separated, confides that she believes her father has moved her to a new town without her mother’s permission, Lou puts her sleuthing skills to the test. But as she uncovers details Cece doesn’t want to hear, she worries about their friendship—will things fall apart, as they did with her former BFF, Francie? Lou’s authentic tween voice distinguishes this tender, tautly paced tale in which the ups and downs of friendship feel just as weighty as the narrative twists.
Tracy Badua and Alechia Dow’s The Cookie Crumbles (Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins, June 11) sees Laila entering a live-streamed baking contest to win a full ride to Sunderland Academy, while best friend Lucy, an aspiring journalist, tags along to cover the competition. Things heat up when one of the judges, Chef Remi, slips into a coma after tasting one of Laila’s desserts. A growing list of suspects, culinary mishaps galore, and plenty of mouthwatering food descriptions: Badua and Dow mix in all the ingredients for a fast-moving, lighthearted, and engrossing mystery.
Who stole the painting from the Penelope L. Brooks Museum? And why has a ghostly girl suddenly appeared in the room that once housed the work of art? Questions abound in Jasmine Warga’s A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall (Harper/HarperCollins, Sept. 10), illustrated by Matt Rockefeller. Rami, whose mother works on the museum’s cleaning crew and is suspected of the theft, seeks answers, aided by his take-charge classmate Veda. Both gripping and contemplative, Warga’s story will pull readers in with its clever plotting and insightful musings on family, friendship, and the question of why we create art.
Two acclaimed history writers—Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin—team up for The Bletchley Riddle (Viking, Oct. 8), a work of fiction set at the real-life Bletchley Park, an English country house where the likes of Alan Turing cracked Nazi codes during World War II. Jakob, 19, works as a codebreaker, while his younger sister, Lizzie, 14, ferries messages and investigates the death of their mother. The authors ratchet up the suspense; readers will be eager to learn more about this fascinating chapter of history.
Actor Henry Winkler and author Lin Oliver’s The Case of the Missing Tadpole (Amulet/Abrams, Oct. 15), the latest in their Detective Duck chapter-book series, finds Willow the duckling investigating once more. When Franny the frog’s son Tad disappears, Willow uncovers clues including blue-green algae that has invaded Dogwood Pond. Illustrator Dan Santat’s depictions of animal antics ramp up the humor, keeping the tone cheerful even as the authors fold in warnings about the dangers that humans potentially pose to the natural world.
Mahnaz Dar is a young readers’ editor.
