From murder mysteries to crimes to crack, detective fiction remains a popular genre with children in Key Stage 2. Katherine Woodfine – author of The Taylor & Rose Secret Agents series – shares her recommendations of the best books for children who love detective stories.
Ted and his sister Kat watch their cousin Salim climb aboard the London Eye. But when his pod returns to the ground and the doors open, Salim has completely vanished. Where could Salim have gone? Has he been kidnapped — or worse? With the police baffled by his disappearance, it’s down to Ted to use his unique abilities to solve the mystery — following a trail of clues that lead across London, with Kat’s help. Starring a brilliant young detective, Siobhan Dowd’s ‘howdunnit’ is a real classic, which will keep you gripped from beginning to end.
Robin Stevens’ Murder Most Unladylike mystery series brilliantly evokes the golden age murder mysteries of the 1930s: intrepid schoolgirl detectives Daisy and Hazel piece together clues, investigate suspects, assess crime scenes and bring murderers to justice — with plenty of bunbreaks along the way. First Class Murder is one of my favourites in the series, incorporating a clever ‘locked room’ mystery and a glamorous railway journey, in a delightful tribute to Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express.
11-year-old Laura moves to live with her uncle in Cornwall, where she soon discovers mystery is in store. Why won’t her uncle let her go to Dead Man’s Cove? Who has left a secret message in a bottle for Laura to find? The award-winning first book in Lauren St John’s Laura Marlin series is an absolute delight. It has all the ingredients of a classic children’s mystery story: friendship, adventure, a seaside setting and of course, a loyal dog.
Nik and Norva are sisters who live on a high-rise estate called ‘The Tri’, so named because of the 3 towers of flats in a triangle formation. With their dad being the estate caretaker, Nik and Norva know just about everyone who lives there, and they make it their business to know everything that’s going on.
In the summer’s height, a valued community member goes missing and there appears to be something very fishy going on. The sisters start looking and what they find confirms their worst fears – by the look of it, there’s been a murder.
Once they’ve dealt with the initial shock, Nik and Norva create a case file containing suspects, motives and alibis. With a limited police presence, they can make a nuisance of themselves by asking the right questions to the right people and, combined with some cunning eavesdropping, they begin to draw some conclusions. But as all the evidence points to one person, the pressure is on get to the real truth of the mystery before it is too late.
High Rise Mystery is an important book with cultural references and language that will resonate well with those who see themselves reflected in its pages. The chapters of this book are punctuated with case notes to keep track of the investigation, whilst the interaction of the characters gives a real sense of what it is like to live in this urban community. You can almost hear the sounds, taste the foods and feel your lungs burn when they have to endure 22 flights of stairs when the lift is broken in 30-degree heat. The result is a page-turner of a book, that you can’t put down because ultimately you want to know ‘whodunnit’!
Sophie Taylor and Lilian Rose make an unlikely but successful pair of secret agents, whose previous adventures in the first two books in this growing detective series have seen them solve mysteries in Paris and St Petersburg.
Now, it’s the winter of 1912 and the pair of friends are facing a surprise betrayal from someone within the Secret Service Bureau. With a double agent on the loose, the detective duo set about to navigate the tricky issue of working as a team when they are not quite sure who to trust. A new line of enquiry sets in motion an undercover mission to Venice – complete with its atmospheric canals, carnivals, piazzas and crumbling architecture. Can the pair avoid the enemies lurking in the shadows and find the final piece of their puzzle?
Many readers who have read and loved the author’s previous detective series called the Sinclair Mysteries will adore these fast-paced international adventures that are characterised by a slightly more grown-up feel. With a strong sense of peril and not-quite-knowing-who-to-trust, plenty of twists, interesting geographical details and gutsy, inspiring female lead characters, this is a thrilling middle-grade series with a winning formula for fans of detective stories.
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Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?
Would you recommend the book for use in primary schools?
yes
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