Since this Sunday is national Puzzle Day I thought it would be a good time to share some books that are full of codes and puzzles as the characters go on treasure hunts. There are a lot of great treasure hunt books and series out there, just too many to include here. So I’m only sharing ones I haven’t ever mentioned in the Brainstorm before (except for the picture book). But I can’t help but mention that I also highly recommend Graeme Base’s Eleventh Hour, Grabenstein’s Mr. Lemoncello series, Hicks’ Shakespeare Mysteries series, the Book Scavenger series by Bertman, the Samantha Spinner series by Ginn, the Blackthorn Key series by Sands, and the York series by Ruby for those puzzle-loving, code-cracking, treasure hunt fans. Click on the titles of each of these books to see my full review including any content notes/trigger warnings.
The Ambrose Deception by Emily Ecton
Bondi, Melissa, and Wilf are all kids who fail to stand out at their schools. It is quite a shock to each of them (and their school offices) when they receive notices that they've been selected to compete in a scholarship competition for $10,000. The kids go to the scholarship meeting and are given envelopes with three clues and a whole list of rules, plus a cell phone, a driver, and a credit card to help them in their individual quests. One of the kids is desperate for the scholarship money but thinks the whole thing must be a con. One of the kids is eager to prove himself. And one of the kids wants to make the most of the driver and the credit card before the competition leaders figure out they've most certainly gotten the wrong kid. As they go around Chicago solving the clues, can the kids figure out who has set up this competition and why?
Target Readers:
Treasure Hunt Fans, Puzzle Lovers, Contemporary Fiction Fans, Mystery Fans, Chicago Setting Fans, Stand Alone Mystery Fans, Middle Grade Readers
The Crown Heist (Lost Art Mysteries, #3) by Deron Hicks
Camille is on her most nerve-wracking mission yet. She's off to London to meet her Dad in person. Art is coming along for moral support, with Camille's mom chaperoning and doing some business meetings while the kids spend time with Camille's dad. But when they arrive, Camille's dad is a no show. Is he just doing what he did when Camille was an unborn baby, ditching her and her mom, or is there something else going on? When Camille and Art visit her dad's house, they discover something shady and a clue to a treasure hunt. But what is the treasure at the end of this hunt, and is Camille's dad a willing or unwilling participant?
The name of this series has a double meaning. Usually they are looking for lost or stolen artwork in each book, but in the first one Art was found with no memory in a museum and was the one lost. So this series is great for those interesting in classic art or architecture and/or art crimes.
Target Readers:
Contemporary Fiction Fans, Mystery Fans, Ancient Scavenger Hunt Fans, Suspense Fans, Friendship Story Fans, London History Buffs/Studiers, London Setting Fans, Middle Grade Readers
The Hidden Code by P.J. Hoover
Hannah Hawkins' geneticist parents disappeared 11 years ago. When Hannah attends one of her uncle's linguistics lectures at Harvard, she observes her uncle receiving a strange envelope in the middle of the lecture. It turns out to be a letter from her mother. But it is dated 11 years ago. Hannah starts asking questions about just what her parents were doing on that trip when they disappeared, and she eventually learns that her parents were tracking down something called the Code of Enoch. Her parents, another couple called the Olivers, her uncle, and one other man all were convinced that artifacts called Deluge Segments if all combined will lead to the Code of Enoch. Ethan Oliver was also attending her Uncle's lecture and catches Hannah in the act of looking at one of the Deluge Segments. He wants to find the Code of Enoch for his own reasons. Hannah has spent too many years without her parents. She is determined to track them down and know for sure if they are alive or not. Her uncle will never let her go along, and Ethan is going to blackmail his way into going if he has to. But what will they find at the end of their search?
Target Readers:
Adventure Fans, Mystery Fans, Fantasy/Scifi Fans, Suspense Fans, Ancient Scavenger Hunt Fans, Myth/Legend Fans, World Travel Fans, Stand Alone Book Fans, Young Adult Readers
I Do Not Trust You by Laura J. Burns & Melinda Metz
M thought her father was dead until a young man shows up saying her father is alive but is being held by the cult of Set until he can translate a map of hieroglyphics they think will lead them to a disassembled statue of their god that will bring him back to Earth when put together. The young man, Ash, is from the cult of Horus, pledged to make sure that the cult of Set doesn't bring back their god and destroy the Earth. He wants the original map from M. M isn't sure about these gods and cults, but she knows how to read the map. She's also not letting it out of her sight. She thinks that if she and Ash find the parts of the statue they can use them as leverage to release her father. So they are off on a huge round-the-world treasure hunt following a cryptic ancient map, and neither one knows if they can completely trust the other.
Readers at my school will be excited to know the grand finale of this story happens in Thailand.
Target Readers:
Adventure Fans, World Travel Fans, Mystery Fans, Suspense Fans, Fantasy Fans, Egyptian Mythology Fans, Italy Setting Fans, Thailand Setting Fans, Treasure Hunt Fans, Stand Alone Book Fans, Young Adult Readers
Mr. Summerling’s Secret Code (The Treasure Troop, #1) by Dori Hillestad Butler, ill. by Tim Budgen
When Marly's next door neighbor disappears, she and three other kids her age that knew Mr. Summerling are summoned to the reading of his will. It turns out he has left them something, but instead of the will telling them what, the lawyer hands them a clue in the form of a puzzle. Marly is really missing her best friend who just moved, but she likes getting to know Isla and Sai as they puzzle out the clues Mr. Summerling left them. But where will the clues lead?
Readers will want to read all 4 books in the Treasure Troop series, and keep building their code breaking skills with Marly, Isla, and Sai. This is right on the border between lower grade and middle grade interest levels.
Target Readers:
Multicultural Cast Fans, Contemporary Fiction Fans, Mystery Fans, Codes and Codebreaking Fans, Puzzle Lovers, Visual Issues Representation Fans (Marly has lazy eye and has to wear a patch for most of the series), Lower Grade/Middle Grade Readers
Salty Dogs by Matty Long
The Salty Dogs are fearsome pirates but they are having a little trouble finding treasure with all the other pirates in the area. They have one last hope. A treasure they left on Crossbone Island. But can they get there before the other pirates?
Like Long's other picture books there can be quite a lot going on in in the illustrations on just one spread, and often those large spreads have a subtle prompt in something someone says for a hide and seek challenge (i.e. if someone says they lost something, you can find it somewhere on the page).
Target Readers:
Pirate Story Fans, Humor Fans, Dog Lovers, Hide-n-Seek Fans, Picture Book Readers
