Spies and Detectives

A list of suggested titles for this summer's Reading is an Adventure Challenge: Mystery. Features picture books and chapter books about spies and/or detectives.

Updated June 24, 2024
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Mac undercover /
Barnett, Mac.
Paper Book
A thrilling, hilarious fully-illustrated spy adventure series, from the esteemed New York Times bestselling and multi-award-winning author Mac Barnett!A New York Times bestsellerAn Amazon Best Book of 2018Before Mac Barnett was an author, he was a kid.And while he...
NERDS : National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society
Buckley, Michael.
Paper Book
The excitement of international espionage combined with the awkwardness of the tween years makes for nonstop laughs in National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society--NERDS--the first book in the hilarious series from New York Times bestselling author Michael...
Greetings from witness protection!
Burt, Jake
Paper Book
Nicki Demere is an orphan and a pickpocket. She also happens to be the U.S. Marshals' best bet to keep a family alive. . . . The marshals are looking for the perfect girl to join a mother, father, and son on the run from the nation's most notorious criminals. After all,...
King & Kayla and the case of the unhappy neighbor /
Butler, Dori Hillestad.
Paper Book
King & Kayla are back on the case in this laugh-out-loud mystery from the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award-winning series. Thor is in big trouble. Mr. Gary says he knocked over his trash cans, dug up his garden, and ate some of his vegetables. King and Kayla have to clear Thor's...
King and Kayla and the case of the secret code /
Butler, Dori Hillestad.
Paper Book
King & Kayla are back on the case in this laugh-out-loud mystery from the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award-winning series. King and Kayla receive a mysterious letter written in code. Mason received an almost identical letter. How can they crack the code? Kayla...
Winterborne Home for vengeance and valor /
Carter, Ally.
Paper Book
"This is the kind of read that makes your soul sit up straight. At once a heart-wrenching tale of found family and a thrilling, atmospheric mystery that keeps you guessing at every page, Ally Carter's middle grade debut is a triumph. I loved April's character down to the barb wire wrapped around...
Spy school
Gibbs, Stuart
Paper Book
"Combines Alex Rider's espionage skills with a huge dose of the sarcasm of Artemis Fowl." --School Library Journal Can an undercover nerd become a superstar agent? In the first book in the New York Times bestselling Spy School series, Ben Ripley sure hopes so-...
Mission unstoppable
Gutman, Dan
Paper Book
The most exciting road trip in history begins! In this action-packed, New York Times bestselling adventure, twelve-year-old twins Coke and Pepsi McDonald embark on a family vacation you'll have to read to believe. Coke McDonald and his twin sister, Pepsi, think...
Spy cat
Kehret, Peg
Paper Book
Notorious /
Korman, Gordon.
Paper Book
A funny, suspenseful mystery and unlikely friendship story from New York Times bestselling author Gordon Korman--perfect for fans of Swindle and Ungifted. Keenan has lived all over the world but nowhere quite as strange as Centerlight Island, which is split between the...
A case for Buffy
Nilsson, Ulf
Paper Book
The final story in this big-hearted series takes on the most important case everinvestigated in Detective Gordon's forest--where is Buffy's mother? Gordon faces his old nemesis, the fox, in an investigation that leads to the edges of the forest.
City spies /
Ponti, James.
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! A GMA3 Summer Reading Squad Selection! "Ingeniously plotted, and a grin-inducing delight." --People "Will keep young readers glued to the page...So when do I get the sequel?" --Beth McMullen, author of Mrs. Smith's Spy School...
Framed! /
Ponti, James.
Paper Book
A budding genius gets recruited by the FBI to find stolen art in this first book in the hilarious middle grade mystery series that has "elements of Alex Rider, James Bond, and Sherlock Holmes" (School Library Journal) from New York Times bestselling, Edgar Award­-winning James Ponti...
Liar & spy /
Stead, Rebecca.
Paper Book
The instant New York Times bestseller from the author of the Newbery Medal winner When You Reach Me: a story about spies, games, and friendship.   The first day Georges (the S is silent) moves into a new Brooklyn apartment, he sees a sign taped to a door in...
Geronimo Stilton, secret agent
Stilton, Geronimo.
Paper Book
Enter the world of Geronimo Stilton, where another funny adventure is always right around the corner. Each book is a fast-paced adventure with lively art and a unique format kids 7-10 will love.My sister, Thea, is the mystery-loving rodent, not me! But somehow I found myself going undercover to get...
Long lost
West, Jacqueline
Paper Book
Winner of the Minnesota Book Award * A Texas Bluebonnet Book "Perfect to be read late into the night."--Stefan Bachmann, internationally bestselling author of The Peculiar "A spooky sisterhood mystery that is sure to be a hit with readers."--School Library Journal (starred...

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