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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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42 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 4th grade (Ages 9-10), Trade Paperback, In-Stock Books & Materials
100-Year-Old Secret
Sherlock Files #1
by Tracy Barrett
1st edition from Square Fish Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$11.99
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)
Beast of Blackslope
Sherlock Files #2
by Tracy Barrett
1st edition from Square Fish Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99
Brixton Brothers Mystery series - Boxed Set
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
Buried Alive
National Parks Mystery
by Gloria Skurzynski and Alane Ferguson
from National Geographic
for 3rd-6th grade
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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 $4.50 (1 in stock)
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)
Detectives in Togas
by Henry Winterfeld
from Harcourt
Humorous Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.99
Detectives in Togas
by Henry Winterfeld
from Harcourt
Humorous Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Ear, the Eye, and the Arm
by Nancy Farmer
from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
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
Figgs & Phantoms
by Ellen Raskin
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
1975 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Ginger Pye
by Eleanor Estes
from Harcourt
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
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
Hold Fast
by Blue Balliett
Reprint from Scholastic Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99 $5.00 (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)
$8.99
London Eye Mystery
by Siobhan Dowd
Reprint from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Long Secret
Harriet the Spy
by Louise Fitzhugh
Reprint from Yearling
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Macaroni Boy
by Katherine Ayres
Reprint from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
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
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 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Mysterious Benedict Society
Mysterious Benedict Society #1
by Trenton Lee Stewart
from Little, Brown & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.99
Mysterious Benedict Society and the Riddle of Ages
Mysterious Benedict Society #4
by Trenton Lee Stewart
from Little, Brown & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.99
Mystery of the Jeweled Moth
by Katherine Woodfine
from Kane Miller
for 4th-7th grade
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Mystery of the Painted Dragon
by Katherine Woodfine
from Kane Miller
for 4th-7th grade
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Mystery of the Roman Ransom
by Henry Winterfeld
from Harcourt
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Night Gardener
by Jonathan Auxier
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Pocket Full of Murder
Uncommon Magic #1
by R. J. Anderson
from Atheneum
for 3rd-6th grade
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$8.99
Rooftoppers
by Katherine Rundell, illustrated by Terry Fan
Reprint from Simon and Schuster
for 3rd-7th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99
Somebody on This Bus Is Going to Be Famous
by Ned Bustard & Matthew Clark
from Sourcebooks
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.99
Splendors and Glooms
by Laura Amy Schlitz
Reprint from Candlewick Press
for 4th-7th grade
2013 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.99
Third Grade Detectives #10
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 #1-2
by George E. Stanley
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-5th grade
in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Three Times Lucky
Mo and Dale Mysteries #1
by Sheila Turnage
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 4th-8th grade
2013 Newbery Honor Book
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$8.99
True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
by Avi
from Scholastic Press
for 3rd-7th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.99
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
Wanted...Mud Blossom
by Betsy Byars
from Dell Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Windy Hill
by Cornelia Meigs
Dover 2017 from Dover Publications
for 4th-7th grade
1922 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Zora & Me
by Victoria Bond and T. R. Simon
from Candlewick Press
for 4th-8th grade
2011 Coretta Scott King
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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