Mystery & Suspense - Exodus Books

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Sometime in the last four or five decades the Powers That Be decided every movie mystery would follow basically the same plot so that viewers wouldn't have to worry about the outcome and would be able to enjoy the movie all the way through. Fortunately for those who prefer to let the future unfold itself, there are still mystery novels.

A mystery is simply something you don't know or can't understand. By the time you understand it, it's not a mystery anymore. Part of the fun of detective stories is not knowing what's going on (at least, not for sure) until the end, when sudden light dawns in the midst of the darkness and you fancy yourself a bit dull for not having picked up on the clues earlier.

Trying to figure the solution before the main characters get there is pretty fun, too, though there's another kind of satisfaction from waiting till Hercule Poirot or Sherlock Holmes or Lord Peter Wimsey reveal the criminal by name, the extent of his or her crimes, and the motivations that led them to kill, steal or lie. Though in the end, most of us probably end up in both categories, trying to figure everything out but still surprised by the truth.

Modern mystery novels tend to focus on criminal evil, fascinated by the depths humans are capable of sinking to. While older ones certainly didn't hesitate to point out man's depravity and capacity for wrongdoing, they were even more concerned with justice and the good guys who overcome the bad guys through superior wit and reason.

These are the ones we like. We don't admire Sherlock Holmes only for his formidable genius, but also for his commitment to employ it for the forces of good. Miss Marple doesn't need to solve crimes, but she does—and we rejoice every time she triumphs over a shady perpetrator. In the real world things might not always wind up so neatly, but it's nice to know in some books they always will.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

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3rd grade (Ages 8-9)

	Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators #07 The Mystery of the Fiery Eye by Robert Arthur, illustrated by Harry Kane from Random House for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage Series (Location: VIN-SER) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Alvin Fernald's Incredible Buried Treasure Alvin #4 by Clifford B. Hicks, illustrated by Roger Bradfield from Purple House Press for 3rd-6th grade in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS) $17.95
	Alvin Fernald, Mayor for a Day Alvin #3 by Clifford B. Hicks, illustrated by Bill Sokol from Purple House Press for 3rd-6th grade in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS) $9.99
	Alvin's Secret Code by Clifford B. Hicks, Illustrated by Bill Sokol from Weekly Reader for 3rd-6th grade in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS) $4.00 (2 in stock)
	Alvin's Secret Code Alvin #2 by Clifford B. Hicks, illustrated by Bill Sokol from Purple House Press for 3rd-6th grade in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS) $9.99
	Alvin's Secret Code Alvin #2 by Clifford B. Hicks, illustrated by Bill Sokol from Bethlehem Books for 3rd-6th grade in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS) $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Alvin's Swap Shop by Clifford B. Hicks, Illustrated by Bill Sokol from Weekly Reader for 3rd-6th grade in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
	Angie's First Case by Donald J. Sobol from Four Winds Press for 3rd-6th grade in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
	Bill Bergson Master Detective by Astrid Lindgren from Viking Press for 3rd-6th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Brixton Brothers Mystery series - Boxed Set Books 1-4 by Mac Barnett, Illustrated by Adam Rex and Matt Myers from Simon and Schuster for 3rd-6th grade in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX) $33.99
	Candymakers and the Great Chocolate Chase by Wendy Mass from Little, Brown & Company for 3rd-6th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $10.99
	Case of the Gasping Garbage by Michele Torrey 2^nd edition from Sterling Publishing Co. for 3rd-6th grade in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI) $6.95
	Computer Nut by Betsy Cromer Byars Reprint from Puffin Books for 3rd-6th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $2.50 (1 in stock)
	Deadly Waters National Parks Mystery #4 by Gloria Skurzynski and Alane Ferguson from National Geographic for 3rd-6th grade in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Double Trouble in Bugland A (Second) Collection of Inspector Mantis Mysteries by William Kozwinkle from David R. Godine for 3rd-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol; illustrated by Leonard Shortall from Lodestar Books for 3rd-7th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $15.00 (1 in stock)
	Figgs & Phantoms by Ellen Raskin from Puffin Books for 3rd-6th grade 1975 Newbery Honor Book in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99
	Five Get Into Trouble Famous Five #8 by Enid Blyton from Hodder Children's for 3rd-6th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Five Go Adventuring Again Famous Five #2 by Enid Blyton 2001 Printing from Hodder Children's for 3rd-6th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Five Go Off in a Caravan Famous Five #5 by Enid Blyton Revised 2010 edition from Hodder Children's for 3rd-6th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Five Go Off to Camp Famous Five #7 by Enid Blyton Revised 2010 edition from Hodder Children's for 3rd-6th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Five Go to Smuggler's Top Famous Five #4 by Enid Blyton Revised 2010 edition from Hodder Children's for 3rd-6th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Five on a Treasure Island Famous Five #1 by Enid Blyton 2001 Printing from Hodder Children's for 3rd-6th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Five On Kirrin Island Again Famous Five #6 by Enid Blyton Revised 2010 edition from Hodder Children's for 3rd-6th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Five Run Away Together Famous Five #3 by Enid Blyton from Hodder Children's for 3rd-6th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Hardy Boys #59 Night of the Werewolf by Franklin W. Dixon, illustrated by Leslie Morrill from Wanderer for 3rd-6th grade in Hardy Boys (Location: SER-HARDY)
	Hardy Boys #60 Mystery of the Samurai Sword by Franklin W. Dixon, illustrated by Leslie Morrill from Wanderer for 3rd-6th grade in Hardy Boys (Location: SER-HARDY)
	Hardy Boys #61 The Pentagon Spy by Franklin W. Dixon, illustrated by Leslie Morrill from Wanderer for 3rd-6th grade in Hardy Boys (Location: SER-HARDY)
	Hardy Boys #62 by Franklin W. Dixon, illustrated by Leslie Morrill from Wanderer for 3rd-6th grade in Hardy Boys (Location: SER-HARDY)
	Hardy Boys #63 by Franklin W. Dixon, illustrated by Leslie Morrill from Wanderer for 3rd-6th grade in Hardy Boys (Location: SER-HARDY)
	Hardy Boys #64 Mystery of Smugglers Cove by Franklin W. Dixon, illustrated by Leslie Morrill from Wanderer for 3rd-6th grade in Hardy Boys (Location: SER-HARDY) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Hardy Boys Gift Set #59-61 by Franklin W. Dixon, illustrated by Leslie Morrill from Wanderer for 3rd-6th grade in Hardy Boys (Location: SER-HARDY)
	Harriet Spies Again by Helen Ericson (based on Louise Fitzhugh) Reprint from Yearling for 3rd-6th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Harriet the Spy, Double Agent by Maya Gold (based on Louise Fitzhugh) Reprint from Yearling for 3rd-6th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $6.99
	Haunted Railway Game Based on Enid Blyton's Five Go Off to Camp by Enid Blyton, illustrated by Gary Rees from Hodder & Stoughton for 3rd-6th grade in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS) $15.00 (1 in stock)
	Incredible Detectives by Don & Joan Caufield, illustrated by Kiyo Komoda from Harper & Row for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $7.00 (1 in stock)
	Little Taste of Poison Uncommon Magic #2 by R.J. Anderson from Atheneum for 3rd-6th grade in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
	Long Secret Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh Reprint from Yearling for 3rd-6th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $6.99
	Marvelous Inventions of Alvin Fernald Alvin #1 by Clifford B. Hicks, illustrated by Charles Geer from Purple House Press for 3rd-6th grade in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS) $7.99
	Maze Solve the World's Most Challenging Puzzle by Christopher Manson from Henry Holt and Company for 3rd-6th grade in Brain Teasers & Puzzlers (Location: LOG-PUZ)
	Miss Pickerell on the Trail by Ellen MacGregor and Dora Pantell, Illustrated by Charles Geer from McGraw-Hill for 2nd-5th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	More Two-Minute Mysteries by Donald J. Sobol from Scholastic Inc. for 3rd-7th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics by Chris Grabenstein 1^st edition from Random House Books for Young Readers for 3rd-5th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics Limoncello's Library #2 by Chris Grabenstein from Yearling for 3rd-5th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.99
	Mysterious Bender Bones by Susan Meyers, illustrated by Ib Ohlssohn from Doubleday & Company for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Mysterious Christmas Shell by Eleanor Cameron, illustrated by Beth & Joe Krush from Little, Brown & Company for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $16.00 (1 in stock)
	Mystery at the Shoals by Duane Bradley, illustrated by Velma Ilsley Second Printing from Lippincott for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Mystery Key by Jean Bothwell, illustrated by Leonard Shortall from Hale-Cadmus for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $14.00 (1 in stock)
	Mystery of Banshee Towers Famous Five #15 by Enid Blyton for 3rd-6th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Mystery of the Empty Room by Augusta Huiell Seaman 1966 printing from Scholastic Book Services for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Mystery of the Musical Umbrella by Friedrick Feld, illustrated by Doris Jackson, translated by W. Kersley Holmes from Random House for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Mystery of the Old Violin by Augusta Huiell Seaman, illustrated by William Hutchinson from Scholastic Book Services for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Mystery of the Pilgrim Trading Post by Anne Molloy from Hastings House for 3rd-6th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $8.00 (2 in stock)
	Mystery of the Pirate's Ghost by Elizabeth Honness, illustrated by Beth & Joe Krush from J.B. Lippincott Co. for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $7.00 (1 in stock)
	Pete's Puzzle from J. Philip O'Hara for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux from Unicorn Publishing House for 2nd-4th grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Pink Motel by Carol Ryrie Brink, illustrated by Sheila Greenwald from Macmillan for 3rd-7th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Pocket Full of Murder Uncommon Magic #1 by R. J. Anderson from Atheneum for 3rd-6th grade in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
	Rooftoppers Reprint from Simon and Schuster for 3rd-7th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $7.99
	Sherlock Holmes Junior Deluxe Editions by Arthur Conan Doyle, illustrated by Richard M. Powers from Grosset & Dunlap for 3rd-6th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, illustrated by Sidney Paget from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. for 3rd-6th grade in Everyman's Library Children's Classics (Location: FIC-ELC)
	Spy Who Came in from the Sea by Peggy Nolan from Pineapple Press Adventure Stories for 2nd-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $14.95
	Strange Pettingill Puzzle Two Lively Stories from Young Mystery Readers by Augusta Huiell Seaman, with a frontispiece by Genevieve Foster from Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc. for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Third Grade Detectives #10 The Mystery of the Stolen Statue by George E. Stanley Repackage ed. from Aladdin Paperbacks for 2nd-4th grade in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Third-Grade Detectives #4 by George E. Stanley from Aladdin Paperbacks for 2nd-3rd grade in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Timmi Tobbson Junior #1 A Family Secret Solve Them Yourself Picture Mysteries Junior by B. Vitale & J.I. Wagner, illustrated by J.G. Ratti from Freshabooks for 1st-3rd grade in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Timmi Tobbson Junior #2 The Missing Necklace Solve Them Yourself Picture Mysteries Junior by B. Vitale & J.I. Wagner, illustrated by J.G. Ratti from Freshabooks for 1st-3rd grade in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Timmi Tobbson Junior #3 The Shadow and the Golden Room Solve Them Yourself Picture Mysteries Junior by J.I. Wagner, illustrated by J.G. Ratti from Freshabooks for 1st-3rd grade in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Timmi Tobbson: Legend of the Star Runner Solve Them Yourself Picture Mysteries Junior by J.I. Wagner, illustrated by J.G. Ratti 2020 printing from Freshabooks for 1st-3rd grade in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS) $6.50 (1 in stock)
	To Walk on Two Feet by Marjorie Cook 1^st edition from Westminster Press for 2nd-5th grade in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS) $7.00 (1 in stock)
	Tree House Mystery by Carol Beach York, Reisie Lonette from Coward McCann for 2nd-5th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Trixie Belden #10 Marshland Mystery by Kathryn Kenny from Whitman Publishing Company for 3rd-5th grade in Trixie Belden Mysteries (Location: SER-TRIX)
	Trixie Belden #13 Mystery on Corbett's Island by Kathryn Kenney from Whitman Publishing Company for 3rd-5th grade in Trixie Belden Mysteries (Location: SER-TRIX)
	Trouble in Bugland A Collection of Inspector Mantis Mysteries by William Kozwinkle from David R. Godine for 3rd-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi from Scholastic Press for 3rd-7th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi from Orchard Books for 3rd-7th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Two-Minute Mysteries by Donald J. Sobol Reprint from Scholastic Inc. for 3rd-7th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $6.99
	Under the Egg by Laura Marx Fitzgerald Reprint from Puffin Books for 3rd-7th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $7.99
	Whispering Island Game Based on Enid Blyton's Five Have a Mystery to Solve by Enid Blyton, illustrated by Gary Rees from Hodder & Stoughton for 3rd-6th grade in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS) $15.00 (1 in stock)
	Wish Giver Three Tales of Coven Tree by Bill Brittain, illustrated by Andrew Glass from HarperCollins for 3rd-6th grade Newbery Honor Book in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $6.99
	Wish Giver Three Tales of Coven Tree by Bill Brittain, illustrated by Andrew Glass from HarperCollins for 3rd-6th grade Newbery Honor Book in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $12.00 (1 in stock)

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