s1
The Glen Ellyn Public Library

Young Adult Booklists

Back to Young Adult Booklists

Mystery and Suspense

Middle School

  • Abrahams, Peter. Down the Rabbit Hole: An Echo Falls Mystery. J Abrahams, P.
    When thirteen-year old Ingrid Levin-Hill leaves her soccer shoes at the scene of a murder, she is afraid to tell what she knows, so she decides she must solve the mystery herself.
  • Anderson, Janet S. The Last Treasure. J Anderson, J., JPB Anderson, J.
    Despite his father's estrangement from his extended family, Ellsworth Smith travels to the complex of old houses where they live, and soon determines to bring them all together by finding the treasure their common ancestor hid.
  • Avi. Wolf Rider. J Avi, JPB Avi, CASS (BK.) JFIC Avi, CD (BK.) JFIC Avi
    Fifteen-year-old Andy, despite everyone's skepticism, feels he must stop the man on the phone who said he had killed a young woman.
  • Balliett, Blue. Chasing Vermeer. J Balliett, B., CASS (BK.) JFIC Balliett, B., CD (BK.) JFIC Balliett, B.
    Numerous odd "coincidences" and a dream put eleven-year-olds Calder and Petra, classmates at the University of Chicago lab school, in what seems to them the best position to find the Vermeer painting that is missing from the Art Institute.
  • Coles, William. Another Kind of Monday. J Coles, W.
    When Mark finds money and a clue to finding more in a high school library book, he and a new friend begin a treasure hunt all over Pittsburgh.
  • Cooney, Caroline B. The Face on the Milk Carton. J Cooney, C., JPB Cooney, C., CASS (BK.) JFIC Cooney, C., CD (BK.) JFIC Cooney, C.
    Janie Johnson's life is never the same after the moment she sees her face on a milk carton and realizes she was the missing four-year-old.
  • Duncan, Lois. Don't Look Behind You. J Duncan, L., JPB Duncan, L., YA PBK Duncan, L.
    Seventeen-year-old April can't bear to lose her old life entirely when her family enters the Witness Protection Program, but the stakes become clear to her when the Vamp, a hired killer, comes after them.
  • Ehrlich, Amy. Where It Stops, Nobody Knows. J Ehrlich, A.
    Nina is tired of moving and would like to stay in Montpelier, but when her mother keeps taking her to new homes, Nina realizes they're running from a shocking secret.
  • Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Running Out of Time. J Haddix, M., CASS (BK.) JFIC Haddix, M.
    When children in 1840's Clifton keep dying of diphtheria, her mother tells 13-year-old Jessie that they live in a historical tourist attraction and that Jessie must escape into the modern world around them to get help.
  • Hahn, Mary Downing. Dead Man in Indian Creek. J Hahn, M., JPB Hahn, M.
    Matt and Parker are terrified by finding a body in Indian Creek, but they cannot ask adults for help with clues they discover because Parker's mother might be involved.
  • Hayes, Daniel. The Trouble with Lemons. J Hayes, D., JPB Hayes, D.
    Newcomer Tyler is with his one friend, Lymie, when they find a body in the quarry, but the last straw comes when Tyler accidentally overhears who put the body there.
  • Patneaude, David. Someone Was Watching. J Patneaude, D., JPB Patneaude, D., CASS (BK.) JFIC Patneaude, D.
    Chris, watching a video of the outing from which his sister Molly disappeared, apparently drowned, realizes that someone was watching who could be involved.
  • Pullman, Philip. The Ruby in the Smoke. JPB Pullman, P., YA PBK Pullman, P.
    This mystery has it all: a beautiful, orphaned, but plucky heroine, anonymous warning letters, a stolen diary, a coded message, opium, an invaluable ruby, and wicked but powerful villains, all in Victorian London!
  • Qualey, Marsha. Thin Ice. J Qualey, M., YA PBK Qualey, M.
    Arden's older brother and sole guardian, Scott, disappears, apparently killed snowmobiling. Only Arden believes he faked the accident and is still alive, and proving her suspicions might be impossible.
  • Ryan, Mary Elizabeth. Alias. J Ryan, M.
    Toby's not allowed to ask his mom why, but now that he's in high school, he decides he's putting a stop to the never-ending changes of schools, towns, and names that have been his life.
  • Sebestyen, Ouida. The Girl in the Box. JPB Sebestyen, Ouida
    Left in a pitch-dark underground room by her unknown kidnapper, Jackie learns that she has some food and water and the typewriter on which she touchtypes this book.
  • Sternberg, Libby. Uncovering Sadie's Secrets. J Sternberg, L.
    Bianca Balducci's older sister is a private investigator, so when Bianca suspects a classmate is not who she seems to be and is in trouble, Bianca determines to solve the case---with a little help from a cute admirer.
  • Sykes, Shelley. For Mike. J Sykes, S , JPB Sykes, S.
    After his best friend Mike disappears, Jeff has recurring dreams in which Mike urges Jeff to come get him, spurring Jeff to find out what happened to his friend.
  • Van Draanen, Wendelin. Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief. J Van Draanen, W., JPB Van Draanen, W.
    It would be easier for seventh-grade Sammy to track the robber she saw from her grandmother's window if she didn't have to hide her real address. Read more about Sammy in Sammy Keyes and the Skeleton Man, Sammy Keyes and the Sisters of Mercy, Sammy Keyes and the Runaway Elf, Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary, Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy, Sammy Keyes and the Search for Snake Eyes, Sammy Keyes and the Art of Deception, and Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen.
  • Voigt, Cynthia. The Vandemark Mummy. J Voigt, C.
    When the mummy disappears from the collection their father has just begun managing, Phineas and Anthea try to find out what occurred---until Anthea also disappears.

High School

  • Dams, Jeanne M. Death in Lacquer Red. FIC MYS Dams, J.
    Hilda Johansson is only a servant and an immigrant, but when she finds a murdered woman and the police seem likely to pin the crime on a convenient immigrant, Hilda determines to find the real culprit.
  • Francis, Dick. Flying Finish. PBK MYS Francis, D., FIC Francis, D. MYSTERY LARGE PRINT
    A young man paid to care for horses on a small plane flying from England to Italy finds the horses no trouble compared to his murderous human companions.
  • Harper, Karen. The Poyson Garden. FIC MYS Harper, K.
    Despite being only slightly better than a prisoner, the young Princess Elizabeth knows she must find out who is trying to poison all the Boleyns, or she won't live long enough to become Queen.
  • Kerr, M. E. The Books of Fell. YA PBK Kerr, M. E.
    John Fell agrees to pose as a neighbor's son at an exclusive private prep school for the free education he'll receive, but it takes Fell a long time to figure out what the "catch" is.
  • King, Laurie R. The Beekeeper's Apprentice. YA PBK King, L., PBK MYS King, L., FIC MYS King, L. LARGE PRINT
    Imagine a "retired" Sherlock Holmes partnered, not with Watson, but with a brilliant, orphaned, teenage girl, and there you have The Beekeeper's Apprentice.
  • McNamee, Graham. Acceleration. YA PBK McNamee, G.
    The police don't believe that the book Duncan brings to them, that he claims he found working at the Toronto Transit Authority, is really that of a would-be serial killer, so it is up to Duncan to stop him.
  • Rozan, S. J. China Trade. PBK MYS Rozan S. J.
    Though Lydia Chin's traditional Chinese American family has never accepted her career, P.I.Lydia is determined to solve the theft at the museum where her brother is on the board, even when the investigation proves life-threatening.
  • Rozan, S. J. Stone Quarry. FIC MYS Rozan, S. J.
    PI Bill Smith thinks the body he finds in his friend's basement is unrelated to the art theft he is investigating, but when the boy Bill has tried to father is the prime suspect, Bill decides to look into the murder, too.
  • Werlin, Nancy. The Killer's Cousin. YA PBK Werlin, N.
    Is David, acquitted of his girlfriend's murder, the "killer" of this title, or is he the cousin of a killer, the young relative Lily in whose home he is boarding?

Back to Young Adult Booklists

  • Back
  • Print this Page

 
s2
 
bc1   bc2