Today we’ll be continuing our ongoing look at mystery series that are appropriate for children or young adults by authors who are usually thought of as mystery authors for adults.

I will begin with Joelle Charbonneau. She writes the Glee Club Mystery Series and the Rebecca Robbins Mystery Series for adult mystery readers. She also writes the Testing thriller series for young adults. The first mystery in this series is called The Testing, and it introduces us to Cia Vale, a gifted graduate who has been chosen to attend a program for potential leaders of the new civilization (post-war). (It was nominated for the Agatha Award for Best Children/Young Adult mystery.) This sounds like a sci-fi mystery sereis that is aimed at young adults.

Jane Langton writes the Homer Kelly Mystery Series (for adults) which features a Harvard professor. Something I just very recently became aware of is that she is the same Jane Langton who writes the Hall Family Chronicles Mystery Series for children. These mysteries are geared for children in the fifth grade and up. The Diamond in the Window is the first in the series, and was nominated for the prestigious Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Juvenile mystery. The Fledgling is the fourth in the Hall Family Chronicles Series.

Victoria Laurie, author of the very popular paranormal Psychic Eye Mystery Series and the Ghost Hunter Mystery Series also writes a paranormal mystery series for children. The Oracles of the Delphi Mystery Series introduces us to Ian Wigbyin in the first book called Oracles of Delphi Keep. Ian and his sister (Theo) live in Delphi Keep orphanage, on the English southern coast. Ian and Theo find a special treasure box, and from there, they are on exciting adventures, solving mysteries with their group of friends.

Kathy Reichs, author of the Temperance Brennan (Bones) Mystery Series for adults writes the Virals Series for young adults. She wrote the first two by herself, but was then joined by her son, Brendan Reichs, for the rest. This series has, as its sleuth, Tory Brennan, the niece of Temperance Brennan (Bones). Virals (the first mystery in this young adults series) was nominated for the Agatha Award for Best Children/Young Adult mystery.

 Penny Warner‘s Code Busters Club Mystery Series stands out even among fellow Agatha nominees, as it has won once and been nominated twice more – and it would be a bit surprising if she didn’t get at least a nomination this year for the fourth book! The first book in the series, The Secret of the Skeleton Key, introduces readers to Cody, Quinn, Luke, and M.E., the members of the Code Busters, as they try to decode a message left by a neighbor – a code that could just be an SOS! The Code Busters Club series includes a number of codes within the books themselves for children to solve, and provides answers in the back if you get stuck. The Code Busters series is most appropriate for children ages 9-12.

Finally, Nancy Means Wright is the author of both the Mary Wollstonecraft Mystery Series and the Ruth Willmarth Mystery Series, both series are for adult mystery lovers. She is also the author of the Northern Spy Mystery Series. Inspired by the Nancy Drew mysteries, Wright’s two children-appropriate mystery novels revolve around Zoe Elwood and the Northern Spy Club of Northern Vermont. The first book, The Pea Soup Poisonings, which won the 2006 Agatha Award for Best Children/Young Adult mystery, revolves around young Zoe’s attempts to get into the Northern Spy Club by solving the possible-murder of a friend’s grandmother after eating a bowl of pea soup. The 2nd mystery book is called The Great Circus Train Robbery, and it was nominated for the very prestigious Agatha Award for Best Children/Young Adult mystery.

This is the last of this mini-series of entries. Have I missed your favorite young adult or children’s mystery series? Let me know in the comments!

Best Selling Authors with Children’s or Young Adult Mystery Series, Part 1

Best Selling Authors with Children’s or Young Adult Mystery Series, Part 2

Mystery Books for Pre Teens…

This is the second part of the new theme I’m putting up on the Cozy Mystery site, which deals with children’s mystery books. I have already made a list of mystery books for the preteens, and am now focusing on children’s mysteries written by authors who are well-known for their mystery books written for adults.

As many of you know, one of my favorite mystery series is the Chet and Bernie Mystery Series written by Spencer Quinn. Well, Spencer Quinn, or I should say Peter Abrahams (for they are one and the same!) writes two mystery series that are aimed at middle schoolers. The 1st in Abrahams’ Echo Falls Mystery Series is called Down the Rabbit Hole. We are introduced to Ingrid, the 13 year old sleuth, who is interested in soccer, as well as acting in the Alice in Wonderland school play. In The Outlaws of Sherwood Street Mystery Series, Abrahams’ second mystery series aimed at middle schoolers, the Robbie is a modern-day Robin Hood. We first meet her in The Outlaws of Sherwood Street: Stealing from the Rich, the 1st in this mystery series. Abrahams has been both nominated and winner of pretigious Agatha Awards for Best Children/Young Adult mystery and nominated and winner of the equally prestigious Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Young Adult mystery.

 James Patterson is a best selling author of mysteries for adults. Two of his very famous series are the Alex Cross Mysteries and the Women’s Murder Club Mystery Series. He also writes mystery books for young adults as well as for children. Patterson writes the Maximum Ride series, the Daniel X series, and the science fiction Witch and Wizard series. He also writes a series for middle schoolers called the Middle School Series, and has recently paired up with Chris Grabenstein (winnter of four Agatha Awards for Best Children/Young Adult mysteries) to write some mysteries geared for 3rd to 7th graders. Amongst them are the Treasure Hunters mysteries, of which Treasure Hunters is the 1st mystery.

 Katherine Hall Page writes the Faith Fairchild Mystery Series (for adults), which has made her the winner for the Agatha Awards Best First Novel, winner and nominee for the Agatha Awards Best Novel, and also a nominee for the Best Agatha Awards Best Non-Fiction. (Try saying that five times!) Page also writes the Christie & Company Mystery Series, which is aimed at grades 5 through 8. Christie and her friends (Vicky and Maggie) are three teenagers who live at a boarding school in Massachusetts. The first book in the series, Christie & Company, introduces us to the trio of girls who are roommates at the school and who all enjoy reading (and solving!) mysteries.

Here are some more ideas about mystery series written for children and young adults:

Best Selling Authors with Children’s or Young Adult Mystery Series, Part 1

Best Selling Authors with Children’s or Young Adult Mystery Series, Part 3

Mystery Books for Pre Teens…

I’ve been asked a few times lately what sort of books I could recommend for children or young adults interested in reading Cozy Mysteries. Though I wrote an article on mystery books for pre-teens a few years ago, I thought it might be interesting to take another look at some of the more popular mystery authors (both Cozy Mystery and some not so Cozy) who write mystery series for adults and also write mysteries for children and young adults. This time I’ll be going into a bit more detail than in my previous post instead of making a longer list.

As a note for the recommended ages I list in these articles, I unfortunately have not had the time to read any of them so this is going off the synopsis and what other people have recommended to me. Don’t just take my word for it if you are worried about exposing your child to potentially rough concepts!

First up, Harlan Coben is an author who doesn’t deal with Cozies so much, however I enjoyed reading his Myron Bolitar series as it was being released. He also has a young adult mystery series worth investigating, the Mickey Bolitar Mystery Series. Mickey’s already been through a lot by the beginning of his first book, Shelter, which was nominated for both the Agatha Awards for Best Children/Young Adults mysteries as well as the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Young Adult mysteries. In Shelter, Mickey’s father has died and his mother is in rehab, leaving him with his Uncle Myron. When his girlfriend Ashley unexpectedly disappears, he decides he’s had enough, and sets out to find her on his own if necessary. Though less cozy than many of the series, I’ve had this one recommended several times. This series might be a bit more advanced as it deals with some sensitive issues such as drug addiction, and is likely more appropriate for high-schoolers.

Amanda Flower (aka Isabella Alan) was recently nominated for the Agatha Award for Best Children/Young Adult mystery for Andi Unexpected, the first book in her Andi Boggs Mystery Series. After the death of their parents, Andi and her sister Bethany are forced to move to the family’s old homestead in Ohio to live with their aunt. When Andi discovers an old trunk in the attic containing relics of another Andora Boggs from years ago, who apparently disappeared under mysterious circumstances, she decides to investigate and try to learn what happened to her relative – despite the fact that the townspeople seem to be covering it up for some reason. From what I’ve heard, this series should be well-suited to older elementary or middle schoolers.

Though John Grisham isn’t known for Cozy Mysteries, rather for the courtroom dramas and thrillers he writes, in more recent years Grisham has been branching out into chilren’s mysteries with his Theodore Boone Mystery Series beginning with Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer. Grisham’s series stars 13 year old Theo Boone, a young man who wants nothing more than to grow up and become a trial lawyer. When Theo accidentally learns too much, he becomes the only hope to help put a killer behind bars for good. As with Grisham’s other works, the Theodore Boone series takes full advantage of Grisham’s strong understanding of the American legal system. This series appears to be aimed at middle schoolers. Oh, and it has been nominated for the Agatha Awards Best Children/Young Adults mysteries category.

Finally, Carl Hiaasen is a popular mystery author for adults with his Skink Mystery Series. His children books are all stand-alones rather than being organized into a single series. Hiaasen’s children’s mysteries have been nominated for the prestigious Agatha Awards Best Children/Young Adult mysteries, the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Juvenile mysteries, and he is a Newbery Honor winner. Most of Hiaasen’s children’s mysteries seems to be appropriate for 5th grad (10 year olds) and up.

I’ll probably be making a few more entries on this subject in the near future – there are still plenty more great mysteries suitable for children and young adults! For now, are there any child-friendly mystery series you might recommend? Be sure to leave a comment below!

Best Selling Authors with Children’s or Young Adult Mystery Series, Part 2

Best Selling Authors with Children’s or Young Adult Mystery Series, Part 3

Mystery Books for Pre Teens…