If your teen loves twists, secrets, and trying to solve the case before the final page, they’ll love these gripping murder mysteries. From gripping whodunnits to unforgettable detectives, we’ve rounded up the best mystery books for teens that will keep them guessing. Whether they're new to the genre or seasoned sleuths, there's something here to hook every young reader.
Girl, Missing is the YA series that launched the queen of teen thrillers, Sophie McKenzie, and years after its release, it is still being reviewed on Toppsta. When young teen Lauren sets out to find her biological family, little does she know she's about to see her adoptive parents in a whole new light – because she was actually kidnapped. As she learns more about her story, she will get closer to her biological family and particularly her sister, who is the protagonist of the final book in the series. Each of these books explore themes of belonging and truth, and are a great read if you enjoy thrillers.
View Girl, Missing Series
One of Us is Lying is an addictive YA thriller, set at Bayview High – a high school with many dark secrets. When five students are put into detention, only four come out alive. The victim is Simon – creator of the notorious school gossip app – and his death is no accident. All four survivors have a motive for murder. And one of them is definitely lying. After enthralling readers across the world, the book was adapted into the One of Us is Lying TV series for Netflix in 2021.
View One Of Us Is Lying Series
Based on the success of the Outer Banks Netflix series come brand-new, high-octane adventures with our favourite characters in bookish form. Outer Banks is a unique place for rich vacationers, where, according to JJ, John B and their friends, you are either a Kook (a lucky, rich tourist) or a Pogue (a hospitality worker). But Outer Banks has its secrets, from dead bodies washing ashore to treasures hidden underwater. In each book, our protagonists have a new mystery to tackle, but they must watch their backs: danger is always just around the corner.
View Outer Banks Series
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson is a bestselling YA crime thriller series that makes for compulsive reading. It has been a massive hit with readers 12+ and won the British Book Awards’ Children’s Book of the Year for book one in 2020. These addictive murder mysteries, full of twists, cliffhangers and drama, with a teenage super sleuth heroine, will keep you guessing till the last page. Seventeen year old Pip turns detective when she chooses to investigate a local cold case for her final project for school. Determined to find schoolgirl Andie Bell's killer, Pip becomes obsessed with finding the truth and in the process uncovers more secrets than she could have ever imagined...
View A Good Girl's Guide to Murder Series
Pretty Little Liars is a series of YA teen thrillers written by Sara Shepherd, best known from the American TV adaptation that started in 2010. The Pretty Little Liars books follow the lives of four high-school girls in suburban Philadelphia, whose clique collapses once their Queen Bee, Alison, disappears. Her body is never found but three years after her disappearance, the girls are brought together again. They have all started receiving messages from the mysterious A who seems to know all the Pretty Little Liars’ secrets and is threatening to spill the beans… The Pretty Little Liars stories are gripping thrillers and also explore some more serious issues such as bullying, pregnancy, eating disorders, drug addiction and mental illness.
View Pretty Little Liars Series
The Magpie Society is a nail-biting YA thriller series written by YouTuber Zoe Sugg (aka Zoella) and Amy McCulloch, this chilling high school thriller is set in a prestigious boarding school where tragedy has struck. The body of student Lola Radcliffe is discovered on the beach, and on her back someone has tattooed an elaborate magpie. Next, a mysterious podcast airs with the headline “I KNOW WHO KILLED LOLA. AND ONE OF YOU IS NEXT” and Lola’s roommate Ivy and new girl Audrey are compelled to investigate her death and expose the enigmatic Magpie Society.
View The Magpie Society Series
Do you love the Riverdale TV series, cast and characters? This YA book collection is for all the superfans that want extra insight into the world of the Riverdale, great for readers ages 13+. In these novels, told from different points of view, you'll get to find out the origin stories of the much-loved characters on the show. Discover the stories behind Archie, Betty, Veronica and Jughead in these five tie-in novels with the show. You'll get to see the small-town Riverdale cast in a whole new light, and expand the stories of each of the Riverdale characters while reading about them. And if you're curious to find out even more of the Riverdale world, you could read the comics that went on to inspire the TV series: Archie!
View Riverdale Series
From the author of two New York Times bestselling series, Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game, Sara Shepard, comes a brand-new gripping YA murder mystery series. Nolan Hotchkiss may be the king of Beacon Heights High with his charm, wealth and good looks, but he sure has a good number of enemies. It isn't uncalled for that some may wish to get their revenge. Some – namely Mackenzie, Ava, Julie, Caitlin and Parker – even jokingly come up with the perfect plan to make him pay. But then Nolan is actually murdered, and in exactly the way they planned. And he's not the only person they'd plotted revenge upon. They know they're innocent, but they'll have to find the true culprit if they want to walk free.
Truly Devious is a gripping YA murder mystery trilogy that not only is a New York Times bestseller, but has also won a number of accolades, from award nominations to wins. A the centre of this trilogy is a mystery of 75 years, which young student and true-crime aficionado Stevie Bell is set to solve. When she enrols in Ellingham Academy, the Vermont private school for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists, she gets right to work on figuring out who left the mysterious note signed 'Truly, Devious' after killing the founder's wife and daughter. But solving the cold case becomes even more urgent as new murders take place. Over the course of the pulse-pounding trilogy, Stevie will make friends and fall in love, but most importantly set the record straight, once and for all, at Ellingham Academy.
The Inheritance Games is a thrilling YA mystery by Jennifer Lynn Barnes described by the publisher as a “Cinderella story with deadly stakes”. There are rumours of a The Inheritance Games movie or TV series on Amazon coming soon. The books follow Avery Grambs - a teenager working hard for a better future, whose fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves her his fortune. The catch is that Avery has to move into Hawthorne House and live with Tobias’ disinherited family, including his grandson Grayson Hawthorne, the heir-apparent, and his three brothers. The four boys had everything and now are determined to solve the mystery as to why Avery has taken their inheritance from them. How far will they go to keep their fortune?
Inheritance Games books in order
Written by New York Times-bestselling author of The Inheritance Games series, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, comes this fantastic YA series that has it all: mystery, camaraderie, murder, a secret school and more. Cassie Hobbes has special powers: she can tell who you are, where you're from and how you're likely to behave within moments of meeting you. Because of this, she's enrolled in the FBI's Natural program, an elite school where a small number of teens are trained to hone their exceptional abilities. It's also where she hopes to finally uncover the mystery of her mother's murder. So, while Cassie finally uncovers the truth, she will also be solving other cases together with her classmates. And together they will face powerful, unexpected – and dangerous – forces at play.
View The Naturals Series
The Gallagher Girls is an exciting YA spy series by Ally Carter, with plenty of plot twists, drama and subterfuge. Gallagher Academy is a front. Purporting to be a school for geniuses, it is actually a training ground for world-class spies. Cammie Morgan ought to be equipped for anything - she can speak fourteen languages, hack into a mainframe, and kill a man in seven different ways - but life at Gallagher Academy is never straightforward. Danger seems to follow Cammie wherever she goes and the stakes are high as she has to deal with double agents, kidnappings, exhilarating missions, and even romance.
View Gallagher Girls Series
Set in a disturbing near-future world, this is an engrossing, fast-paced YA trilogy that had us glued on the page to find out how the story would end. It all begins as main character Kyla wakes up to discover she cannot remember a thing about herself. Her memory has been erased, her personality wiped blank. She has been Slated. Throughout the three books, she is on a quest to find out what happened to her and why, as people from her past show up, the government gets increasingly oppressive and she unexpectedly begins to get glimpses of her memory's dark secrets.
View Slated Trilogy Series
This YA thriller series keeps you on your toes with a splash of dark academia, secrets, lies, privileged teens and parties. It all starts when main character Linden is invited to spend the summer at his best friend's vacation house. Surrounded by all the money and privilege, he's never felt like more of an outsider. But just as his spirits reach rock bottom, a body is discovered in the pool. Not only will Linden have to prove his innocence – he will also put to test his sleuthing skills, which will come in quite handy as another murder is just around the corner, and his ex-girlfriend is believed to be the culprit.
For a fresh take on the classic Agatha Christie mystery, here is a brilliant New York Times bestselling YA murder mystery series. Alice Ogilvie is obsessed with everything Agatha Christie. So, when the most popular girl in school is found dead, she's fully prepared to get to the bottom of the mystery together with her friend Iris Adams. She quickly starts writing out a list of suspects, noticing all the obvious clues the police are ignoring, digging for the secrets her sleepy seaside town is hiding... And this is just the beginning, as Alice and Iris – the Agathas – solve more crimes the Castle Cove police just aren't able to figure out.
View The Agathas SeriesRoyal Blood by Aimee Carter (Usborne)
They All Had a Reason by Michele Leathers (Independently published)
For more books for teens do take a look at our:
Best Action and Adventure Books for Teens
Best Historical Fiction Books for Teens
Best Non-Fiction Books for Teens
.jpg)