I like mysteries, though I prefer the kind without gore. In fact, my second book is a fantasy/mystery mash-up (but we aren’t talking about that today). Here are some of my favorite mysteries. I’ve sorted them by approximate age group, but otherwise they are in random order.
Juvenile (there’s cross over between here and YA)
Robert Newman’s Case of… series, which has loose ties to Sherlock Holmes (but is better) (I had to buy these second-hand because I was borrowing them too often)
The Case of the Marble Monster, by I.G. Edmonds
Sammy Keyes series, by Wendelin Van Draanen (until the last one)
Brixton Brothers series, by Max Barnett
The Puzzle Book & Mathemagic, Childcraft
The Mysterious Benedict Society series, by Trenton Lee Stewart
Echo Falls series, by Peter Abrahams
The early Box Car Children books, by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Cat Royal series, by Julia Golding
The Happy Hollisters series, by Jerry West
Encyclopedia Brown series, by Donald J. Sobol
A Murder for Her Majesty, by Beth Hilgartner
Young Adult
The Agency series, by Y.S. Lee
Enola Holmes series, by Nancy Springer
The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner
Knight & Rogue series, by Hilari Bell
Montmorency series, by Eleanor Updale
Rhiannon, by Vicki Grove
Too Much Information, by Dale Britton
Blossom Culp series, by Richard Peck
The Golden Goblet, by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Trixie Belden series, by Julie Campbell & Kathryn Kenny (it’s hard to get your hands on the later ones)
Stranje House series, by Kathleen Baldwin
Samurai Detective series, by Dorothy Hoobler
The Star of Kazan, by Eva Ibbotson
Adult
The early Aunt Dimity books, by Nancy Atherton (the late ones aren’t BAD, just a little duller)
Meg Langslow series & Turing Hopper series, by Donna Andrews (who really should finish the Turing series! *hint hint*)
Sherlock Holmes series, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Frank Shaw series, by John D. Brown (I’m afraid I could never finish his fantasies)
The Falconer’s Knot, by Mary Hoffman
Mrs. Pollifax series, by Dorothy Gilman
Sacred Ground, by Mercedes Lackey
The Lady & the Highwayman, by Sarah M. Eden
The Cuckoo’s Egg, by Clifford Stoll (true story)
Mary Russell series, by Laurie King (IMO, the best new Sherlock Holmes series for adults)
This Just In, by Kerry Blair
Brother Cadfael series, by Ellis Peters (also a TV series which isn’t bad)
So, did anything look interesting to you? What is your favorite mystery?
Happy sleuthing,
Marty C. Lee
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