A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Truly Devious and The Inheritance Games are three young adult (YA) mystery books to start with. Each pick below carries an age fit and a plain content note.
The fourteen picks fall into four groups: starter case files, puzzle hunts, young sleuths on a murder case, and two dark cases for older teens. Eight of the fourteen are middle grade books. The last group carries graphic violence and abuse themes.
If your reader wants a chase with constant danger more than a case to solve, our YA thrillers fit better. For a younger reader, The Westing Game, a middle grade pick, is a safer first pick than anything in the darker groups.
YA Mystery Books by Type of Case
Starter Case Files for Younger Readers
1. The Westing Game
Ellen Raskin
Sixteen heirs compete to solve a millionaire’s death. It is a puzzle whodunit. It is middle grade.
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2. The Secret of the Old Clock
Carolyn Keene
This is the first Nancy Drew mystery. Readers who want a different kind of case can start with The London Eye Mystery.
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3. The Case of the Missing Marquess
Nancy Springer
Enola, Sherlock’s clever younger sister, cracks codes and hunts for her missing mother.
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4. The London Eye Mystery
Siobhan Dowd
A boy’s cousin vanishes from a Ferris wheel, and the boy sets out to solve it. The boy has a unique mind, and he uses it to solve the vanishing.
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5. The Inheritance Games
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
A billionaire leaves a fortune to a stranger. Riddles and secret passages fill the story.
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6. The Parker Inheritance
Varian Johnson
A letter starts a puzzle hunt. The hunt uncovers a town’s buried history of injustice, and the book depicts historical racism and segregation. Readers who want a cozy puzzle mystery should pick Greenglass House first.
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7. Greenglass House
Kate Milford
At a snowbound inn, mysterious guests arrive and objects go missing. It is a cozy puzzle mystery.
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8. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
Holly Jackson
A school project reopens a closed murder case in a small town. It is YA and includes murder, drug use and references to suicide. Younger teens and readers sensitive to those topics should start with Murder Most Unladylike, where a murder occurs but is handled gently.
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9. Truly Devious
Maureen Johnson
A true-crime-obsessed student investigates a decades-old kidnapping at her boarding school. Content includes murder and kidnapping themes.
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10. A Study in Charlotte
Brittany Cavallaro
Descendants of Holmes and Watson are framed for murder at boarding school. It includes murder, drug use and references to sexual assault. Hand it to older teens who enjoy Sherlock Holmes. Younger readers should try The Case of the Missing Marquess instead.
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11. Murder Most Unladylike
Robin Stevens
Two schoolgirl detectives solve a teacher’s murder at an interwar boarding school. A murder happens, but the book handles it gently. Readers ready for a YA case should go to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.
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12. Premeditated Myrtle
Elizabeth C. Bunce
A witty Victorian girl detective investigates her neighbor’s suspicious death. The death is handled lightly. It suits younger readers who like a witty detective. Readers who want a cozy puzzle instead may prefer Greenglass House.
Find it on AmazonDark Cases for Older Teens
13. Stalking Jack the Ripper
Kerri Maniscalco
A teen apprentice in Victorian forensics hunts a notorious killer. The mood is gothic. It contains graphic murders, autopsy scenes and gore. Squeamish readers and younger teens should skip it and try Premeditated Myrtle for Victorian sleuthing with a lighter touch.
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14. The Cheerleaders
Kara Thomas
A teen digs into five cheerleader deaths her town wants forgotten. It covers murder, suicide, sexual abuse and violence. Readers who want a mystery without those themes should go back to the puzzle hunts.
Find it on AmazonHow to Choose YA Mystery Books by Age and Mood
Choose a teen mystery by age and darkness first, then by the kind of puzzle the reader enjoys.
Eight of the fourteen books are middle grade: the four starter case files, The Parker Inheritance, Greenglass House, Murder Most Unladylike and Premeditated Myrtle. They suit younger readers. The other six are YA.
Mood matters as much as age. Use the reader’s favorite kind of story to narrow the choice:
For reading aloud, try a middle grade pick such as The Westing Game or The London Eye Mystery. Keep the YA picks with mature content for independent reading, or read them at the same time as the teen so you can talk through the hard parts.
- Likes to solve along with the detective: The Westing Game, The Inheritance Games, Greenglass House.
- Likes a clever, witty detective: The Case of the Missing Marquess, Premeditated Myrtle.
- Wants an old case reopened: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Truly Devious.
- Loves history: Murder Most Unladylike, The Parker Inheritance, Stalking Jack the Ripper.
- Wants buried secrets: The Cheerleaders.
Middle Grade or YA for a Teen Mystery Reader
Most of the YA picks carry heavier content notes than the middle grade picks. Age is only a starting point.
The middle grade picks that involve a murder handle it gently or lightly. Five of the six YA picks carry content notes, ranging from kidnapping themes in Truly Devious to sexual abuse in The Cheerleaders. The Inheritance Games is the only YA pick without a content note, with puzzles at the center.
Our advice changes for a teen who already reads adult crime novels. That reader should start with a YA pick such as A Study in Charlotte or Truly Devious.
Content Notes for Parents and Teachers
The content notes run up to graphic murders and sexual abuse, so check a book’s content note before handing it to a particular reader. The fourteen books sort into these content levels:
Plan ahead before using The Parker Inheritance in a classroom. Its puzzle hunt uncovers a town’s buried history of injustice and depicts historical racism and segregation, so set aside time to talk about what the clues reveal.
Our pick changes for a teen who has lived through suicide or abuse close to home. Skip The Cheerleaders, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and A Study in Charlotte for that reader, and start with Greenglass House or Murder Most Unladylike, whose content stays gentle.
If you are unsure about a YA pick, read the opening chapters yourself before passing it on. A short preview lets you hand the book over knowing what tone the teen will meet.
- No content note: The Westing Game, The Secret of the Old Clock, The Case of the Missing Marquess, The London Eye Mystery, Greenglass House.
- YA with no content note: The Inheritance Games.
- A death handled gently: Murder Most Unladylike, Premeditated Myrtle.
- Historical racism and segregation: The Parker Inheritance.
- Murder with mature themes: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (drug use, suicide references), Truly Devious (murder and kidnapping), A Study in Charlotte (drug use, sexual assault references).
- Gore, abuse and violence: Stalking Jack the Ripper (gore and autopsy scenes), The Cheerleaders (suicide, sexual abuse, violence).
What to Do When a Mystery Does Not Land
When a teen stalls on a mystery, swap to a different kind of case before giving up on the genre. Match the swap to what went wrong:
Letting a teen put down a book that is not working is fine. Try a fresh pick from a different group.
If the reader cannot say what they disliked, try our What Should I Read Quiz.
- The puzzles felt like homework: move to a sleuth story such as A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder or Premeditated Myrtle.
- The opening felt slow: try a puzzle hunt such as The Inheritance Games, where riddles fill the story.
- The book felt too young: jump from the starter case files to the young sleuths group.
- The book felt too dark: drop back one group, or try Greenglass House.
- The reader wanted more action: try our YA thrillers.
Where to Go After These YA Mystery Books
Once a teen finishes a few of these, follow whatever hooked them.
Readers who liked the menace in Stalking Jack the Ripper or The Cheerleaders more than the clue-hunting belong with our YA thrillers. For a wider mix of genres at the same age, browse Books for Teens, or plan across ages with Books to Read for Every Age and Moment.
Readers who started with the middle grade picks can move up one group at a time: from The Westing Game to The Inheritance Games, then to Truly Devious and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. Pick one book from the group that fits your reader today, read the first chapter together, and come back for the next case.
