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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49 Items found Print
Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9), In-Stock Books & Materials
Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators #07
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)
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
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
2nd 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)
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 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)
Hardy Boys #64
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)
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
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)
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
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)
$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 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 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)
Rooftoppers
Reprint from Simon and Schuster
for 3rd-7th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99
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
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 #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
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
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
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
1st edition from Westminster Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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
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
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
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)