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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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Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Other Stories
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
from Canterbury Classics
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Alvin's Secret Code
by Clifford B. Hicks, Illustrated by Bill Sokol
from Weekly Reader
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$3.20 (2 in stock)
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)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
At Bertram's Hotel
A Miss Marple Mystery #10
by Agatha Christie
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Blue Shoes and Happiness
No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #7
by Alexander McCall Smith
Edition from Anchor Books
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.50 (2 in stock)
Calamity Town
by Ellery Queen
from ImPress Mystery
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Candymakers and the Great Chocolate Chase
by Wendy Mass
from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Case of the Etruscan Treasure
by Robert Newman
Second Printing from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$6.40 (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)
$5.91 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Chasing Vermeer
by Blue Balliett
1st edition from Scholastic Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Cliff-hanger
National Parks Mystery #03
by Gloria Skurzynski and Alane Ferguson
from National Geographic
for 3rd-6th grade
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Clue of the Marked Claw
Ken Holt Mysteries #4
by Bruce Campbell
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Series (Location: VIN-SER)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Cluster of Separate Sparks
by Joan Aiken
from Doubleday & Company
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
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)
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)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Dragon, Hound of Honor
by Julie Andrews Edwards and Emma Walton Hamilton
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (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)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
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 Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$5.94 $3.20 (1 in stock)
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)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
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)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
by E.L. Konigsburg
37th printing from Atheneum
for 4th-6th grade
1968 Newbery Medal Winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
by E. L. Konigsburg
35th Anniversary Edition from Atheneum
Mystery/Suspense for 4th-7th grade
1968 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Full Cupboard of Life
No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #5
by Alexander McCall Smith
1st edition from Pantheon Books
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Ghost in the Tokaido Inn
by Dorothy & Thomas Hoobler
from Puffin Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.79 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Good Husband of Zebra Drive
No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #8
by Alexander McCall Smith
from Anchor Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.50 (2 in stock)
Good Husband of Zebra Drive
No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #8
by Alexander McCall Smith
from Pantheon Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Graven Images
by Paul Fleischman, illustrated by Andrew Glass
1st edition from Harper & Row
for 4th-8th grade
1983 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Greenglass House
by Kate Milford, illustrated by Jaime Zollars
from Clarion Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$5.00 (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)
$6.79 $3.20 (1 in stock)
He Who Whispers/ The Unsuspected/ Crows Can't Count
by John Dickson Carr, Charlotte Armstrong, A. A. Fair
from Detective Book Club
for Adult
in Walter J. Black Classics Club (Location: VIN-LITWJB)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
History Detectives: The Romans
History Detectives
by Philip Ardagh
from Peter Bedrick Books
Roman History Reference for 4th-6th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Hold Fast
by Blue Balliett
Reprint from Scholastic Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.79 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Hound of the Baskervilles - MP Student Guide
by Andrew Thibaudeau
from Memoria Press
for 8th-10th grade
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$13.95 $8.50 (2 in stock)
Hound of the Baskervilles - MP Teacher Guide
by Andrew Thibaudeau
from Memoria Press
for 8th-10th grade
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$13.95 $8.50 (1 in stock)
House of Dies Drear
by Virginia Hamilton
Reissue from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.79 $3.20 (3 in stock)
Hunted
National Parks Mystery #05
by Gloria Skurzynski and Alane Ferguson
from National Geographic
for 3rd-6th grade
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #6
by Alexander McCall Smith
from Anchor Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #6
by Alexander McCall Smith
First American Edition from Pantheon Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.00 (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)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Journey to the River Sea
by Eva Ibbotson
First Edition from Dutton Juvenile
for 5th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Kalahari Typing School for Men
No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #4
by Alexander Mccall Smith
1st Anchor Books Edition from Anchor Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Kalahari Typing School for Men
No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #4
by Alexander McCall Smith
from Pantheon Books
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Kitchen Boy
by Robert Alexander
Reprint from Penguin Press
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Macaroni Boy
by Katherine Ayres
Reprint from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Miracle at Speedy Motors
No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #9
by Alexander Mccall Smith
Reprint from Anchor Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Miracle at Speedy Motors
No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #9
by Alexander Mccall Smith
from Pantheon Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Morality for Beautiful Girls
No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #3
by Alexander McCall Smith
from Anchor Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.50 (2 in stock)
Morbid Taste for Bones
Brother Cadfael
by Ellis Peters
from Mysterious Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
More Two-Minute Mysteries
by Donald J. Sobol
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-7th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics
by Chris Grabenstein
1st edition from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.20 (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)
$7.64 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Murder of Roger Ackroyd
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #4
by Agatha Christie
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
My Cousin Rachel
by Daphne du Maurier
from Doubleday & Company
Mystery/Suspense for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Mysterious Bender Bones
by Susan Meyers, illustrated by Ib Olsen
from Doubleday & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (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)
$12.80 (1 in stock)
Mystery of the Jeweled Moth
by Katherine Woodfine
from Kane Miller
for 4th-7th grade
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Mystery of the Marble Angel
from California State Department of Education
for 3rd-4th grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Mystery of the Midnight Visitor
California State Series - The Morgan Bay Mysteries
by John and Nancy Rambeau, illustrated by Joseph Maniscalco
1969th edition from California State Department of Education
for 3rd-5th grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
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)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Mystery of the Painted Dragon
by Katherine Woodfine
from Kane Miller
for 4th-7th grade
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Mystery of the Pilgrim Trading Post
by Anne Molloy
from Hastings House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.40 (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)
$5.60 (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)
$8.49 $3.60 (2 in stock)
Nightmare's Edge
Echoes From the Edge #3
by Bryan Davis
from Zondervan
for 7th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Pete's Puzzle
from J. Philip O'Hara
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Rage of Fire
National Parks Mystery #02
by Gloria Skurzynski and Alane Ferguson
from National Geographic
for 3rd-6th grade
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Room One
by Andrew Clements
from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Second Mrs. Giaconda
by E. L. Konigsburg
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64 $3.60 (2 in stock)
Seven Sunflower Seeds
by John Verney
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Study in Scarlet & The Sign of Four
Dover Thrift Editions
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
from Dover Publications
Mystery for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95 $3.20 (1 in stock)
Tales of Mystery and Terror
Puffin Classics
by Edgar Allan Poe
from Puffin Books
Mystery/Horror for 8th-12th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.79 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Tears of the Giraffe
No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #2
by Alexander McCall Smith
from Anchor Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.50 (2 in stock)
Third Grade Detectives #10
by George E. Stanley
Repackage ed. from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 2nd-4th grade
in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Third-Grade Detectives #4
by George E. Stanley
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC)
$2.40 (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)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Timmi Tobbson Junior #1
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)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Timmi Tobbson Junior #2
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)
$4.80 (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)
$5.20 (1 in stock)
To Walk on Two Feet
by Marjorie Cook
1st edition from Westminster Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Traitor Among Us
by Elizabeth Van Steenwyk
from Eerdmans
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Trapped at the Bottom of the Sea
The Cooper Kids Adventure Series #4
by Frank Peretti
from Crossway Books
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$5.94 $3.20 (1 in stock)
Well Done, Denehurst!
by Gwendoline Courtney
from Girls Gone By Publishers
for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$19.20 (1 in stock)
Wish Giver
by Bill Brittain, illustrated by Andrew Glass
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-6th grade
Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Wright 3
by Blue Balliett
1st edition from Scholastic Press
for 6th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
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)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
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