Mystery/Thriller/Suspense Books by Kim Field @libraryField https://padlet.com/libraryField/a1txfdlk9tid Central Middle School (CMS) Library mystery, thriller. suspense book titles. en-us 2017-12-01 15:13:40 UTC 2025-09-27 03:04:17 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Diskette.png The Inn Between by Marina Cohen libraryField https://padlet.com/libraryField/a1txfdlk9tid/wish/212300532 Myst/Horr/6-8
A haunted hotel seeks new victims in this middle-grade suspense novel. Eleven-year-old Quinn's best friend, Kara, is moving. Quinn is having difficulty letting go, so she makes the trip from Denver to Santa Monica with Kara and her family. When Kara's parents stop to rest at the Inn Between, a grand Victorian hotel in the desert, Quinn is unnerved by the hotel's strange architecture, its isolated location, and the odd guests and even odder hotel employees. Kara's parents and brother disappear after the first night. Knowing they aren't safe, the girls resolve to escape, even if it means traveling through the hot desert with little food and water, but before Quinn can leave the Inn Between, she must wrestle with some demons--both literally and figuratively. Shifting between past and present as Quinn reflects on her difficult relationship with her younger sister, Emma, and her immediate dilemma with Kara and the Inn Between, Cohen's emotionally gripping tale perfectly captures the essences of friendship and sibling love. Heavy themes are handled with sensitivity, offering a cathartic experience for readers who may be dealing with similar situations. Readers should not be misled by the book's innocuous cover--the book deals with such dark subjects as death and child abduction, and the concept of hell is described in vivid, frightening detail. Readers looking for a mystery with heart, humor, and hairy moments will be captivated. (Supernatural fiction. 9-12)
Kirkus Reviews starred (January 1, 2016)
]]> 2017-12-01 15:20:29 UTC https://padlet.com/libraryField/a1txfdlk9tid/wish/212300532 The apothecary by Meloy, Maile (Apprentices, After-Room) libraryField https://padlet.com/libraryField/a1txfdlk9tid/wish/236113959 Myst/Hist/Fant/6-9
Janie, 14, has been living happily with her screenwriter parents in Hollywood. But it’s 1952, and blacklisting makes it imperative that the family moves to London, where a TV job awaits. Janie is not happy about this, but a startling adventure opens to her as she becomes friends with Benjamin Burrows, whose father is an apothecary, and not just any apothecary. Mr. Burrows is part of a small, international group of scientists who are trying to contain the destructive results of the atomic bomb, including a weapon that is being tested off the coast of Russia. Booklist (September 1, 2011 (Vol. 108, No. 1))]]> 2018-02-27 19:37:57 UTC https://padlet.com/libraryField/a1txfdlk9tid/wish/236113959 Beyond the bright sea by Wolk, Lauren libraryField https://padlet.com/libraryField/a1txfdlk9tid/wish/236121530 Myst/Hist/4-7
Crow was a mere baby when she drifted to the shore of one of the Elizabeth Islands off the coast of Massachusetts in the first quarter of the twentieth century. She has since grown up with the painter Osh as her stand-in father; their only other friend is Maggie, who teaches Crow. Nearby Penikese Island was home to a leper colony at the time of Crow’s birth, and most of the island folk assume her birth parents were lepers and shun her. Now a 12-year-old and uncertain of her parentage, Crow becomes increasingly curious following a fire on the now supposedly vacant Penikese. Where did she really come from? What happened to her parents, and is there a chance she has any surviving blood relatives? Crow’s quest for answers as she grapples with her uncertain identity shapes the 2017 Newbery Honor Book author’s sophomore novel.  Booklist starred (May 15, 2017 (Vol. 113, No. 18))]]> 2018-02-27 19:48:42 UTC https://padlet.com/libraryField/a1txfdlk9tid/wish/236121530 The Traitors' Gate by Avi libraryField https://padlet.com/libraryField/a1txfdlk9tid/wish/236253113 Myst/Hist/ 5-9
Avi returns to the 19th century in this novel of traitors, spies, family, and even love. John Huffam's father works as a clerk in the Naval Ordinance Office in London, and he is suspected of trying to sell a secret about a new weapon to pay his gambling debts. When he is arrested as a debtor, 14-year-old John, the sensible member of his family, must seek financial help from a distant relative, leave school for employment, and unravel the mystery surrounding his father and try to find out why so many people are spying on the Huffams. The novel perfectly captures John's passage from naive boy to disillusioned young man, as his world crumbles when he sees his father more clearly. He develops an unlikely friend, partner, and even romance with the slippery orphan, Sary the Sneak, whose motives sometimes seem as suspect as the many other characters involved. This is a Victorian tale charmingly told in Victorian fashion. Avi's love of the period is evident in how vividly, and without romanticizing, he brings London, teeming with eccentric characters, smells, and sounds, to life. Indeed, the city becomes a central character. School Library Journal (May 1, 2007)]]> 2018-02-28 04:17:33 UTC https://padlet.com/libraryField/a1txfdlk9tid/wish/236253113 Murder Is Bad Manners (Murder Most Unladylike Mysteries #1,2,3) libraryField https://padlet.com/libraryField/a1txfdlk9tid/wish/236253325 Myst/Hist/5-8.
Here’s a mystery import, set in the 1930s, that does justice to its British roots. Hazel Wong has come from Hong Kong to attend Deepdean boarding school. An outcast until she is accepted by upper-crust Daisy Wells, Hazel is happy to be half of a two-girl detective agency. The crimes they solve are silly—until Hazel discovers the body of their dead science teacher in the gym. By the time she gets Daisy, the body is gone. The situation grows more complicated as the girls dash around Deepdean, learning secrets about teachers (including a hint of a same-sex relationship), picking up clues, and getting in all sorts of mischief (such as drinking ipecac to make themselves ill). Then another murder occurs. This is a delightfully designed book, from the throwback cover to the school map inside. Hazel makes a good narrator, and while the mystery plods a bit and has too many teachers—though a cast list helps—not every reader will guess the ending. Nancy Drew, meet Wells and Wong.Booklist (May 1, 2015 (Vol. 111, No. 17))]]> 2018-02-28 04:19:11 UTC https://padlet.com/libraryField/a1txfdlk9tid/wish/236253325 Three Times Lucky (Mo & Dale Mysteries #1,2,3) by Sheila Turnage libraryField https://padlet.com/libraryField/a1txfdlk9tid/wish/236254399 Myst/4-6. 
Washed ashore as a baby in tiny Tupelo Landing, North Carolina, Mo LoBeau, now eleven, and her best friend Dale turn detective when the amnesiac Colonel, owner of a cafe and co-parent of Mo with his cook, Miss Lana, seems implicated in a murder.]]> 2018-02-28 04:28:02 UTC https://padlet.com/libraryField/a1txfdlk9tid/wish/236254399 The Silence of Murder by Dandi Daley Mackall libraryField https://padlet.com/libraryField/a1txfdlk9tid/wish/236255451 Myst/Mental/8+
After her autistic brother is accused of murdering the town's beloved baseball coach, 16-year-old Hope Long determines to exonerate him. To prove Jeremy's innocence, she must overcome significant obstacles, including his inability to defend himself because of selective muteness, criminal evidence that is damning, and the townspeople's judgmental attitudes toward the 18-year-old's disability. With the assistance of her friend T. J. and the sheriff's son, Chase, she compiles a list of suspects and seeks clues that will clear Jeremy. In the course of their detective work, romance ensues between Hope and Chase, which helps lighten the novel's dark tone. Hope uncovers a shocking revelation about her mother, dramatically impacting Jeremy's case. Paced like a riveting television courtroom drama, with the ultimate conclusive twist, The Silence of Murder is gritty and intense, and it will appeal to readers who appreciate realistic depictions of criminal investigations. Mackall portrays autism with compassion and sensitivity; Hope's unerring devotion to her brother, and her ability to see beyond his disability, beautifully anchors this novel.School Library Journal (November 1, 2011)]]> 2018-02-28 04:37:03 UTC https://padlet.com/libraryField/a1txfdlk9tid/wish/236255451 Tangerine by Edward Bloor libraryField https://padlet.com/libraryField/a1txfdlk9tid/wish/236256265 Myst/ 7-10.
Although Paul needs thick glasses to enable him to see well enough to do things other kids do, his instinctual vision isn't impaired. It's 20/20, allowing him to "see" behind the facade of Tangerine County, Florida, where his family has recently moved. He chronicles his adjustment to this bizarre new place, describing his triumph at soccer, making new friends, and tending a tangerine grove. He also unravels the horrible truth about his disturbed, menacing older brother. Still, the book has a lot going for it, especially the atmospheric portrait of the eerie community, where lightning strikes more often than it does anywhere else and a school is swallowed by a sinkhole.Booklist (Vol. 93, No. 18 (May 15, 1997))]]> 2018-02-28 04:43:32 UTC https://padlet.com/libraryField/a1txfdlk9tid/wish/236256265 What Jamie Saw by Carolyn Coman libraryField https://padlet.com/libraryField/a1txfdlk9tid/wish/236256774 Myst/5-8
Reveals the impact of witnessing violence even as it affirms the luminous power of love.Jamie's mother is there to catch the baby this time. She does what she must to keep her family out of harm's way, but still the shock waves of Van's act reverberate through their lives. What Jamie Saw is a moving, visceral dramatization of violence in the home, told not from the point of view of a victim, but as witnessed by a nine-year-old boy. The impact of observed violence perpetrated against loved ones is profound and destructive, and altogether too common. Drawing on his mother's desperate strength, his own determination, and help from an unexpected friend, Jamie confronts his fear and anxiety learning, adapting, and triumphing.]]> 2018-02-28 04:48:12 UTC https://padlet.com/libraryField/a1txfdlk9tid/wish/236256774 The House on the Gulf by Margaret Peterson Haddix libraryField https://padlet.com/libraryField/a1txfdlk9tid/wish/236257051 Myst/4-7
Twelve-year-old Britt lives with her mother and her older brother, Bran, in a small, dismal apartment. Then Bran announces that he has a summer house-sitting job, enabling the family to live in a better neighborhood. When they move into their temporary home, Britt notices that Bran's recent, uncharacteristic rudeness is matched by a newfound mania for secrecy. Impelled by the dreadful certainty that Bran is concealing something, Britt discovers what she thinks is the truth, then what Bran believes to be true, and, finally, the one dreadful secret that neither of them had guessed. Booklist (September 1, 2004 (Vol. 101, No. 1))]]> 2018-02-28 04:50:33 UTC https://padlet.com/libraryField/a1txfdlk9tid/wish/236257051 Hitler's Secret by William Osborne libraryField https://padlet.com/libraryField/a1txfdlk9tid/wish/236257691 Myst/Hist/6+
Two teenaged German refugees in WWII England are recruited for a secret mission: remove nine-year-old Angelika (Hitler's possible daughter) from a convent in Bavaria and bring her to Switzerland. Cinematically crafted scenes provide non-stop action and an explosive ending. Over-the-top characterizations of heroic adolescents flying planes, shooting machine guns, and dodging ammunition result in a historical adventure that is less than realistic.Horn Book Guide (Spring 2014)]]> 2018-02-28 04:56:21 UTC https://padlet.com/libraryField/a1txfdlk9tid/wish/236257691