Mystery & Suspense

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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382 Items found Print
100-Year-Old Secret
Sherlock Files #1
by Tracy Barrett
1st edition from Square Fish Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99
4:50 from Paddington
A Miss Marple Mystery #7
by Agatha Christie
2022 Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
A.B.C. Murders
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #13
by Agatha Christie
from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Adventure of the Christmas Pudding
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #33
by Agatha Christie
from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
by Arthur Conan Conan Doyle
from Penguin Classics
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$14.00
Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
Sterling Classics
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, illustrated by Scott McKowen
Unabridged from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 7th-12th grade
in Sterling Classics (Location: FIC-STE)
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, illustrated by Richard Lebenson
from Reader's Digest
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Books of Wonder
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, illustrated by Barry Moser
from HarperCollins
for 7th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, illustrated by Sidney Paget
100th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$10.95
After the Funeral
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #29
by Agatha Christie
2011 Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Agatha Christie: An Autobiography
by Agatha Christie
2012 Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 11th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents Stories Not for the Nervous
by Alfred Hitchcock, editor
from Random House
for 7th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Alfred Hitchcock Tales of Terror
by Alfred Hitchcock, edited by Eleanor Sullivan
1st edition from Galahad Books
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Alfred Hitchcock's Sinister Spies
by Alfred Hitchcock (editor); illustrated by Paul Spina
from Random House
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Alfred Hitchcock's Solve-Them-Yourself Mysteries
by Alfred Hitchcock, illustrated by Fred Banbery
from Random House
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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)
And Then There Were None
by Agatha Christie
from HarperCollins
Murder Mystery for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
And Then There Were None
by Agatha Christie
75th Anniversary from HarperCollins
Murder Mystery for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Angie's First Case
by Donald J. Sobol
from Four Winds Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Annotated Sherlock Holmes Volumes 1 & 2
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
from Clarkson Potter Publishers
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Appointment with Death
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #19
by Agatha Christie
2011 Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
At Bertram's Hotel
A Miss Marple Mystery #10
by Agatha Christie
Reprint from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
At The Villa of Reduced Circumstances
Professor Dr. von Igelfeld Entertainment - Book 3
by Alexander McCall Smith
from Anchor Books
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
Atlas Shrugged
by Ayn Rand
50th Anniversary Edition from Signet Classics
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.99
Atlas Shrugged
by Ayn Rand
Centennial from Plume Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Avion My Uncle Flew
by Cyrus Fisher, illustrated by Richard Floethe
from Purple House Press
for 5th-7th grade
1947 Newbery Honor Book
in Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$13.95
Beast of Blackslope
Sherlock Files #2
by Tracy Barrett
1st edition from Square Fish Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Big Four
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #5
by Agatha Christie
Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Big Four
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #5
by Agatha Christie
7th printing, 1986 from Berkley Books
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Big Over Easy
by Jasper Fforde
from Penguin Putnam
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.00
Black as Night
by Regina Doman
2nd edition from Chesterton Press
Modern Fairy Tale for
Black Coffee
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #7
by Agatha Christie
Reissue from St. Martin's Press
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Body in the Library
A Miss Marple Mystery #2
by Agatha Christie
2022 Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Brit. Lit. Volume 8
by Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy Sayers, G. K. Chesterton, Agatha Christie
from Logos School
for 10th-12th grade
in Logos Brit. Lit. (Location: LITCUR-LOG)
$21.00
Brixton Brothers Mystery series - Books 1-4
by Mac Barnett, Illustrated by Adam Rex and Matt Myers
from Simon and Schuster
for 3rd-6th grade
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$33.99
Busman's Honeymoon
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 11
by Dorothy L. Sayers
Reprint from HarperCollins
Murder Mystery for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
By the Pricking of My Thumbs
A Tommy and Tuppence Mystery #4
by Agatha Christie
Reissue, 2012 from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Candymakers and the Great Chocolate Chase
by Wendy Mass
from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Cards on the Table
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #15
by Agatha Christie
1984 printing from Berkley Books
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Cards on the Table
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #15
by Agatha Christie
Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Caribbean Mystery
A Miss Marple Mystery #9
by Agatha Christie
from William Morrow & Company
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.99
Case Files of Sherlock Holmes
from Fall River Press
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Case of the Baker Street Irregular
by Robert Newman
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 4th-6th grade
in Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Case of the Cat's Meow
An I Can Read Book Level 2
by Crosby Bonsall
from HarperCollins
Mystery/Suspense for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.99
Case of the Double Cross
An I Can Read Book Level 2
by Crosby Bonsall
from HarperCollins
Mystery/Suspense for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.99
Case of the Gasping Garbage
by Michele Torrey
2nd edition from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$6.95
Case of the Hungry Stranger
An I Can Read Book Level 2
by Crosby Bonsall
from HarperCollins
Children's Mystery for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.99
Cat Among the Pigeons
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #32
by Agatha Christie
2011 Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Chasing Vermeer
Balliet Art Mystery Series
by Blue Balliett, Brett Helquist (Illustrator)
from Scholastic Inc.
Mystery & Suspense for 4th-6th grade
in Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.79 $3.20 (1 in stock)
Chasing Vermeer
by Blue Balliett
1st edition from Scholastic Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Chosen
by Ted Dekker
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 7th-12th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Clouds of Witness
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 2
by Dorothy Sayers
Reissue from HarperCollins
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Clouds of Witness
A Lord Peter Mystery, Book 2
by Dorothy Sayers
from ImPress Mystery
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Code Name Verity
by Elizabeth Wein
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 9th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.99
Complete Father Brown Stories
by G. K. Chesterton
from Wordsworth Classics
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$7.99
Complete Miss Marple Collection
by Agatha Christie
from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$158.12
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)
Crispin at the Edge of the World
by Avi
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Crispin: The End of Time
by Avi
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Crispin: The End of Time
by Avi
from Balzer & Bray
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Cruel as the Grave
Justin de Quincey Mysteries, book 2
by Sharon Kay Penman
from Ballantine Books
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Curtain: Poirot's Last Case
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #39
by Agatha Christie
2011 Reprint from William Morrow & Company
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$13.99
Daughter of Time
by Josephine Tey
1st edition from Touchstone
for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.00
Dead End in Norvelt
by Jack Gantos
from Square Fish Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
2012 Newbery Medal Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Dead Man's Folly
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #31
by Agatha Christie
2014 Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Deadly Curse of Toco-Rey
The Cooper Kids Adventure Series #6
by Frank Peretti
from Tyndale House
for 5th-9th grade
in Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Death in the Air
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #12
by Agatha Christie
1977 printing from Popular Library
for 9th-Adult
in Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Death in the Clouds
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #12
by Agatha Christie
from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Death on the Nile
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #17
by Agatha Christie
from HarperCollins
Mystery & Suspense for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Death on the Nile
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #17
by Agatha Christie
13th printing, 1976 from Bantam Books
Mystery & Suspense for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Detectives in Togas
by Henry Winterfeld
from Harcourt
Humorous Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99
Disappeared
by Francisco X. Stork
from Arthur A. Levine Books
for 7th-12th grade
in Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$10.99
Door in the Dragon's Throat
The Cooper Kids Adventure Series #1
by Frank Peretti
from Crossway Books
for 5th-9th grade
in Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$5.59
Dorothy L. Sayers: The Complete Stories
by Dorothy L. Sayers
from Harper & Row
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
Dorothy's Double
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Dorothy's Double
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Double Trouble in Bugland
by William Kozwinkle
from David R. Godine
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Everyman's Library
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$20.00
Dracula
Everyman's Library
by Bram Stoker
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$23.00
Dumb Witness
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #16
by Agatha Christie
Reprint from William Morrow & Company
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$13.99
Ear, the Eye, and the Arm
by Nancy Farmer
First Printing from Scholastic Press
for 4th-6th grade
1995 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
ECL: Casebook of Sherlock Holmes (abridged)
Educator Classic Library #7
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, illustrated by Don Irwin
from Classic Press
for 8th-Adult
in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Elephants Can Remember
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #37
by Agatha Christie
5th printing, 1978 from Bantam Books
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Elephants Can Remember
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #37
by Agatha Christie
2011 Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Enchantress of Florence
by Salman Rushdie
Reprint from Anchor Books
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Escape from the Island of Aquarius
The Cooper Kids Adventure Series #2
by Frank Peretti
from Crossway Books
for 5th-9th grade
in Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$5.59
Evil Under the Sun
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #23
by Agatha Christie
2011 Reissue from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Extraordinary Cases of Sherlock Holmes
Puffin Classics
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
from Puffin Books
Mystery for 6th-10th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict
Mysterious Benedict Society #5
by Trenton Lee Stewart
from Little, Brown & Company
for 5th-10th grade
in Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.99
Eyewitness Classics: Hound of the Baskervilles
by Arthur Conan Doyle
1st edition from DK Publishing
for 6th-10th grade
in Adapted or Abridged (Location: SER-ABR)
Famous Five #20
by Enid Blyton
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Father Brown Reader
by G. K. Chesterton adapted by Nancy Carpenter Brown
1st edition from Hillside Education
for 4th-8th grade
in Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$12.95
Father Brown Reader II
by G. K. Chesterton adapted by Nancy Carpenter Brown
fir from Hillside Education
for 4th-8th grade
in Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$14.95
Father Brown Stories Part II
by G. K. Chesterton
from Ignatius Press
Mystery for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$23.50
Favorite Father Brown Stories
Dover Thrift Editions
by G. K. Chesterton
from Dover Publications
Mystery for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$4.00 $2.50 (1 in stock)
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