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Topic: Detective Stories

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.

Chapter book

A story about family, self-belief and bravery, The London Eye Mystery is a brilliantly inventive crime-caper perfect for fans of Enola Holmes, High-Rise Mystery and A Kind of Spark .
11.32 a.m. Ted and his sister Kat watch their cousin Salim get on board the London Eye. The pod rises from the ground, high above the city.

12.02 p.m. The pod lands and the doors open. Everyone exits – everyone but Salim.

Has he spontaneously combusted? (Ted’s theory.)
Has he been kidnapped? (Aunt Gloria’s theory.)
Is he even still alive? (The family’s unspoken fear.)
Ted doesn’t see the world like most people he knows and is sure that with his “unique operating system” of a brain he can uncover the truth about Salim’s disappearance .
So, teaming up with Kat , Ted sets out to do just that – following a trail of clues across London. But with time ticking dangerously by, can Ted solve the mystery before it’s too late?

Chapter book

Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are taking a holiday on the world-famous Orient Express – and it’s clear that each of their fellow first-class passengers has something to hide.

Even more intriguing: there is rumour of a spy in their midst.

Then, during dinner, there is a scream from inside one of the cabins. When the door is broken down, a passenger is found murdered, her stunning ruby necklace gone.

But the killer has vanished – as if into thin air.

Daisy and Hazel are faced with their first ever locked-room mystery – and with competition from several other sleuths, who are just as determined to crack the case.

Chapter book

When the dead come back to haunt the living, Lockwood & Co. step in . . .

For more than fifty years, the country has been affected by a horrifying epidemic of ghosts. A number of Psychic Investigations Agencies have sprung up to destroy the dangerous apparitions.

Lucy Carlyle, a talented young agent, arrives in London hoping for a notable career. Instead she finds herself joining the smallest most ramshackle agency in the city, run by the charismatic Anthony Lockwood. When one of their cases goes horribly wrong, Lockwood & Co. have one last chance of redemption. Unfortunately this involves spending the night in one of the most haunted houses in England, and trying to escape alive.

Set in a city stalked by spectres, The Screaming Staircase is the first in a chilling new series full of suspense, humour and truly terrifying ghosts. Your nights will never be the same again . . .

Chapter book

Winner of the 2011 Blue Peter Book of the Year Award, DEAD MAN’S COVE is t he first book in a gripping adventure series about eleven-year-old ace detective, Laura Marlin, from award-winning author Lauren St John.

When orphaned Laura Marlin moves from a children’s home to live with her uncle in Cornwall, she longs for a life of excitement just like the characters in her favourite detective novels.

A real life adventure is on hand as she is deposited at her uncle’s spooky house . . . Why does her uncle, Calvin Redfern, forbid her to go to Dead Man’s Cove? What’s the truth about Tariq, the silent Indian boy who lives with the flamboyant Mukthars? Who is J? Who has left the message in a bottle for Laura to discover? Mysteries abound and who better to solve them than Laura Marlin, ace detective?

Accompanied by her trusty companion, Skye, a three-legged husky, the dog she’s always wanted, Laura’s adventures begin in this first captivating mystery.

Chapter book

Get set for another incredible adventure with secret agents extraordinaire, Miss Sophie Taylor and Miss Lillian Rose!

After the dramatic events of their mission to St Petersburg, Sophie and Lil know the truth – there’s a double-agent at work at the Secret Service Bureau. Whilst Lil pursues a dangerous line of enquiry in London, Sophie must set out on a new mission to Venice, following a twisted trail to discover long-buried secrets. But there are villains lurking amongst the city’s piazzas, canals and crumbling palaces, and in the shadows an old enemy lies in wait…

Chapter book

The detective duo everyone is dying to meet!

Summer in London is hot, the hottest on record, and there’s been a murder in THE TRI: the high-rise home to resident know-it-alls, Nik and Norva. Who better to solve the case? Armed with curiosity, home-turf knowledge and unlimited time – until the end of the summer holidays anyway.

The first whodunnit in a new mystery series by Sharna Jackson.

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