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Clue in to a Mystery

(AR Levels in Parentheses)


*All the Wrong Questions by Lemony Snicket    (5.2-5.5)
In a fading town, far from anyone he knew or trusted, a young Lemony Snicket began his apprenticeship in an organization nobody knows about. He began asking questions that shouldn't have been on his mind. Now he has written an account that should not have been published, in four volumes that shouldn't be read. This is the first volume.




*Barnaby Grimes by Paul Stewart    (6.6-7.1)
BARNABY GRIMES IS a tick-tock lad, running errands in his city, day and night, and “highstacking” around the rooftops in search of new mysteries to solve. In this first adventure, Barnaby is attacked one night by an enormous dog and soon finds himself swept up in a world of crooked doctors, poor and ill-advised patients, strange tonics, and very expensive furs. . . .



*Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs     (5.6)
12 year old Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt Fitzroy has got a murder on his hands and trouble on his tail. Henry, the hippopatamus at the brand-new nationally known FunJungle, has gone belly up. Even though it's claimed he died of natural causes, Teddy smells something fishy and it sure ain't the polar bear's lunch. Dealing with the zoo's top brass proves to be nothing but a waste of time. They want to see any trace of Henry's death disappear like yesterday's paper. So Teddy sets out to find the truth. With the help of Summer McCraken, a fiesty girl with secrets of her own, the two narrow down their prime suspects.

*Brixton Brothers by Mac Barnett    (4.2-5.1)
Steve Brixton is America's next great kid detective (whether he knows it or not)....

Steve solve his first case? Since when can librarians rappel from helicopters? Does Steve have any brothers or sisters? If not, then why is this series called The Brixton Brothers? You will solve all these mysteries and many more by the time you finish The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity.
We think you'll agree: Steve Brixton's first adventure is his best adventure yet.


*The Case of the Deadly Desperados by Caroline Lawrence    (5.0)
When twelve-year-old P.K. (Pinky) Pinkerton's foster parents are murdered by Whittlin' Walt and his gang of ruthless desperados, Pinky goes on the run and is forced into hiding with Ma's priceless last possession: the deed to a large amount of land and silver mines in the Nevada Mountains. But relying on disguises will only keep Pinky hidden for so long, and the desperados are quickly closing in . . .

 

 *Charlie Collier by John Madormo   (4.0-5.0)
Charlie Collier is a whiz when it comes to brain teasers and word problems. He's also the go-to guy when friends and teachers find themselves in a pickle, but lately Charlie finds himself yearning for a big score. So he puts up signs around the school and waits in his parents' garage to see what mysteries stumble in. And one does! Soon Charlie finds himself hot on the trail of an evildoer and realizes he'll need more than smarts to solve this case. With the help of his trusty sidekick Henry, new client Scarlett, and code-cracking grandmother Charlie puts his reasoning skills to the ultimate test. But will that be enough to unravel this dangerous caper?


*Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett    (5.4)
When a book of unexplainable occurrences brings Petra Andalee and Calder Pillay together, strange things start to happen: Seemingly unrelated events connect, an eccentric old woman seeks their company, and an invaluable Vermeer painting disappears. Before they know it, the two find themselves at the center of an international art scandal, where no one -- neighbors, parents, teachers -- is spared from suspicion. As Petra and Calder are drawn clue by clue into a mysterious labyrinth, they must draw on their powers of intuition, their problem-solving skills, and their knowledge of Vermeer. Can they decipher a crime that has left even the FBI baffled? Blue Balliett's bewitching first novel is a puzzle, wrapped in a mystery, disguised as an adventure, and delivered as a work of art.

*Enola Holmes by Nancy Springer    (6.6-7.5)
When Enola Holmes, the much younger sister of detective Sherlock Holmes, discovers her mother has disappeared—on her 14th birthday nonetheless—she knows she alone can find her. Disguising herself as a grieving widow, Enola sets out to the heart of London to uncover her mother’s whereabouts—but not even the last name Holmes can prepare her for what awaits. Suddenly involved in the kidnapping of the young Marquess of Basilwether, Enola must escape murderous villains, free the spoiled Marquess, and perhaps hardest of all, elude her shrewd older brother—all while collecting clues to her mother’s disappearance!

*First Kids Mysteries by Martha Freeman    (3.9-5.1)
The White House will never be the same with two spirited girls who love to solve mysteries and their mischievous dog in this humorous chapter book mystery, the first in the First Kids Mystery series.




*The Greenglass House by Kate Milford      (5.4)
It’s wintertime at Greenglass House. The creaky smuggler’s inn is always quiet during this season, and twelve-year-old Milo, the innkeepers’ adopted son, plans to spend his holidays relaxing. But on the first icy night of vacation, out of nowhere, the guest bell rings. Then rings again. And again. Soon Milo’s home is bursting with odd, secretive guests, each one bearing a strange story that is somehow connected to the rambling old house. As objects go missing and tempers flare, Milo and Meddy, the cook’s daughter, must decipher clues and untangle the web of deepening mysteries to discover the truth about Greenglass House—and themselves.


 *Hardy Boys Undercover Brothers by Frank Dixon (4-5.5)
ATAC BRIEFING FOR AGENTS FRANK AND JOE HARDY

MISSION: To find the mastermind behind a possible attack at the Big Air Games. LOCATION: Philadelphia, PA. POTENTIAL VICTIMS: Top extreme athletes in the country. Thousands of spectators. SUSPECTS: There may be a group of extremists working together. There may be just one.

Frank and Joe travel to Philadelphia where they intend to prevent an attack on an extreme sports contest called the Big Air Games.

*Horton Halfpott by Tom Angleberger    (5.8)
Tom Angleberger’s farcical middle-grade mystery begins when M’Lady Luggertuck loosens her corset (it has never been loosened before!), thereby setting off a chain of events in which all the strict rules of Smugwick Manor are abandoned. When, as a result of “the Loosening,” the precious family heirloom, the Luggertuck Lump (quite literally a lump), goes missing, the Luggertucks look for someone to blame. Is it Horton Halfpott, the good-natured but lowly kitchen boy who can’t tell a lie? Or one of the many colorful cast members in this romp of a mystery that combines supreme silliness with a tale of a young hero with heart.

*The House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton   (4.8)
The house held secrets, Thomas knew, even before he first saw it looming gray and massive on its ledge of rock. It had a century-old legend — two fugitive slaves had been killed by bounty hunters after leaving its passageways, and Dies Drear himself, the abolitionist who had made the house into a station on the Underground Railroad, had been murdered there. The ghosts of the three were said to walk its rooms....






*Lantern Sam by Michael D. Beil   (5.2)
Lantern Sam is the wise-cracking, sarcastic, talking cat (for those who can hear him, that is) who lives on board the Lake Erie Shoreliner train and is one of the best detectives no one knows about. He doesn’t have much patience for humans (unless they bring him sardines), but when 10-year-old traveler Henry can’t find his new friend, the exuberant Ellie, Sam’s enlisted to help. A ransom note is soon discovered and just like that, Sam and Henry are on the case, with the help of Clarence the Conductor (who supplies Sam’s sardines). But is Ellie still on board the train? Did the salesman with his trunk full of samples sneak her off? And why does that couple keep acting so suspiciously?

 *The Missing by Margaret Peterson Haddix    (5.0-5.2)
Teens Jonah and Chip, adopted as babies, find out that they were discovered on a plane that appeared out of nowhere, full of babies, with no adults aboard. Authorities still have no idea where the plane came from, who the babies belonged to, or how the plane disappeared once the babies were off. They discover that all of the babies are really missing children from history: Virginia Dare from the Roanoke Colony, the British princes who vanished from the Tower of London, etc., caught in a struggle between opposing forces who have very different views of the purpose of these rescues. 

*Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein    (4.5)
Kyle Keeley is the class clown, popular with most kids, (if not the teachers), and an ardent fan of all games: board games, word games, and particularly video games. His hero, Luigi Lemoncello, the most notorious and creative gamemaker in the world, just so happens to be the genius behind the building of the new town library.  Lucky Kyle wins a coveted spot to be one of the first 12 kids in the library for an overnight of fun, food, and lots and lots of games. But when morning comes, the doors remain locked. Kyle and the other winners must solve every clue and every secret puzzle to find the hidden escape route. And the stakes are very high.

*Murder is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens   (5.9)
Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are best friends at Deepdean School for Girls, and they both have a penchant for solving mysteries. In fact, outspoken Daisy is a self-described Sherlock Holmes, and she appoints wallflower Hazel as her own personal Watson when they form their own (secret!) detective agency. The only problem? They have nothing to investigate.
But that changes once Hazel discovers the body of their science teacher, Miss Bell—and the body subsequently disappears. She and Daisy are certain a murder must have taken place, and they can think of more than one person with a motive.
Determined to get to the bottom of the crime—and to prove that it happened—before the killer strikes again, Hazel and Daisy must hunt for evidence, spy on their suspects, and use all the cunning, scheming, and intuition they can muster. But will they succeed? And can their friendship stand the test?

*The Name of the Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch    (4.9-5.6)
This is the story about a secret. but it also contains a secret story.
When adventurous detectives, Cass, an ever-vigilant survivalist, and Max-Ernest, a boy driven by logic, discover the Symphony of Smells, a box filled with smelly vials of colorful ingredients, they accidentally stumble upon a mystery surrounding a dead magician's diary and the hunt for immortality. Filled with word games, anagrams, and featuring a mysterious narrator, this is a book that won't stay secret for long. 



*Nancy Drew Diaries by Carolyn Keene    (4.2-4.9)
Nancy, Bess, and George are cruising dangerous waters on a tour of Alaska. Becca Wright, an old friend of Nancy’s, is the Assistant Cruise Director of the Arctic Star, a posh new ship. But Becca needs Nancy’s help when strange things keep happening aboard the opulent ocean liner: The swimming pool becomes a floating grave; a famous passenger is threatened; and even the seemingly innocent mini-golf course becomes a perilous playground. With the majestic and mysterious Alaskan scenery as a backdrop, Nancy and company have to find out who’s trying to sabotage the maiden voyage and why.

*On the Run by Gordon Korman   (4.9-5.3)
Aidan and Meg Falconer are their parents' only hope. The Falconers are facing life in prison -- unless Aidan and Meg can follow a trail of clues to prove their innocence. The problem? Right now they're trapped in a juvenile detention center. Until they escape one night -- and find themselves on the run, both from the authorities and from a sinister attacker t who has his own reason to stop them. The Falconers must use their wits to make it across the country ... with plenty of tests along the way.
Gordon Korman takes readers into FUGITIVE territory -- with thrilling results.


*Penelope Tredwell by Christopher Edge   (7.5-7.8)
Penelope Tredwell is the feisty thirteen-year-old orphan heiress of Victorian Britain's bestselling magazine, the Penny Dreadful. Her spine-chilling tales--concealed under the pen name Montgomery Finch--are gripping the public. One day she receives a letter from the governor of the Bedlam madhouse requesting Finch's help to investigate the asylum's strange goings-on. Every night at precisely twelve minutes to midnight, the inmates all begin feverishly writing-incoherent ramblings that Penelope quickly realizes are frightening visions of the century to come. But what is causing this phenomenon? In the first book of this smart new series, Penelope is drawn into a thrilling mystery more terrifying than anything she could ever imagine!


*The Red Blazer Girls by Michael D. Beil  (4.4-4.7)
It all began with The Scream. And ended with . . . well, if we told you that, it wouldn’t be a mystery! But in between The Scream and The Very Surprising Ending, three friends find themselves on a scavenger hunt set up for a girl they never met, in search of a legendary ring reputed to grant wishes. Are these sleuths in school uniforms modern-day equivalents of Nancy, Harriet, or Scooby? Not really, they’re just three nice girls who decide to help out a weird lady, and end up hiding under tables, tackling word puzzles and geometry equations, and searching rather moldy storage rooms for “the stuff that dreams are made of” (that’s from an old detective movie). Oh, and there’s A Boy, who complicates things. As boys often do.

*Sammy Keyes by Wendelin Van Draanen    (4.0-5.2)
This is not the summer camping trip of Sammy's dreams. She imagined shady glades, meandering streams, a deer or two. What she gets are scrubby shrubs, blazing sun, rattlesnakes, ticks, and scorpions. Her fellow campers are desperate to catch a rare glimpse of an endangered condor. To Sammy, the trip is nothing more than the painful in pursuit of the unspeakably ugly. But when she and two other girls find an injured condor, Sammy's intrigued at last. As they track down a clue, they stumble onto two classmates and wind up lost. Which leaves three girls and two boys in a canyon with one tent and six billion biting flies. Oh—and an armed and dangerous highstakes poacher.
S'mores anyone?
 
*The Sherlock Files by Tracy Barrett    (4.2-5.1)
Xena and Xander Holmes think living in London will be boring. But one afternoon they’re handed a cryptic note that leads them to a hidden room—and a secret society. When they discover they’re related to Sherlock Holmes and inherit his unsolved casebook, life becomes so much more exciting. The siblings set out to solve the cases their famous ancestor couldn’t, starting with the mystery of a prized painting that vanished more than a hundred years ago. Can two smart twenty-first century kids succeed where Sherlock Holmes could not?


*Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle    (7.9-8.8)
Sherlock Holmes is the greatest detective in fiction, a crime-solver gifted with powers of observation that allow him to see clues that ordinary detectives easily overlook. For more than a century, his adventures have thrilled generations of readers with crimes that are seemingly insoluble until the great detective steps in and applies his skills of deductive reasoning.



*Sherlock, Lupin, and Me by Irene Adler  (4.9-6.1)
The Mystery of the Scarlet RoseWhile on summer vacation, little Irene Adler meets a young William Sherlock Holmes. The two share stories of pirates and have battles of wit while running wild on the sunny streets and rooftops. When Sherlock's friend, Lupin, joins in on the fun, they all become fast friends. But the good times end abruptly when a dead body floats ashore on the nearby beach. The young detective trio will have to put all three of their heads together to solve this mystery.




*Sleuth or Dare by Kim Harrington    (4.0-4.1)
When best friends Darcy and Norah have to create a fake business for a school assignment, they come up with a great idea: a detective agency! Darcy loves mysteries, and Norah likes helping people, so it's a perfect fit.

But then their pretend agency gets a real case. Someone is missing, and it's up to Darcy and Norah to take on the search. Unfortunately, there's someone else out there who doesn't want the two detectives stirring up any trouble. . . .


*Smells Like Dog by Suzanne Selfors    (4.3-4.5)
Meet Homer Pudding, an ordinary farm boy who's got big dreams-to follow in the footsteps of his famous treasure-hunting uncle. But when Uncle Drake mysteriously disappears, Homer inherits two things: a lazy, droopy dog with no sense of smell, and a mystery. Join Homer, his sister Gwendolyn, and Dog on an adventure that will test their wits and courage as they leave their peaceful farm and head into a world where ruthless treasure hunters hide around every corner. Where they discover that Dog has a hidden talent and that treasure might be closer than they ever imagined. . .


*Theodore Boone by John Grisham   (5.2-6.4)
In the small city of Strattenburg, there are many lawyers, and though he’s only thirteen years old, Theo Boone thinks he’s one of them. Theo knows every judge, policeman, court clerk—and a lot about the law. He dreams of being a great trial lawyer, of a life in the courtroom.
But Theo finds himself in court much sooner than expected. Because he knows so much—maybe too much—he is suddenly dragged into the middle of a sensational murder trial. A cold-blooded killer is about to go free, and only Theo knows the truth.
The stakes are high, but Theo won’t stop until justice is served.


  *The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin    (5.3)
When an eccentric millionaire dies mysteriously, sixteen very unlikely people are gathered together for the reading of the will...and what a will it is!

The mysterious death of an eccentric millionaire brings together an unlikely assortment of heirs who must uncover the circumstances of his death before they can claim their inheritance. 



*When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead    (4.5)

As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1970s television game show, "The $20,000 Pyramid," a twelve-year-old New York City girl tries to make sense of a series of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of time and space.




*The Wig in the Window by Kristen Kittscher    (5.1)
Sophie Young and Grace Yang: best friends, seventh graders, spies.
Equipped with walkie-talkies, binoculars, and candy, the girls sneak out for one of their midnight spy missions expecting a simple stakeout. But what starts as a silly game turns very real when they peek in on Luna Vista's notoriously bizarre middle-school counselor, Dr. Charlotte Agford (aka Dr. Awkward).  Is there more to Dr. Agford than her tacky clothes and sugary falsetto voice? Sophie and Grace are convinced something sinister lurks below the surface . . . 

*The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency by Jordan Stratford   (5.5-5.6)
Lady Ada Byron, age eleven, is a genius. Isolated, awkward and a bit rude—but a genius. Mary Godwin, age fourteen, is a romantic. Adventurous, astute, and kind, Mary is to become Ada’s first true friend. And together, the girls conspire to form the Wollstonecraft Detective Agency—a secret constabulary for the apprehension of clever criminals. Their first case involves a stolen heirloom, a false confession, and an array of fishy suspects. But it’s no match for the deductive powers and bold hearts of Ada and Mary.

 



 
All book descriptions are from the Barnes & Noble website.

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