35+ Top Mystery Chapter Books for Kids: Perfect for Young Detectives

Smells Like Dog by Suzanne Selfors

Reading Grade Level: 3-7

Series Description: 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…

Rebekah Girl Detective by PJ Ryan

Reading Grade Level: 1-4

Series Description: Rebekah Daniels is just your ordinary spunky 9 year old girl living in the small town of Curtis Bay…EXCEPT she is determined NOT to be ordinary at all! Her small town is filled with mysteries and Rebekah is sure that she, along with her best friend Mouse, will be able to solve every last one of them.

Timmi Tobson Adventure (Solve Them Yourself Mysteries) by J.I. Wagner

Reading Grade Level: 1-2

Series Description: Your child is the detective, and it’s up to them to find and interpret clues. Each Timmi Tobbson Junior adventure is divided into short chapters that end with a puzzle to be solved. Clues to the mystery are concealed both within the story and in the colorful illustrations, allowing children to combine information from text and illustrations and to make logical deductions. This hand-on approach trains kids’ problem-solving capabilities and adds a certain level of immersion to the reading experience.

The Math Inspectors by Daniel Kenny and Emily Boever

Series Description: Stanley, Charlotte, Gertie and Felix are just your typical twelve-year old kids. They love to hangout after school, they love burgers and milkshake, and they love math. And if there’s one thing they love even more than math, it’s solving mysteries. Thankfully, their hometown of Ravensburg, New York has plenty of mystery. And quite a few secrets.

Reading Grade Level: 3-6

Mandie by Lois Gladys Leppard

Reading Grade Level: 3-4

Series Description: Readers will discover anew the charms of the impulsive Mandie Shaw as she faces the ups and downs of first losing her father and then finding her long-lost family in Mandie and the Secret Tunnel. Many more mysteries follow for Mandie and her friends in Mandie and the Cherokee Legend, Mandie and the Ghost Bandits, Mandie and the Forbidden Attic, and Mandie and the Trunk’s Secret.

Dino Detective and Awesome Possum, Private Eyes by Tadgh Bentley

Reading Grade Level: 1-3

From Book 1: When Grandma Thunderclaps’s pizza is found with all the pepperoni missing, who’s to blame? Dad’s been at work, Grandma’s a strict vegetarian, and everyone knows Plant couldn’t be the culprit… So with a thirst for the truth, and a hunger for justice (and pizza), our heroes are on the case!

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Reading Grade Level: 1-5

Series Description: Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny Alden are the Boxcar Children. After becoming orphans they live in an abandoned boxcar but eventually go to live with their loving grandfather. They love adventure and are always looking for a mystery to solve.

Geronimo Stilton by Geronimo Stilton

Reading Grade Level: 2-5

Series Description: Geronimo Stilton is a mouse who is the editor a newspaper called The Rodent’s Gazette. He loves to write about adventures but in this fun series he’s always going on an adventure himself.

The Genius Files by Dan Gutman

Reading Grade Level: 3-7

Series Description: Follow along with twins Coke and Pepsi McDonald’s summer vacation – a cross-country RV trip with their parents. As they stop at weird-but-true American tourist destinations they’re being chased by a bunch of psychos that are trying to kill them.

Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

Reading Grade Level: 4-6

Series Description: Emily has just moved to San Francisco when she learns that her favorite author, Garrison Griswold, has been attacked and is in a coma. How will she learn the key to his new game where books are hidden in cities all over the country and clues to find them are revealed through puzzles? Emily and her new friend James rush to find the clues before the people that attacked Griswold come after them too.

Calendar Mysteries by Ron Roy

Reading Grade Level: 1-4

Series Description: If you’re a fan of Ron Roy’s A To Z Mysteries you’ll love this series too. Follow along with Lucy, Brian, Bradley and Nate for mysteries, jokes and tons of clues.

Chet Gecko, Private Eye by Bruce Hale

Reading Grade Level: 3-7

Series Description: Follow along with pet detective Chet Gecko as he solves mysteries at his school, Emerson Hicky Elementary.

Brixton Brothers by Mac Barnett

Reading Grade Level: 3-7

Series Description: Steve Brixton is a seventh grader who has an obsession with sibling sleuths in a mystery book series called Bailey Brothers. He ends up becoming American’s best detective by using the tip he’s learned from his favorite fictional sleuths.

Nancy Drew Diaries by Carolyn Keene

Reading Grade Level: 3-7

Series Description: Nancy Drew and her friends Bess and George tackle everything from sabotage to kidnapping in this fun series.

Third Grade Detectives by George E. Stanley

Reading Grade Level: 1-4

Series Description: Nancy Drew and her friends Bess and George tackle everything from sabotage to kidnapping in this fun series.

Jonas and Parker Case Files by Christopher P.J. Maselli and Bob Hoose

Reading Grade Level: 4-6

Series Description: There’s something mysterious going on in everyone’s favorite town . . . Odyssey, of course! No mystery is too big or too small for Emily Jones and Matthew Parker. Whether it is helping the new doctor unlock her office safe or helping Mr. Whittaker find paint cans that have mysteriously disappeared, the Jones and Parker Detective Agency is on the case. Who knows what’s in store for these young detectives?

The Great Shelby Holmes by Elizabeth Eulberg

Reading Grade Level: 4-6

Series Description: Shelby Holmes is not your average sixth grader. She’s nine years old, barely four feet tall, and the best detective her Harlem neighborhood has ever seen–always using logic and a bit of pluck (which yes, some might call “bossiness”) to solve the toughest crimes. 

The History Mystery Kids by Daniel Kinney

Reading Grade Level: 2-6

Series Description: Professor Abner Jefferson is missing. His children watched him get sucked into a book. Now they must find him. By going back… through History! 

National Park Mystery Series by Aaron Johnson

Reading Grade Level: 1-3

Book 1 Description: Before Jake’s grandfather died, he was on the trail of a centuries-old mystery. And he has entrusted that mystery to Jake, leaving behind a set of hidden codes, riddles, maps, and other clues that lead Jake and his friends on a scavenger hunt into the heart of Colorado’s wild and rugged Rocky Mountain National Park.

Through twists and turns, the mystery unfolds while Jake, Amber, and Wes learn about survival skills, natural history, integrity, character, and friendship.

Along the way, they discover they are not the only ones on this quest. An elusive shadow group is close on their heels.

Ballpark Mysteries by David A. Kelly

Reading Grade Level: 1-4

Series Description: Cousins Kate and Mike take us on sleuthing adventures at different American ballparks. Follow along for the baseball action while learning fun baseball facts.

Platypus Police Squad by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Reading Grade Level: 3-7

Series Description: Crime fighters Rick Zengo and Corey O’Malley are platypus police detectives who are always on a zany, action packed adventure in sleuthing.

Nancy Drew Cluebook by Carolyn Keene

Reading Grade Level: 1-4

Series Description: Help Nancy Drew and her friends Bess and George solve mysteries in this interactive book series.

KK Undercover Mystery by Nicholas Sheridan Stanton

Reading Grade Level: 4-6

Series Description: KaSandra Dang who is known as KK to her friends is a fourth grader with a secret. Along with her friends Winifred, Clarities and Daniel, she solves neighborhood mysteries for Secret Agents for Moms, a supersecret government organization called Secret Agents for Moms.

Bowser and Birdie by Spencer Quinn

Reading Grade Level: 3-5

Series Description: Follow along with the adventures of Bowser and his owner, Birdie. As they dig into mysteries Bowser keeps Birdie from getting into danger.

The Sherlock Files by Tracy Barrett

Reading Grade Level: 4-6

Series Description: Xena and Xander Holmes have just moved to London and expect it to be boring living there. All of that changes when they’re handed a cryptic note that leads to a hidden room where they learn of a secret society and discover that they’re related to the famous Sherlock Holmes. Will they be able to use modern technology to solve their ancestor’s unsolved cases?

Hardy Boys Adventures by Franklin W. Dixon

Reading Grade Level: 3-7

Series Description: Joe and Frank Hardy are not only brothers but detectives too. Follow along with these sleuths as they solve Bayport’s toughest mysteries.

Sugar Creek Gang by Paul Hutchens

Reading Grade Level: 4-6

Series Description: Bill Collins, Dragonfly and the rest of the Sugar Creek Gang inspire readers in their faith. Follow along with the escapades of this fun-loving and courageous group of Christian boys as they live out their Christian faith in this adventure called life.

Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew by Carolyn Keene

Reading Grade Level: 1-4

Series Description: Follow along with eight-year-old Nancy and the Clue Crew, her two best friends George and Bess, as they solve mysteries around their hometown.

Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

Reading Grade Level: 1-4

Series Description: Join boy detective Nate the Great as he solves mysteries.

Masterminds by Gordon Korman

Reading Grade Level: 3-7

Series Description: Eli Frieden lives in seemingly perfect Serenity, New Mexico. One day something crazy and unexpected happens that causes Eli and his friends to investigate further. They’ll soon learn that they’re linked to some of the greatest criminal masterminds of their time.

Enola Holmes by Nancy Springer

Reading Grade Level: 3-7

From Book 1: When Enola Holmes, teenaged sister to the detective Sherlock Holmes, discovers her mother has disappeared, she quickly embarks on a journey to London in search of her. But nothing can prepare her for what awaits. Because when she arrives, she finds herself involved in the kidnapping of a young marquess, fleeing murderous villains, and trying to elude her shrewd older brothers—all while attempting to piece together clues to her mother’s strange disappearance. Amid all the mayhem, will Enola be able to decode the necessary clues and find her mother?

A to Z Mysteries by Ron Roy

Reading Grade Level: 1-4

Series Description: Dink Duncan, Josh Pinto and Ruth Rose Hathaway are third graders who live Green Lawn, Connecticut. These three friends are sleuths who love to solves crimes and mysteries. The series titles are in Alphabetical order but you can skip around without missing a thing.

The Mysteries of Maisie Hitchins by Holly Webb

Reading Grade Level: 3-7

Series Description: Twelve-year-old Maisie is a noticing sort of person. Thats why she is convinced she would make an excellent detective if she ever got the chance! But instead of detecting, she spends her days polishing the banisters at her grandmother’s boarding house or fetching fish for the lodgers’ dinner.

In The Case of the Stolen Sixpence, Maisie’s big chance to prove herself finally arrives when crime strikes her Victorian London neighborhood. While the grown-ups turn a blind eye to the whodunit and justice goes un-served, Maisie and her canine sidekick, Eddie, search the streets for clues to crack the case.This first book in a series features black and white illustrations and a rollicking mystery complete with tricks, disguises, danger, and a little dog too!  

Sherlock Holmes Children’s Collection by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Reading Grade Level: 1-4

Series Description: Catching curious criminals, solving ancient riddles and defending the honour of the king and the country are all in a days work for world-famous detective Sherlock Holmes and his faithful biographer. A collection of Sir Arthur Conan Doyles timeless Sherlock Holmes stories, adapted and illustrated to introduce children aged 7+ to the classics. 

Science Inspectors by Daniel Kenny

Reading Grade Level: 1-4

Series Description: There’s a new kid in the small neighborhood of Brundon Park, Chicago. Her name is Angela Moretti, she’s thirteen, and she’s obsessed with mysteries. So when a crime is committed on her first day at her new school, Angela decides to enlist the help of her new friends to help crack the case. There’s just one catch.They’ll need to use science to solve the mystery!

Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol

Reading Grade Level: 3-7

Series Description: Encyclopedia Brown, whose real name is Leroy, solves crime for just 25 cents a day (plus expenses, of course). Follow along on the adventures of everyone’s favorite boy detective.

Last Chance Detectives by Jim Ware

Reading Grade Level: 4-6

Series Description: Join friends Mike, Winnie, Ben and Spance as they race to solve exciting mysteries. Along the way their friendship and faith will be tested. In every story the main characters work through realistic issues kids face as they grow up. They help each other learn to overcome fear, trust in God, forgive others, and many more important biblical lessons.

An Ada Lace Adventure by Emily Calandrelli

Reading Grade Level: 1-5

Series Description: Ada Lace is an eight-year-old girl with a knack for science, math, and solving mysteries with technology. Join Ada and her friend as they investigate (and solve) mysteries.

Secret Lake Mystery Adventures by Karen Inglis

Reading Grade Level: 2-5

Series Description: A time-travel mystery adventure series set between present-day and 1900s London, in which Stella and Tom discover a time tunnel and lake that take them to their home and the children living there 100 years in the past.