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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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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)
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'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)
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
At Bertram's Hotel
A Miss Marple Mystery #10
by Agatha Christie
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.00 (1 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)
$10.99
Case of the Etruscan Treasure
by Robert Newman
Second Printing from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Chasing Vermeer
by Blue Balliett
1st edition from Scholastic Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Curtain: Poirot's Last Case
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #39
by Agatha Christie
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.00 (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)
$6.00 (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)
$10.00 (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)
$7.50 (2 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)
$9.00 (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)
Hound of the Baskervilles
Oxford Children's Classics
by Arthur Conan Doyle
from Oxford University
for 7th-Adult
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$5.00 (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)
Invention of Hugo Cabret
by Brian Selznick
First Edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
2008 Caldecott Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$29.99
Journey to the River Sea
by Eva Ibbotson
First Edition from Dutton Juvenile
for 5th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Frances Hodgson Burnett, illustrated by Peter Spier
from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (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)
$9.00 (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)
$15.00 (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)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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 Doll Hospital
by Elizabeth Honness, illustrated by Velma Ilsley
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$58.00 (1 in stock)
Mystery of Edwin Drood
by Charles Dickens
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$18.00
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 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)
Nursery Rhyme Murders
by Agatha Christie
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Oath
by Frank Peretti
from W Publishing Group
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.00 (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)
Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone
by Rod Serling, adapted by Walter B. Gibson, illustrated by Earl E. Mayan
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 6th-12th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Secret Three
by Mildred Myrick
from Harper & Row
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
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
Three Times Lucky
Mo and Dale Mysteries #1
by Sheila Turnage
Reprint from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
2013 Newbery Honor Book
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$5.00 (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)
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)
Traitor Among Us
by Elizabeth Van Steenwyk
from Eerdmans
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.00 (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)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Wright 3
by Blue Balliett
1st edition from Scholastic Press
for 6th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Wright 3
Balliet Art Mystery Series
by Blue Balliett
1st edition from Scholastic Press
for 6th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99
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