Detective and mystery stories Books for Kids
466 books in detective and mystery stories. Every book rated for reading level and content intensity.
Detective and mystery stories books for kids span a wider readiness range than parents usually expect. The same genre category contains gentle picture books and high-intensity middle-grade novels — Lexile and grade-level scores measure text complexity, not what's actually in the story. A detective and mystery stories title appropriate for a confident 8-year-old reader could still cover themes a sensitive 12-year-old isn't ready for.
Across HootRated's 466 detective and mystery stories titles, books span Grade 1–8. About 76% are rated Gentle or Mild — safe picks for sensitive readers and kids reading ahead of their emotional readiness. 1% sit at the Intense or Very Intense end. Average content intensity is 2/5.
Use the intensity badges (green → red, low → high) to filter by emotional readiness rather than just age. For deeper detail on how we rate, see our rating methodology.
Dinosaur alert!
Carolyn Keene
Dinosaur alert!
Carolyn Keene
Grave matters
Patricia H. Rushford
Grave matters
Patricia H. Rushford
The cereal box mystery
Gertrude Chandler Warner
The cereal box mystery
Gertrude Chandler Warner
The Gold Mine Mystery
Bob Wright
The Gold Mine Mystery
Bob Wright
Without a trace
Patricia H. Rushford
Without a trace
Patricia H. Rushford
Dying to win
Patricia H. Rushford
Dying to win
Patricia H. Rushford
Over the edge
Patricia H. Rushford
Over the edge
Patricia H. Rushford
Crusher
Niall Leonard
Crusher
Niall Leonard
Mysteries according to Humphrey
Betty G. Birney
Mysteries according to Humphrey
Betty G. Birney
Unbroken
Paula Morris
Unbroken
Paula Morris
The Brain full of holes
Martin Chatterton
The Brain full of holes
Martin Chatterton
The haunted opera
Sarah Masters Buckey
The haunted opera
Sarah Masters Buckey
The sweet dead life
Joy Preble
The sweet dead life
Joy Preble
The curious affair of the third dog
Patricia Moyes
The curious affair of the third dog
Patricia Moyes
Dead man's bluff.
Roderic Jeffries
Dead man's bluff.
Roderic Jeffries
The Quiet Woman
Harry Carmichael
The Quiet Woman
Harry Carmichael
Last will and testament
Elizabeth Ferrars
Last will and testament
Elizabeth Ferrars
Voices in an empty room
Philip Loraine
Voices in an empty room
Philip Loraine
The Provence puzzle
Vincent McConnor
The Provence puzzle
Vincent McConnor
Sebastian (super sleuth) and the stars-in-his-eyes-mystery
Mary Blount Christian
Sebastian (super sleuth) and the stars-in-his-eyes-mystery
Mary Blount Christian
The case of the treetop treasure
E. W. Hildick
The case of the treetop treasure
E. W. Hildick
The case of the four flying fingers
E. W. Hildick
The case of the four flying fingers
E. W. Hildick
The case of the fantastic footprints
E. W. Hildick
The case of the fantastic footprints
E. W. Hildick
Return to Morocco
Norma Johnston
Return to Morocco
Norma Johnston
Yellowthread Street
William Leonard Marshall
Yellowthread Street
William Leonard Marshall
The death in the willows
Richard Forrest
The death in the willows
Richard Forrest
The moment of truth
Blom, K. Arne
The moment of truth
Blom, K. Arne
Petrella at Q
Michael Francis Gilbert
Petrella at Q
Michael Francis Gilbert
The witnesses.
Anne Holden
The witnesses.
Anne Holden
Case load-maximum
E. Richard Johnson
Case load-maximum
E. Richard Johnson
Rollo and Tweedy and the Case of the Missing Cheese
Laura Jean Allen
Rollo and Tweedy and the Case of the Missing Cheese
Laura Jean Allen
It looks alive to me!
Thomas Baum
It looks alive to me!
Thomas Baum
Big Max in the mystery of the missing moose
Kin Platt
Big Max in the mystery of the missing moose
Kin Platt
The mystery of King Karfu
Doug Cushman
The mystery of King Karfu
Doug Cushman
Destination Unknown
Agatha Christie
Destination Unknown
Agatha Christie
Stamp twice for murder
Betty Cavanna
Stamp twice for murder
Betty Cavanna
Murder has your number
Hugh Garner
Murder has your number
Hugh Garner
The flaw
Antonis Samarakis
The flaw
Antonis Samarakis
Death department
Bill Knox
Death department
Bill Knox
The Blakeley ghost
Valerie Weldrick
The Blakeley ghost
Valerie Weldrick
The verdict of you all
Henry Wade
The verdict of you all
Henry Wade
Over the high side
Nicolas Freeling
Over the high side
Nicolas Freeling
The mushroom cave
Robert J. Rosenblum
The mushroom cave
Robert J. Rosenblum
The man who lost his wife
Julian Symons
The man who lost his wife
Julian Symons
Danger on the air
Elizabeth Steel
Danger on the air
Elizabeth Steel
Clive and the missing finger
Sarah Garland
Clive and the missing finger
Sarah Garland
Dreamland Lake
Richard Peck
Dreamland Lake
Richard Peck
Jane Martin, dog detective
Eve Bunting
Jane Martin, dog detective
Eve Bunting
Terror in Cairo
Annette Smith
Terror in Cairo
Annette Smith
The face of the crime.
Lillian O'Donnell
The face of the crime.
Lillian O'Donnell
The mystery of Black Gut
Diana Walker
The mystery of Black Gut
Diana Walker
Nikos and the ikon
Terry Reid
Nikos and the ikon
Terry Reid
The household traitors
Blackburn, John
The household traitors
Blackburn, John
Agaton Sax and the diamond thieves
Nils-Olof Franzén
Agaton Sax and the diamond thieves
Nils-Olof Franzén
Davis Doesn't Live Here Any More
Jack Ripley
Davis Doesn't Live Here Any More
Jack Ripley
My God How the Money Rolls In
Jack Ripley
My God How the Money Rolls In
Jack Ripley
Be all and end all
Evelyn Berckman
Be all and end all
Evelyn Berckman
Alibi for a corpse
Elizabeth Lemarchand
Alibi for a corpse
Elizabeth Lemarchand
The black room
Colin Wilson
The black room
Colin Wilson
It's murder with Dover
Joyce Porter
It's murder with Dover
Joyce Porter
Browse all 466 detective and mystery stories books
- Gently where the birds are
- Main line kill
- The hardliners
- Bialosky's big mystery
- Little monster's scratch and sniff mystery
- Crooked wood
- The Howard Hughes affair
- The murders at Impasse Louvain
- Pool of tears
- A stench of poppies
- The Venus Fly-Trap
- The Witch Hill murder
- Devil pony
- Grave doubts
- Maxie's mystery files
- Shamelady
- Night is a time to die
- The claws of God.
- Rest without peace.
- A thirsty evil
- A pinch of snuff
- This fatal writ
- The fearful lovers
- Gideon's power
- Gideon's press
- King and joker
- Such a nice client
- The merciless ladies
- The playmaker
- Night of the Chupacabra
- The case of the vanishing villain
- Besides the wench is dead
- Alive and dead
- Murderer's mansion =
- A gross carriage of justice
- War game
- Tell me now, and again
- High voltage
- Salvage job
- Kill Claudio
- Eyes of a stranger
- Deadly meeting
- All heaven in a rage.
- Aftershock
- Ellery Queen's murdercade
- The Euro-killers
- Incognito mosquito flies again!
- Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators in The Mystery of the Headless Horse
- The three investigators in The mystery of the singing serpent
- The Bloodhound Gang in the case of the secret message
- The Three Investigators in The case of the weeping coffin
- The man who came back
- Never hit a ghost with a baseball bat
- Rafael and the Raiders.
- The power killers
- The Barkley Street six-pack
- A presence in an empty room
- Going it alone
- The secret of Spirit Mountain
- The curse of Camp Gray Owl
- Who'd want to kill old George?
- The shadow of the shaman
- Who did it, Jenny Lake?
- The sword that cut the burning grass
- Broomsticks over Flaxborough
- The village policeman
- The girl on the beach
- The avenging spirit
- The sandman's eyes
- Mystery at school
- The Secret Seven and the case of the dog lover.
- The last cop out
- The last treasure
- P.J. Clover, private eye--the case of the borrowed baby
- Take a body
- The Purloined letter
- My Dog and the key mystery
- A wicked pack of cards
- Murder in pastiche
- Over the sea to death
- NYPD blue
- The peak beneath the moon
- The mystery of One Wish Pond
- The juror
- The garbage monster from outer space
- Young Cam Jansen and the library mystery
- Fall into Darkness
- Trouble takes the cake
- Motor City Blue (The Amos Walker Series #1)
- Angel Eyes (The Amos Walker Series #2)
- Murder at leisure.
- The sticking point!
- Night-world.
- These cliffs are dangerous.
- Faking it
- Linda Craig, the palomino mystery
- Mystery of the laughing dinosaur
- The A-team #1
- Dangerous Games
- The withered man.
- The Slipperdown chant
- The diary
- Murder in the walls.
- Alibi
- The sack man and the grave
- A killing freeze
- Libby shadows a lady
- Mystery of the Emerald Buddha
- Lionel and the spy next door
- The secret of the Strawbridge Place
- The case of the Somerville secret
- Bernie and the Bessledorf ghost
- Guilt trip
- Sebastian (super sleuth) and the Egyptian connection
- Soon be free
- The yellow line.
- White poppy
- The Allingham case-book.
- Relative strangers
- On the right track
- Fair play
- Scrambled eggs
- The raptor's claw
- The railway detective
- The scream museum
- Retold Classics
- A stranger and afraid
- Plot counter-plot
- The scorpion's tail
- Invisible Green
- Black aura
- The dog food caper
- The Easter mystery
- The hidden box mystery
- Otley victorious.
- A pigeon among the cats
- The green ripper
- Miss Seeton Sings
- Black as he's painted.
- Maigret and the apparition
- Monday the rabbi took off
- A sleeping life
- Wait for what will come
- Doris Fein, the mad samurai
- Haunting at Mill Lane
- The Ghost of Lost Island
- Facing the dark
- Thirteen classic detective stories
- Was it murder?
- The birthday murder
- The Greene murder case
- Don't mention Moon to me
- A lively game of death.
- The worm of death
- A weed among the roses
- Voices from the haunted house
- The Motorcycle Race Mystery
- Hawkeye Collins & Amy Adams in The mystery of the phony Frankenstein & other mysteries
- The Strasbourg legacy
- A new lease of death
- Too late! Too late! the maiden cried
- A demon in my view
- Shake hands forever
- The French powder mystery
- The search for the real Megan
- Hawkeye Collins & Amy Adams in The case of the clever computer crooks & other mysteries
- The adventure of the three Garridebs ; The adventure of the Mazarin Stone
- Rock patrol
- Danger at the Wild West show
- Ghost light on Graveyard Shoal
- The haunted hound
- Shadow on the snow
- The vanished one
- Maeve and the long-arm folly
- Saloni and the green-eyed killer
- The Monster of Florence
- The ho ho ho mystery
- The dying of the light
- The mystery of the lost satchel
- Murder on the Orient Express
- Third Degree (Mollie Fox Mystery, No 3)
- The Amanda project
- The Extraordinary Cases of Sherlock Holmes
- Tightrope
- Sign of Four
- Maxie Paint N Marker Bk
- Detective Arthur in the case of the mysterious stranger
- Sniff the Detective (Road to Reading)
- Sherlock Hemlock and the creatures from outer space
- The case of the burgled blessing box
- What You Don't Know Can Hurt You
- Alice Whipple
- Gideon's River
- Painted Statue
- The Man Who Couldn't Be
- Master of Murder
- Stranger
- Nate the Great, where are you?
- The Key Word
- Lost in Merlin's Castle
- Hermelin the Detective Mouse
- Rouse the demon
- Case of Natty Nat
- The Mystery of the Vanishing Treasure
- The Great Muppet Caper
- The empty house
- P.K. Pinkerton and the pistol-packing widows
- Scripted
- The New Windmill Book of Mystery Stories of the Nineteenth Century
- Brotherly Love (East End Murders S.)
- The death collector
- Sammy Keyes and the Sisters of Mercy
- The stolen trophy (Wishbone mysteries)
- Cam Jansen and the scary snake mystery
- The kidnapped king
- The Mystery of Mr. Nice
- T Witches Display
- The mystery of the hairy tomatoes
- The cobweb confession
- Scooby-Doo! and the Headless Horseman
- The runaway racehorse
- T*witches Display
- The last treasure
- The Nina, the Pinta, and the vanishing treasure
- Double cross
- Family Reunion
- The Sting of the Scorpion
- T.R. Goes to School (T.R. Bear Series)
- Susannah and the Blue House mystery
- Gilda Joyce, psychic investigator
- Mystery of the Russian
- Club Dread
- Hairline cracks
- Skinhead
- Young Cam Jansen and the spotted cat mystery
- Christina's ghost
- Scooby-Doo and the international express
- Cam Jansen and the Green School Mystery
- Scooby-Doo! and the haunted diner
- The eternal city
- Cry woof
- Encyclopedia Brown and his best cases ever
- A serious case of the sillies
- The Titanic locket
- Mysteries according to Humphrey
- Scooby-Doo and the Thanksgiving Terror
- The buried biscuits
- High trail to danger
- The Mansion of Secrets
- Poirot investigates
- Signed, sealed, delivered
- A night to remember
- Stories of Detection & Mystery (Fiction)
- York Notes
- The Case of the Exploding Plumbing and Other Mysteries (Encyclopedia Brown)
- The dark stairs
- The case of the missing movie
- The Mystery of the Flaming Footprints
- The Mystery at Peacock Hall
- Run
- T*A*C*K secret service
- The Amazing Bubble Gum Caper
- Last Seen on Hopper's Lane
- Spellcaster (Twistaplot, No 15)
- The Shadow Nose
- Tack Against Time
- Miami mice
- The Adventures of the Red Tape Gang
- The Ghost of Windy Hill
- Susannah and the Poison Green Halloween
- Please Write...I Need Your Help!
- The case of the secret message
- The Smoking Gun (Point Crime S.)
- Trouble on wheels
- Wolf Stalker
- Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Corn Popper (Cam Jansen Adventure)
- The Yellow Yacht (A to Z Mysteries (Turtleback))
- Spider Kane and the Mystery at Jumbo Nightcrawler's
- Secrets on 26th Street (American Girl History Mysteries)
- Who stole the Wizard of Oz?
- Bones and the apple pie mystery
- Hank the Cowdog 12
- Hank the Cowdog 25
- The Pit and the Pendulum and Other Stories
- In and Out of Love
- Fall into Darkness
- The graduation
- American gothic
- Race Against Time
- Mystery of the Forgotten Island
- Footsteps on the Stairs
- Out of Control
- Mystery Train
- New Year's Evil
- Survival Run
- The mystery of the missing mascot
- The case of the floating crime
- Talon
- MURDER TO GO (Three Investigators Crimebusters, No. 2)
- The Mystery of the Screaming Clock
- The Three Investigators in the mystery of the missing mermaid (The Three Investigators)
- Bald Bandit
- The mystery of Pony Hollow
- The Whispering Statue
- The lotterie$
- Which witch is which
- The Secret of the Red Flame (Aladdin Mystery)
- The maze stone
- Nate the Great goes down in the dumps
- Nate the Great and the musical note
- Dear Laura
- Magic Eye
- Winter's child
- The dashing dog mystery
- The Choice (Black Dagger Crime Series)
- The Ghost in the Mirror (Puzzle Adventures)
- Murder Unlimited (Whodunnits)
- Paying the price
- Enough to Kill a Horse
- The Missing Mummy (To Z Mysteries, 13)
- The Panda Puzzle (To Z Mysteries, 16)
- Sherlock Holmes and the adventure of the six Napoleons
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
- It's up to us
- The two runaways
- Cuckoo Clock of Doom
- Mystery on the Docks
- The House of Tunnels (Toby Andrews and the Junior Deputies , No 1)
- Felicia Cartright and the Storm Scarred Mountain
- The Cradle Will Fall
- Harry and Hortense at Hormone High
- Dinosaur Cards (Games for Your Brain)
- A Case for Jenny Archer (Jenny Archer Chapter Books, 2)
- The case of the muttering mummy
- The Case of the Tour De Tricks and Other Mysteries
- Complex Cases
- Mystery in the Attic (Shadow Creek Ranch)
- The Court of the Stone Children
- Chessmen of Doom
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
- Inspector Rebus
- The Crow (After Dark 4)
- The Red Herring Mystery (Child's Play Library)
- The Springtime Ghost (Kate and Tracy Mystery)
- The Tricky Train-Ride Mystery (Kate and Tracy Mystery)
- The House on Winchester Lane
- The Springtime Ghost (Kate and Tracy Mystery)
- Christina's Ghost (Live Oak Mysteries)
- Thief in the Brown Van
- A Voice in the Night (Tom & Ricky Mystery 3 Series)
- The Case of the Fortunate Fortune Cookie
- Killing Mr Griffin
- Gateway to Mystery Stories
- Supergranny: The Character Who Came to Life (Supergranny Mystery Ser. : No. 5)
- Scrambled (A Sam & Stephanie Mystery) (A Sam & Stephanie Mystery)
- Manitou Art Caper (Rocky Mountain Mysteries Series Number 2)
- Buried Secrets
- A tale etched in blood and hard black pencil
- Crime Story Collection
- Stories of Detection and Mystery
- An island of our own
- Found
- Stolen with style
- Death cloud
- Missing you
- Cryer's Cross
- The Adventures of Curtis & Grammy
- U is for undertow
- Tampered
- Bones
- Steampunk Detective
- The painted war
- V for Violet
- Seagulls Don't Eat Pickles
- Case of the Somerville Secret
- Zombies Revisited
- Who Took Henry and Mr. Z?
- Mr. and Mrs. Bunny-- detectives extraordinaire!
- The missing dog is spotted
- Footprints Under the Window (Hardy Boys, Book 12)
- The Case of the Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies and 8 Other Mysteries (Can You Solve the Mystery?)
- Shadow on the snow
- The Twin (Standing Tall Mystery Series)
- Art Thieves
- The case of the locked box
- The Runaway Friend
- Sherlock Holmes is Missing!
- Spies and prejudice
- The ha-ha-haunting of Hyde House
- Murder packs a suitcase
- Traitor in the shipyard
- The Ghost Wind Stallion
- The finders-keepers rule
- Scared to death
- Dinosaur Dig
- Spaced out!
- The Phantom Mudder (Jack Russell Dog Detective)
- Shelter
- Wild Song
- Plan
- The Maze
- Colm & the ghost's revenge
- Suspicion Island
- Cost of Living
- Dog Day Detectives
- The Beast of Seabourne
Questions parents ask about detective and mystery stories books
- What are the best detective and mystery stories books for kids?
- HootRated catalogs 466 detective and mystery stories children's books spanning Grade 1–8. Each is rated on reading level and content intensity. The picks above are sorted by quality signals — hook factor, discussion potential, and content appropriateness.
- Are detective and mystery stories books appropriate for sensitive readers?
- 356 books (76%) are rated Gentle or Mild — safe for sensitive readers. 6 (1%) are rated Intense or Very Intense. Average intensity is 2/5. Filter by intensity badge to match your child's emotional readiness.
- What reading level are detective and mystery stories books?
- Detective and mystery stories books in our catalog span Grade 1–8. The typical reading level lands around Grade 5. Reading level measures text difficulty — separate from content intensity, which measures emotional weight. The two often don't track together for gifted readers — the Gifted Kid Paradox.