There are a lot of great youth mysteries!  If your son likes Sherlock Holmes, he may also enjoy:

The house with a clock in its walls / John Bellairs, Bellais has a lot of mystery books.  They have a supernatural edge to them and can be scary, but they are great mysteries.  I see youth pick up one and then want to read them all!

Chasing Vermeer / by Blue Balliett
Here is the description: When seemingly unrelated and strange events start to happen and a precious Vermeer painting disappears, eleven-year-olds Petra and Calder combine their talents to solve an international art scandal.

Shakespeare's secret / Elise Broach.
Named after a character in a Shakespeare play, misfit sixth-grader Hero becomes interested in exploring this unusual connection because of a valuable diamond supposedly hidden in her new house, an intriguing neighbor, and the unexpected attention of the most popular boy in school.

Alfred Hitchcock and the three investigators in The mystery of the flaming footprints
These are older books, like Bellairs and Doyle. They are more detective oriented.  Definitely a classical mystery genre.

The westing game / by Ellen Raskin
When a millionaire dies, the heirs to his estate must find out how he died before they can claim their inheritance. 

Please let us know if you would like some more suggestions.  If you want to bring your son in, one of our staff would be happy to walk with him through our book stacks and help him find a good mystery book.

Good Luck!

Melanie Borski-Howard
Youth Services
Boulder Public Library

Answered by Melanie Howard (14) on Mar 02, 2010Email answer