Mystery Books for Middle Schoolers
Mystery Books for Middle Schoolers are an exciting and engaging way to help children develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills while keeping them entertained.
These books offer a thrilling and captivating reading experience, as readers attempt to solve complex and intriguing puzzles alongside the main characters.
Middle-grade mystery books introduce young readers to the genre and allow them to immerse themselves in the story’s twists and turns, keeping them on the edge of their seat until the very end.
Be sure to check out even more terrific middle school book list ideas!
You can find these 20 exciting mystery books for middle schoolers in your local library or purchase through the affiliate links provided for your convenience.

Get your middle school kid hooked on these exciting mystery books for middle schoolers, and you’ll help develop a reader for life.
Getting kids excited about reading can sometimes be tough!
Mystery Books for Middle Schoolers
When Gilda lands a summer internship at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., she finds herself caught up in both a museum haunting and a real case of espionage.
While investigating a cemetery where Abraham Lincoln's son was once buried, Gilda stumbles upon a spy's "dead drop" of classified information.
Intricate plotting, surprise twists, and lively prose make for another suspenseful novel that stands alone or sets the stage for Midnight Magic.
Award-winning author Tony Abbott weaves an intriguing and entertaining mystery of adventure, friendship and family.
In Echo Falls, secrets buried in the past don't always stay there.
An idyllic day of snowshoeing on Grampy's land with the sheriff's son, Joey, turns out to be less than idyllic when thirteen-year-old super sleuth Ingrid Levin-Hill stumbles on a body lying in the snow.
It’s 1849, the year John Huffman’s father is sentenced to London’s Whitecross Street Prison.
He’s been put away for gambling debt—leaving fourteen-year-old John and his family out on the street.
Surrounded by a cast of sinister and suspicious characters, John’s not sure what to believe…or whom.
Cut off from the civilized world for untold years, this land is called: DELAWARE
It is into the mist-shrouded heart of this forbidden, mountainous realm that our plucky and intrepid heroes, Jasper Dash, Boy Technonaut, and his friends Lily Gefelty and Katie Mulligan, must journey to unravel a terrible mystery.
Michael Beil, a New York City high school English teacher and life-long mystery fan, delivers a middle-grade caper that's perfect for middle-grade readers who have finished THE LEMONADE WAR series and are ready for more advanced mysteries!
When puzzle addict Winston Breen and his best friends head to an all-day puzzle hunt with a $50,000 grand prize, they’re pumped.
But the day is not all fun and games: not only do they have a high-strung and highly competitive teacher along for the ride, but the puzzles are hard even for Winston, the other schools’ teams are no joke, and someone in the contest is playing dirty in order to win.
Trying to stop this mystery cheater before it’s too late takes an already tough challenge to a whole other level.
Not only is the name of this series a secret, but the story is, too. For it concerns a secret - a big secret - that has been tormenting people like you for over... oh no!
Did I just mention the secret? Then it's too late. I'm afraid nothing will stop you now. Read this series if you must. But please, tell no one.
2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year
A New York Times bestselling middle grade mystery novel full of adventure, friendship, and stolen art.
In a tale inspired by a true story of buried treasure, Jen Bryant weaves an emotional and suspenseful novel in poems, all set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War during a pivotal year in U.S. history.
This gripping mystery, spiked with math clues, follows quirky outcasts Lady Di and Tom Jones as they try to save their woebegone island community.
Readers “will be swept up in the fast talk and exciting action” (Booklist) of this “inheritor of The Westing Game” (Kirkus) that is sure to make math lovers of even the most determined number-phobes.
Superhero kids meet comic book mystery in this action-filled debut about the true meaning of a hero.
The superkids in this novel use their powers to secretly do good in the town, but they’re haunted by the fact that the moment they turn thirteen, their abilities will disappear — along with any memory that they ever had them.
Is a memory-stealing supervillain sapping their powers?
This is an unput-downable spine-tingling thriller—a race against time.
New York Times bestselling sportswriter John Feinstein tackles doping in the NFL in this exciting football mystery.
Nominated for an Edgar Award, The Big Splash revitalizes the noir novel while delivering a terrific, addictive mystery that crackles with wit and excitement.
? Featuring the strong plotting and offbeat humor that won the Bloodwater Mysteries a prestigious Edgar nomination, Doppelganger is full of twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the very end.
Perfect for fans of The Westing Game, exciting mysteries, and, of course, puzzles!
Chock-full of puzzles to solve, some tied to the mystery and some not, this treasure hunt will keep readers' brains teased right up to the exciting ending!
Gilda Joyce?s best friend, Wendy Choy, is chosen to participate in a piano competition. Once there, the grueling practice schedule takes a backseat to strange and spooky occurrences.
Could there be a sinister connection to the piano competition? Gilda has a genuine haunting on her hands, and solving this one will take every ounce of psychic intuition she?s got!
What a great list! My daughter is in 3rd grade, but a very advanced reader. I wonder if some of these would be too scary for her? Thoughts? 🙂
I would recommend you start her with the Gilda Joyce novels and work your way from there.
I just jotted down three titles to pick up at the library/book store for my reluctant 13-year-old reader. I would love to read any of them, too! Thanks for this awesome list.
Great variety of mystery books! My favorite mystery book to read with my 5th and 6th graders was The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin ( 1979 Newberry Medal). If you haven’t read it, do! I loved it as much as the kids. 🙂
Great suggestion! Thanks for sharing, Wendy 🙂
Fantastic list! I’ll have to add some of these to my 6th graders list for this year!