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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Mary Bowser and the Civil War spy ring
Alberti, Enigma
Paper Book
Your Mission: Find Mary's secret diary using spycraft stools to uncover hidden codes! It's a true story of bravery: Mary Bowser was an African American spy for the Union who worked as a maid in the mansion of Confederate Jefferson Davis. From hair...
Gabby Duran and the Unsittables
Allen, Elise
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...
Spy to the rescue
Bernstein, Jonathan (Journalist)
Paper Book
Middle school meets Mission: Impossible in the second hilarious adventure of a girl whose life is turned upside down when her long-lost father recruits her to be a superspy. When the top-secret spy agency that recruited Bridget turns out to be a fake, Bridget hopes her superspy father will...
NERDS : National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society
Buckley, Michael.
Ebook
The excitement of international espionage combined with the awkwardness of elementary makes for non-stop laughs in NERDS, the hilarious series from New York Times bestselling author Michael Buckley! Meet the NERDS, a team of eleven-year-old super spies: ...
Greetings from witness protection! /
Burt, Jake,
Audiobook
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, the...
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...
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...
The detective dog
Donaldson, Julia
Paper Book
A rollicking rhyming picture book from bestselling author Julia Donaldson about a dog who uses her amazing sense of smell to solve mysteries. When Detective Dog Nell puts her nose to the task, there's no mystery she can't solve. Whether she's tracking the missing shoe of her...
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-...
Concealed
Gonzalez, Christina Diaz
Paper Book
The 2022 Edgar Award Winner for Best Juvenile Mystery! What if you had no name, no past, and no home? Ivette. Joanna. And now: Katrina Whatever her name is, it won't last long. Katrina doesn't know any of the details about her past, but she does know that she...
The spy who loved ice cream
Hay, Sam
Paper Book
In this hilarious second novel in Sam Hay's action packed illustrated chapter book series, Spy Penguins, two young adventure-loving and gadget-obsessed penguins must prove their favorite uncle is innocent before the Frosty Bureau of Investigation locks him away forever! ...
Spy penguins /
Hay, Sam.
Paper Book
Two young adventure-loving and gadget-obsessed penguins dream of joining the FBI (Frosty Bureau of Investigation) in Sam Hay's hilarious new illustrated chapter book series, Spy Penguins. Adventure-loving penguin Jackson dreams of being a secret agent like his Uncle...
Hide and GEEK /
Jagger, T. P.
Paper Book
A puzzlemaker's last clue. A friendship's last chance. The GEEKs- Gina, Edgar, Elena, and Kevin have been best friends for as long as they can remember. So when their arch-nemesis points out that their initials make them literally GEEKs, they...
Spy cat /
Kehret, Peg.
Paper Book
Pete the cat can't actually talk to his owner, Alex, but he's a crime-solving cat, and he knows when things aren't right. And now, Pete knows something is wrong. Someone's been breaking into houses in the neighborhood, and they're not just stealing people's property150they're kidnapping pets! When...
Mystery on Magnolia Circle
Klise, Kate
Paper Book
Rear Window meets Nancy Drew in this middle-grade novel by Kate Klise about a girl who believes she has witnessed a crime What happens when two best friends take on the world's worst summer? On the first day of vacation, ten-year-old...
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...
The spy's secret
Luper, Eric
Paper Book
Getting lost in a good book has never been this dangerous!Cleo and Evan have a secret. A collection of books so dangerous they are locked up tight. A friend has vanished inside the pages of one of them. It's up to them to find the key that will set her free. A SPY MUST BE READY FOR ANYTHING...
Swift and Hawk :
Macx, Logan.
Paper Book
For fans of the Alex Rider and Spy School series comes a twenty-first-century spin on the spy novel, featuring a girl and boy whose brilliant minds and cutting-edge technology make them unstoppable. When their families are violently kidnapped, Swift and Hawk--teen experts in AI...
The case of the missing cheetah
Mang, Veronica
Paper Book
"This book is a delight. Fun. Funny. And full of adventure." --AndreaBeaty, #1New York Timesbestselling author ofRosie Revere, Engineer The first book in a highly illustrated new chapter book series about three delightfully mischievous young girls and some of the most...
Mrs. Smith's Spy School for Girls /
McMullen, Beth,
Paper Book
A girl discovers her boarding school is actually an elite spy-training program, and she must learn the skills of the trade in order to find her mother in this action-packed middle grade debut. After a botched escape plan from her boarding school, Abigail is stunned to discover...
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.
The doublecross : (and other skills I learned as a superspy)
Pearce, Jackson
Paper Book
Everyone in twelve-year-old Hale's family is a spy, going way back. They've all worked for the Sub Rosa Society, an elite organization that's so top secret that new agents aren't recruited; they're born. His parents may be the ultimate spy team at SRS, but Hale isn't your typical stealthy spy-he...
Detective mole /
Pintonato, Camilla.
Paper Book
A charming, tongue-in-cheek picture book about a mole who exchanges his chef's apron for a detective's trench coat and sets out to solve his first case! Oscar is a whiz in the kitchen, but he's always dreamed of being a detective. When a squirrel is reported missing, Oscar hopes this will...
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
Get to know the only kid on the FBI Director's speed dial and several international criminals' most wanted lists all because of his Theory of All Small Things in this hilarious start to a brand-new middle grade mystery series. So you're only halfway through your homework and the...
Spy toys
Powers, Mark (Children's story writer)
Paper Book
The world's leading toy manufacturer gives each toy it creates a tiny, computerized brain and a unique personality making for some seriously awesome toys. But sometimes there's a faulty toy . . . Dan is a "Snugliffic Cuddlestar" bear--he should be perfect for hugging. But because of...
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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