In the mood to curl up with a good mystery that will keep you tearing through the pages as fast as your eyes will read? Well, today I’ve got some thrilling mysteries for your reading pleasure.
Before She Ignites (Fallen Isles, #1) by Jodi Meadows
Mira Minkoba is the Hopebearer, the living symbol of the Mira treaty for the people of the Fallen Isles. But when Mira uncovers a secret someone obviously doesn't want made public, she finds herself thrown into the Fallen Isles most notorious prison. Through occasional flashbacks and Mira's account of life in prison, readers slowly uncover just what is going on in the Fallen Isles. We only have book one of this series right now and every single student who has read it has asked for the 2nd book to get here ASAP and then thrust the first book into the hands of a friend informing them it must be read.
Target Readers:
Mystery Fans, Dystopia Fans, Dragon Lovers, Fantasy Fans, Polynesian-influence World Fans, Fans of Books That Tactfully Deal with Anxiety/OCD, Young Adult Readers
Brightly Burning by Alexa Donne
Stella Ainsley dreams of more than spending her time as a full time engineer and part-time teacher on the agricultural ship Stalwart. While humanity waits for the Earth to warm up from the ice age that drove them into space, their fleet of ships are aging and slowly dying. Stella knows that the Stalwart's days are numbered, and she's tired of spending all her time patching up the ship. She really wants to teach full time so she's sent out several job applications to other ships in need of a teacher or governess. Because of her orphan status and how others look down on the lowly Stalwart, Stella knows her chances are slim. But to her great joy a small independent ship takes her on as governess. Stella doesn't care that there are rumors that the Rochester is haunted or worse. This is her chance at a big break. Besides, she likes the people on the Rochester, especially her pupil. And she can totally explain away the weird sounds of laughter she's heard. But when one too many very intentional, potentially-deadly accidents happens on the ship, Stella starts to seriously wonder what is going on on her new home.
This is totally a rewrite of Jane Eyre in space. You can figure out which characters parallel those in the book, and all the main events have parallels...until you get to the period where Jane goes wandering around the moors. Then Stella's story goes a different route and the parallels break down more. Which I liked. It kept the ending of the book more mysterious, and I honestly prefer this plot to the original classic. (No offense, Ms Brontë.)
Target Readers:
Mystery Fans, Suspense Fans, Scifi Fans, Classic Rewrite Fans, Clean Romance Fans, Stand Alone Book Fans, Young Adult Readers
Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation (Charlie Thorne, #1) by Stuart Gibbs
Few people know that Einstein was working on an equation before he died that would solve the energy crisis. Of course, there are other, less-noble ways such an equation could be used, so Einstein dubbed the equation Pandora and hid it. No one has found it since he died, but there's a new development and the CIA can tell a group of terrorists, the Furies, is getting close. Agent Dante knows just the person the CIA needs to help find Pandora, Charlie Thorne. Charlie's the only person on the planet with an IQ close to Einstein's. She's also only 12 and has been known to dabble in criminal activity, so the CIA director is dubious. Will Charlie Thorne come through, or is everyone doomed?
Stuart Gibbs is nothing if not reliable for turning out stories that are engaging, exciting, quick to draw you in, and very fun to read. His FunJungle and Spy School series are some of the most checked out non-graphic novel books in our library.
Target Readers:
Spy Story Fans, Smart Character Fans, World Travel Fans, Mystery Fans, Thriller Fans, Middle Grade Readers
Edge of Oblivion (The Chronicles of Sarco, #1) by Joshua A. Johnston
A new threat has entered the universe. A strange planet-sized thing is invading Confederacy space, refuses communication, and leaves no one living on ships or planets that come under its strange white beam. It leaves one message. Malum has come. Grasping at straws since no weapons have been able to even reach the surface of Malum, the Confederacy is sending Captain Jared Carter and his small crew on a hunt for ancient scraps of a sacred Sarco text. Several races have no respect for this ancient religious group, and indeed, the group is all but extinct. But the one scrap the Navy has in their collection has ink written in the same rare compound that composes the surface of Malum. On the chance that the two might be connected, Carter and his crew are sent to find the rest of the ancient document, if it even exists.
This was a good ol' scifi space adventure with a small crew going from one new planet to another in search of these ancient text scraps. Readers get the fun of meeting all sorts of alien cultures and planets, while Carter and his crew are usually just happy to survive those adventures. Fair warning, the mystery isn’t completely solved in this one…you’ll want the whole trilogy on hand if you dislike cliffhangers.
Target Readers:
Mystery Fans, Scifi Fans, Thriller Fans, Allegorical-ish Story Fans, Adult Readers (though accessible to Young Adults)
The Frangipani Tree Mystery (Crown Colony, #1) by Ovidia Yu
SuLin is receiving her first job placement after finishing her education at the Mission School in 1930s Singapore. She's assigned to be the housekeeper of Chief Police Inspector Thomas LeFroy, but they end up on a crime scene instead of at his house. The nanny for Governor Palin's daughter has been found dead. The governor and his family seem overly eager to have this declared an accident and swept under the rug. But DeeDee, the governor's 17 year old daughter who suffered brain damage from a fever at 7, takes a shining to SuLin, and she gets the inspector's permission to go undercover for him in the house. Little does SuLin know what she's getting herself into. The governor's house is quite tumultuous, and the list of suspects is quite long. LeFroy is worried about leaving her there, but he was impressed by the good head on her shoulders at the scene of the crime and knows as a local she'll get to see things he never would.
Target Readers:
Mystery Fans, Historical Fiction Fans, Singapore Setting Fans, Fans of Characters Overcoming Disability/Odds Stacked Against Them, Adult Readers
The Girl Who Could Not Dream by Sarah Beth Durst
Sophie can't dream. Well, not on her own. If she drinks one of the dreams her parents collect and distill from dreamcatchers to be sold, then she dreams. But as she accidentally discovers one day when she sneaks a dream, she can bring things out of dreams into real life. Thankfully, Monster, the monster she brought out of a dream is mostly friendly, her fierce protector, and quickly her best friend. But for everyone's safety, and to avoid drawing the attention of the Night Watchmen, she obeys her parents and doesn't dream. She helps her parents with their visible store, the bookstore, and hands out dream catchers to kids at school who have nightmares. But when her parents disappear and the kids she collected nightmares from are kidnapped on the same day, Sophie knows she is the common link and needs to help save them. With the help of Monster and a kid who barely avoided kidnapping, Sophie has to figure out who kidnapped her parents and the children and how to free them.
Durst has written some fantastic, memorable characters in this one!
Target Readers:
Mystery Fans, Fantasy Fans, Imaginative Readers, Middle Grade Readers
The Grotlyn by Benji Davies
What is sneaking around after dark and making things disappear? People say it is the Grotlyn, but what exactly is a Grotlyn?
Everyone has experienced hearing strange things in the night or having items go missing. Is a monster responsible, or is there a more logical and less sinister reason? The Victorian era city in this book is in for a surprise when they discover just what the Grotlyn is. Told in rhyme and with atmospheric (but not too spooky) illustrations. See if little ones are observant enough to figure out what the Grotlyn is before the characters.
Target Readers:
Mystery Fans, Historical Fiction Fans, Animal Lovers, Kids Practicing Their Observation Skills, Picture Book Readers
How I Became a Spy by Deborah Hopkinson
Bertie has volunteered as an air-raid messenger in WWII London. He and his dog, Little Roo, take messages about where crews are needed or that help is on the way. Little Roo also helps by sniffing out people in the heaps of rubble after bombings. One night, Bertie literally runs into a young American girl during a raid. He tells her where the nearest bomb shelter is but after she is gone discovers she dropped a notebook. When he looks inside of it later, he discovers it is full of notes on how to be a spy, and the entire back part is in jibberish. That night he also discovers an unconscious woman on a side street, but when the ambulance gets there, she is gone. That night is about to change Bertie's life as he is plunged into figuring out where the notebook came from, why the American girl was carrying it, and who the mystery woman was.
A great stand alone spy story that highlights little-known aspects of WWII history.
Target Readers:
Mystery Fans, Spy Story Fans, Suspense Fans, Code Lovers, WWII Era Fans, Historical Fiction Fans, Middle Grade Readers
The Multiplying Mysteries of Mount Ten by Krista Van Dolzer
Esther is supposed to be headed to the exclusive and amazing Camp Vermeer art camp for the week. But in the middle of a horrible storm when GPS signals go awry and roads get flooded, Esther finds herself instead at Camp Archimedes. A math camp. Esther and her stepfather are stuck until the torrential downpour ends, and during that time Esther manages to solve the extremely challenging First Problem that few others manage to solve ever in their time at Camp Archimedes, and Esther uncovers a riddle that may or may not be threatening that someone at the camp is in grave danger. Can Esther and the other math nerds solve the riddle before someone is murdered?
Say math and you have a lot of middle grade kids running for the hills. But if you say logic puzzles, you may have a few more stick around. And that's primarily the kind of math that is front and center in this book. Armchair sleuths good with logic puzzles can actually solve the mystery before the characters if they stay on their toes.
Target Readers:
Mystery Fans, Code/Puzzle Fans, Suspense Fans, Armchair Sleuths, Contemporary Fiction Fans, Camp Story Fans, Middle Grade Readers
The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane (Black Hollow Lane, #1) by Julia Nobel
Emmy's mother is a child psychologist, famous author, and soon-to-be reality TV star. That means she's really going to be too busy to take care of Emmy (Emmy's father disappeared when she was 3 and the police suspected foul play). So Emmy finds herself being shipped off to a boarding school in England called Wellsworth, because only the best educational ratings for a school will keep her mom happy. Emmy is so tired of changing schools to keep her mom's high standards satisfied. But is that the real reason she ended up at Wellsworth? Because right before she left Connecticut she got this weird anonymous note saying to keep her father's relics safe. Her mother got rid of most of dad's stuff and will never talk about him. Did they still have any "relics" of his? Exploring the attic after her mom goes to bed, Emmy finds a secret compartment and a box of medallions with a note from her father asking her to keep them safe. When she gets to Wellsworth she gets more notes and finds out her dad might have gone to the school, but no one wants to talk about him. The two students who've befriended Emmy, Jack and Lola, help her investigate. But what is going on at Wellsworth and why don't people want to talk about Emmy's dad?
This book and the second in the series have some very devoted fans among the students at my school. (I think their pretty great too.)
Target Readers:
Mystery Fans, Thriller Fans, Contemporary Fiction Fans, Third Culture Kid Story Fans, Boarding School Story Fans, Secret Society Story Fans, Soccer Story Fans, Middle Grade Readers
Outbreak by Davis Bunn
Theo Bishop hasn't spoken to his older brother, the pharmaceutical company millionaire in years. Until the day his brother suddenly bails him out of bankruptcy and calls him. The two men have their first civilized conversation ever, and Theo soon finds himself on his way to Africa with a PR person from his brother's company to see something. His brother has been rather cryptic about what this is about, but upon arrival in Africa it is soon clear there is some kind of pandemic that is wiping out entire villages. It strikes scary fast. But someone does NOT want word of this illness to get out. Theo, and a choice few others soon find themselves playing a very serious political game in a race to get the word out to the world about this pandemic before it is too late or someone silences them all permanently.
(Obviously, if you’d rather not read about pandemics right now, you’ll want to avoid this one.)
Target Readers:
Thriller Fans, Mystery Fans, Globe Trotting Story Fans, Christian Fiction Fans, Clean Romantic Fiction Fans, Pandemic Story Fans, Adult Readers
Stairway to Doom (A Miss Mallard Mystery) by Robert Quackenbush
Miss Mallard along with 12 others are summoned to an old estate for the reading of a will. The will has an odd demand, though. The heirs are required to spend the night in the somewhat creepy old mansion. There are rumors that Count Kisscula haunts the castle. Miss Mallard has no trouble sleeping, but is required to do some investigative work in the middle of the night when some of the other guests start disappearing.
This reads like an old classic that Doyle or Christie might have written. There's nothing else that quite encapsulates that classic feel for lower grade readers like this series does. And pay attention to the illustrations, they hold clues along with the text for would be sleuths racing Miss Mallard for the answers.
Target Readers:
Mystery Fans, Suspense Fans, Armchair Sleuths, Animal Lovers, Lower Grade Readers
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