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Mystery for Middle Grades
Mysteries, Detectives and Puzzles to Solve August 2026 |
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The Strange Disappearance of Imogen Good
by Kirsty Applebaum
Fran doesn't want to stay with her aunt and uncle and her snooty cousin, Imogen. But when she arrives at their home on the grounds of Stillness Hall, Imogen isn't there. Her aunt and uncle say they've never heard of Imogen--or even had a daughter. So it's up to Fran, and Imogen's best friend, Bex, to find her. Except Bex doesn't know who Imogen is either. How will Fran find her cousin if no one will admit she ever existed? Could a locked and dangerous garden and a mysterious old tale of enchantment and death hold the answers?
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Montgomery Bonbon: Sabotage at Sea
by Alasdair Beckett-King
As the witty murder-mystery series continues, Bonbon returns for a pyrotechnic display aboard ship--until a shocking demise puts a damper on the festivities. Shenanigans are once again afoot in the town of Widdlington, and this time they're on board the Dreadnowt--a galleon that's set to host a fireworks display for the town. Bonnie Montgomery and Grampa Banks are on board as guests, but just after sundown, a fog rolls in and a terrible cry is heard over the crash of the waves. Captain Valancourt stumbles out of the mist, dripping wet and covered in red welts the like of which a sea monster would leave behind, and is soon pronounced dead by the doctor on board. The crowd is shocked, and Bonnie's fishy-o-meter is off the charts. While Inspector Sands takes over as captain, Bonnie transforms into Montgomery Bonbon, and it's not long before she's laid anchor on her prime suspects. Can Montgomery Bonbon hoist his moustache and figure out which scallywag is responsible for the death of the ancient mariner?
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Isle of Ever
by Jen Calonita
Everly Benny Benedict and her mom have always managed to get by, though they're broke most of the time. But all that could change. Benny's just learned she's the sole heir to the vast fortune of Evelyn Terry, a mysterious ancestor from the 1800s There's a catch, though. First Benny needs to play--and win--a game: following clues that are more than a century old, she must find her way to the tiny island Evelyn wrote about in her diary. It was somewhere off the shoreline of Evelyn's home town, but according to legend, it vanished long ago and hasn't appeared on maps for hundreds of years. Yet Benny has only a couple weeks to locate it. If she's successful, she'll collect the inheritance. But what if there's more than a fortune at stake in this game? What if Benny has to break an ancient curse to win?
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The Mystery of the Stolen World Cup Trophy
by Angela Cervantes
Diez Espada--named after the jersey number of his soccer-obsessed father's favorite player, Lionel Messi--would rather be chasing clues than soccer balls. When the World Cup trophy disappears at a glitzy party in Miami, he's suddenly at the center of the most thrilling match of his life--a race to find the trophy before it's gone for good. Teaming up with his crush, Rio, and the world-famous Detective Enzo, Diez dives headfirst into a one-night whirlwind of secret tunnels and a squad of suspicious suspects: a spoiled son of a Miami tycoon, a famous sportscaster, and even Rio's two prankster younger brothers. The clock is ticking, the suspects are slippery, and the stadium lights are ready to shine. Will Diez find the trophy in time for the World Cup championship match?
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Solve Your Own Mystery: The Missing Magic
by Gareth P. Jones
Welcome to Haventry, a town where the ordinary and extraordinary collide. With ghosts, werewolves, and zombies living side by side, trouble is always brewing. And when a fiendish crime is committed, YOU are the detective in charge of the case. It's the first day of Magicon, the world's biggest magic convention, and everyone is in town for the event. But when all the magic in Haventry suddenly goes missing, it's up to YOU to find out who took it and get it back in time for the opening ceremony. Should you tail the head of the powerful Magic Circle, Grandmaster Dimbleby, or does the newly crowned king of the elves raise your suspicions? Could Enid the Evil Enchantress be too obvious a suspect, or is Moondance the meditating unicorn deceptively innocent? YOU decide. And you better do so quickly, because without magic to harness it, an ancient monster is rising from its century-long sleep under the town.
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Mystery on Macaw Mountain
by Fitzgerald
When eight endangered macaws are stolen from a bird sanctuary in the Mayan ruins of Copan, four sleuthing cousins must find out who took them...and why.
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Joshua Tree Mirage
by C. R. Fulton
The Campground Kids follow a trail of clues to a hidden obsidian spear in Joshua Tree National Park, but they soon discover they are not alone and must stay ahead of their shadowy opponent.
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Five Days at the Hotel Adams
by Hailey Alcaraz
This historical tale of arson, sleuthing, and finding friendship in unlikely places is based on the real Hotel Adams fire of 1910. It's up to two Latina girls to turn their knack for being overlooked and underestimated into their greatest strength as they unravel a complex web of suspects, clues, and motives.
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The Swifts: A Gallery of Rogues
by Beth Lincoln
Now that the family reunion is over and the murderer has been caught, Shenanigan Swift can return to important projects, like searching for the long-lost family treasure. But trouble always finds Shenanigan, and when a valuable painting is stolen from Swift House by a group of eccentric art thieves known as Ouvolpo, she is determined to get it back--even if it means chasing them all the way to Paris. A new adventure is about to begin, and Shenanigan's sleuthing skills will soon be tested like never before.
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Frankie and Friends: The Missing Sock
by Christine Platt
Aspiring journalist Frankie and her lively team of toys are doing a new type of story--an investigative report on the laundry's missing sock! Frankie's mama is just about the best journalist in the world, and Frankie can't wait to be a reporter like her one day. When a top secret package arrives at the news station, Mama explains it's info for a special kind of story--an investigative report. She tells Frankie it's like being a detective, looking for clues to find out important facts and secrets. The Frankie and Friends Newsroom, including Dan the teddy bear, bossy King Tut and Queen Cleopatra, and Nina Simone the cat, decide to do their own investigative report: the mystery of the missing polka-dot sock! Why did two socks go into the laundry while only one came out? Following Frankie's methods and prepared with new journalistic vocabulary words, young reporters can dig into their own fact-finding reports after the latest adventure in this engaging series.
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The Shrew Detective: The Case of the Pilfered Pearls
by Margi Preus
Mystery: Something that is difficult or impossible to understand. With a curious mind and a vast vocabulary (thanks to her wallpaper--pages of a discarded human dictionary), tiny Minerva Shrew would love nothing more than to solve the Big Mysteries of Life and the Universe. Instead, in The Case of the Pilfered Pearls, she's called upon to help her cousin Tenacity solve a mystery in the most dangerous of places: a human house. When a string of pearls goes missing, the human owner is sure a dreadful rodent has pilfered them--and now the lives of all Minerva's friends are at risk. Will Minerva find the true culprit before the exterminators arrive? With wit and warmth, Margi Preus creates a charming woodland world filled with creatures both whimsical and nefarious (neh-FARE-ee-us: wicked or criminal), along with suspense, intrigue, and, thanks to Minerva's metabolism, plenty of snacks. Don't miss this first volume in the fun Shrew Detective series.
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Find Her
by Ginger Reno
Twelve-year-old Wren fights to find her missing Cherokee mother, while also navigating a chilling town mystery, a new friendship, and a family in need of healing.
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Elvira Vance and the Monster Mystery
by Kacy Ritter
Half-siren Elvira Vance doesn't trust outsiders. Especially not the human detective who's been hired to investigate the disappearances of a chupacabra and the crown for the Marfa Monster Festival. While humans are convinced the monster skipped town with the crown, Elvira knows there's more to the story. As the daughter of Vince Vance--founder of Vince Vance's Vintage Trailer Park Inn for Monsters--Elvira cares too much about her home to let this mystery go unsolved. With her two best friends, Elvira collects clues and investigates humans, banshees, vampires, and ghosts. But when more creatures start disappearing and antimonster attitudes rise, Elvira realizes that her friends could be in real danger. Now time is running out, and Elvira must use her siren powers and sleuthing skills to solve this mystery--or lose everything she loves.
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The Queen of Thieves
by Johan Rundberg
After a merciless winter, spring has sprung in 1880 Stockholm, and the city awaits the arrival of the SS Vega, the first ship to have sailed the Northeast Passage. Life is busy at the orphanage, but twelve-year-old Mika quickly notices that the older orphans are up to something--and it doesn't look good. When Constable Hoff approaches her with information about thefts around the city, Mika becomes even more concerned about what the other kids are up to--and what they might be planning for the Vega celebration. The police will have no sympathy for orphans, and she'd hate to see her friends condemned to life in jail. But Mika soon finds herself in a bind she can't get out of--one that could condemn her own life. Can Mika uncover who is really behind the thefts in the city and keep her friends safe, without getting caught? Find out in this breathless sequel to The Night Raven.
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The A&A Detective Agency: The Grimthorpe Grave
by K. H. Saxton
Alex and Asha's interest in keeping up the agency is waning, and distractions come their way as school obligations divide their attention. When their mentor, Dr. Wright, brings them an intriguing clue signed by the Witch of Waverly College, they jump at the chance to solve the mystery of who wrote it. But when more clues gather, the two detectives decide they are going to need help to solve the case, so they enlist a few peers as consultants. But the President of Waverly College is out to thwart the kids' mission to uncover the truth about the Northbrook witch trials. It's a race against time and a lesson in who to trust for the young detectives.
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Secrets of the Broken House
by Taryn Souders
When thirteen-year-old Tucker finds Miss Geraldine dead at the bottom of her stairs, he suspects foul play and works together with his friends to solve a small town murder.
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The Island at the Edge of Night
by Lucy Strange
From award winning author Lucy Strange, The Island at the Edge of Night is a dark, suspenseful mystery set on an island where science and magic blur and danger and secrets unfold. Faye Fitzgerald does not remember what she's done to land herself at the Auk Island School. She remembers so little about the night that changed her life. Growing up surrounded by nature with her botanist father in the Forest House, she can't cope with the bleak and treeless island where the school sits in seclusion. Where she and the other children are treated more like prisoners than pupils. While her fellow students begin to defy the horrible headmaster within the walls of the school, something is begging for Faye's attention on the outside. The Knife, the only mountain on the island, is calling for her. And it will draw her into a web of secrets that she could have never thought possible. In this gripping mystery that weaves in and around the line between science and magic, a murdered prince, a majestic stag, and a key that will open any door lead Faye on a dangerous journey across the desolate landscape to uncover what happened and the truth about her father's scientific discoveries. The Island at the Edge of Night is a masterfully written, gripping mystery rooted in family and the healing power of nature from the Queen of Gothic.
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Deepa, M.D.
by Priya Swaminathan
Twelve-year-old Deepa is ready to un-pause her life. After spending a year in the hospital, she's itching for things to go back to the way they were before she got sick. Only everything's changed. Her parents treat her like she's made of glass, there's a mean girl out to get her, and her best friend forgot to mention she has a whole new life now. But when her Uncle Jai, a genius doctor that patients love to hate and the Sherlock Holmes of medical mysteries, needs her help with a tricky case involving a teenage patient, Deepa steps up to the plate--because she knows better than anyone what it's like to be sick. But why, oh why, did her first patient have to be her bully's older brother? As the case spirals and her illness flares up, Deepa quickly learns that if she wants to save her patient, she'll have to diagnose what's going on inside herself first.
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The Treasure of Ocean Parkway
by Sarvenaz Tash
Two podcasting sleuths help their neighbor solve a cold case--one that is literally etched into the walls of their Brooklyn apartment building.
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Found Sound
by Meg Wolitzer
When Felix Frank discovers a mysterious musical box while on vacation he joins forces with the eccentric girl next door, Marigold, to follow a string of clues on a sound-related scavenger hunt through town.
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Sherlock Roach and the Case of the Crunchy Crumb: A Star Chapter Book
by Joe McGee
Sherlock Roach and his loyal partner Dr. Wormston are more than just a detective duo--they're friends who always stick together. When a very important crumb vanishes without a trace, the pair hunts for clues throughout the insect underworld in a mystery that's easy to follow, fun to read, and filled with laughs. Can they crack the case before all the crumbs disappear for good?
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Korobá the Case of the Missing Kolo
by Àlàbá Ònájìn
Set in Makoko the Nigerian fishing village, ten-year-old Korobâa helps her friend find who stole her wooden piggy bank before the annual harvest festival.
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What Good Is a Dead Tree?: A Science Mystery
by Doug Wechsler
Creeaaakkkk . . . CRASH A mighty oak has fallen in the forest. But fifty years later, the only evidence that it was there is a dark mark on the forest floor. Where did it go? Author and photographer Doug Wechsler invites readers to dig into this biological mystery and discover the answer to the disappearance. Trees are the basis of a lot of life in a forest--and that doesn't stop when they die. Millions of creatures depend on dead trees for food and shelter. Following the fall of an oak tree, Wechsler explains how the tree is broken down by animals, insects, and fungi over the course of fifty years. Along the way, explore parts of a tree, insect lifecycles, and the magic of mycelia. And discover how rotten wood benefits the forest by providing essential nutrients for new trees to grow.
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