Sometimes you find a mystery and sometimes it finds you. These young adult reads—contemporary and historical—offer intrigue and thrills as young women are drawn into solving crimes, revealing secrets, and unraveling mysteries.

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

Daunis, who is part Ojibwe, defers attending the University of Michigan to care for her mother and reluctantly becomes involved in the investigation of a series of drug-related deaths.

 

 

 

 

Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson

After solving the murder case together, Ravi Singh helped Pip create a podcast that soon went viral, but they both swear off sleuthing. When Jamie Reynolds goes missing on the sixth anniversary of the deaths of Andie Bell and Sal Singh, however, Pip feels it's too big of a coincidence to ignore. With the spotlight on her, can she still follow the clues and uncover even more sinister depths to her hometown?

 

 

 

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson

When legendary R&B artist Korey Fields spots Enchanted Jones at an audition, her dreams of being a famous singer take flight. Until Enchanted wakes up with blood on her hands and zero memory of the previous night. Who killed Korey Fields? Before there was a dead body, Enchanted's dreams had turned into a nightmare. Because behind Korey's charm and star power was a controlling dark side. Now he's dead, the police are at the door, and all signs point to Enchanted.

 

 

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus

While true-crime aficionado Ellery and her twin brother are staying with their grandmother in a Vermont community known for murder, a new friend goes missing and Ellery may be next.

 

 

 

 

A Good Girl's Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson

As her senior capstone project, Pippa Fitz-Amobi is determined to find the real killer in a closed, local murder case, but not everyone wants her meddling in the past.

 

 

 

 

 

The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur

In 1426 in Joseon, a year after her father vanishes while investigating the disappearance of thirteen girls, eighteen-year-old Min Hwani returns to the island of Jeju to pick up his trail with the help of her estranged sister.

 

 

 

 

Elatsoe by  Darcie Little Badger; illustrations by Rovina Cai

Elatsoe lives in an alternate contemporary America shaped by the ancestral magics and knowledge of its Indigenous and immigrant groups. She can raise the spirits of dead animals—most importantly, her ghost dog Kirby. When her beloved cousin dies, all signs point to a car crash, but his ghost tells her otherwise: He was murdered.

 

 

 

The Red Palace by June Hur

While investigating a series of grisly murders, eighteen-year-old palace nurse Hyeon navigates royal and political intrigue and becomes entangled with a young police inspector.

 

 

 

 

 

The Box in The Woods by Maureen Johnson

Stevie Bell just managed to solve the mystery at Ellingham Academy. Then she gets a message from the owner of Sunny Pines—formerly known as Camp Wonder Falls, the site of the infamous Box in the Woods murders. The new camp owner wants Stevie to help him work on a true-crime podcast about the unsolved case. Going undercover as a camp counselor, Stevie learns that something evil still lurks at the camp—and The Box in the Woods is willing to make room for more victims.

 

 

 

A Study in Charlotte: A Charlotte Holmes Novel by Brittany Cavallaro

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson descendants, Charlotte and Jamie, students at a Connecticut boarding school, team up to solve a murder mystery.

 

 

 

 

 

The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Despite his overwhelming fear of interacting with people, Christopher, a mathematically-gifted, autistic fifteen-year-old boy, decides to investigate the murder of a neighbor's dog and uncovers secret information about his mother.

 

 

 

 

Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

When her friend Monday Charles goes missing and Monday's mother refuses to give her a straight answer, Claudia digs into her disappearance.

 

 

 

 

 

They'll Never Catch Us by Jessica Goodman

Cross-country running is Stella Steckler's life and she won't let anything get in the way of being the best. Her sister Ellie is a talented runner too, but she has friends, goes to parties, has a life off the course. Their lives are upended when Mila Keene comes to town. The top runner on her team back home, at first they view her as a threat. But Ellie's been looking for a friend, and in a moment of weakness shares her darkest secret with Mila. Stella also connects with Mila, but finds her a distraction. When Mila goes out on a training run and doesn't returns, all eyes are on the Steckler sisters.

 

 

Spin by Lamar Giles

When DJ ParSec (Paris Secord), rising star of the local music scene, is found dead over her turntables, the two girls who found her, Kya (her pre-fame best friend) and Fuse (her current chief groupie) are torn between grief for Paris and hatred for each other--but when the lack of obvious suspects stalls the investigation, and the police seem to lose interest, despite pressure from social media and ParSec's loyal fans, the two girls unite, determined to find out who murdered their friend.

 

 

Enola Holmes and The Black Barouche by Nancy Springer

When professional typist Letitia Glover is desperate to learn more about the fate of her twin sister Flossie, Enola enlists the help of her brother Sherlock and her friend Tewky to investigate Flossie's husband, the sudden death of his first wife, and the mysterious appearance of a black barouche.

 

 

 

 

I Hope You're Listening by Tom Ryan

Seventeen-year-old Dee secretly hosts a popular true-crime podcast but when a missing child seems linked to the disappearance of her best friend ten years ago, she considers revealing her identity to uncover the truth.

 

 

 

 

The Things She's Seen by Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina

Nothing has been the same for Beth Teller since the day she died. Her dad, a detective, was the only one able to see and hear her since the accident, but he is drowning in grief. But why is Isobel Catching able to see Beth, too? She was found wandering near the scene of a gruesome fire at a home for troubled youth that left an unidentifiable body behind. As Beth and her detective father work to unravel the mystery, they find a shocking and heartbreaking story lurking beneath the surface of a small Australian town. Told in two voices, this novel weaves together themes of grief, colonial history, violence, love, and family.

 

 

The Takedown by Corrie Wang

In this near-future mystery, Kyla Cheng, the smartest, hottest, most popular student at her Brooklyn high school, gets taken down a peg by a faked sex tape that goes viral.

 

 

 

 

 

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Summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more.