10 Kids Books Like Nancy Drew

With a last name like Sherlock, siblings Alex and Zoe decide that the best summer job for them is starting a detective agency. With the help of their best friends, Yadi and Lina, and their former investigative journalist grandfather, the kids are set to find Al Capone’s treasure and learn more about Miami, a sunny city with shady people. But things do not quite go to plan, and instead, they find themselves thrust into an unexpected mystery. The Sherlock Society is a clever mystery — strongly reminiscent of Nancy Drew — with a surprising environmental bent. Ages 9+

Minerva lives in the luxurious Arcanum building, where she loves to play chess with her neighbor, Kermit. Her 11-year-old brother Heck is always cooking up a storm, sometimes with terrible results, and her parents are traveling in Australia, leaving Minerva and Heck with their ditsy cousin Bizzy. Suddenly, the building’s residents start passing out, sometimes with fatal consequences, and the police discover it’s some kind of poisoning. It’s up to Minerva, Heck, and a hesitant detective club recruit (Santos) to solve the mystery with Detective Wesley. Minerva Keen’s Detective Club is an absorbing, well-spun middle grade mystery with a clever female protagonist at its helm. Ages 10+

12-year-old Florian hones his excellent observational skills using a technique he calls the TOAST, (Theory of All Small Things), which helps him in social situations and other life areas. But after teaching it to a new genius friend, they end up solving an art mystery, which puts them on the FBI’s radar — but also in the line of fire of a notorious crime syndicate. I love Ponti’s City Spies series, and while this one isn’t as good, it’s a fantastic escapist read with lots of intellectual mystery-solving/detective work. Ages 10+

Weatherby is a new kid at the Boston School on a sailing scholarship and is immediately thrust into a world she knows nothing about. There are old school phone booths, scrambled phone service at school, friends with kids who go to the country club, and a boy who seems to hate her guts. When Jack, Weatherby, and their friends Pres, Iris, and Harper are contacted by what they think is the school’s famed secret society, they get sucked into a mission, only to unravel a deep secret about the Hunt family that involves Weatherby. The Liars Society is an intriguing, fast-paced, and tightly-plotted middle-grade mystery for younger middle-school readers who are hungry for some thrilling, suspenseful mysteries but aren’t old enough for traditional YA. Ages 10+

Paul Marconi and his two besties, Beanpole and Shank, investigate the unusual appearance of a swarm of rubber duckies discovered on a neighbor’s lawn, bringing some life to their summer. This gentle low-stakes mystery is full of sneaky sleuthing, short, hilarious at times, and sweet. Ages 9+

Asha and Alex are two besties who’ve founded a detective agency. Their first real gig comes when the beloved eccentric chairman of a museum in their small town goes missing, sending a note to three of his board members, one employee, and the A&A Agency to find him before 2 weeks are up. The kids jump into the investigator, talking to the Archivist and the other three members of the board to track down Mr. Fairfleet and revealing many secrets about the billionaire and his board members and testing Asha and Alex’s friendship in the process. The A&A Detective Agency #1 (The Fairfleet Affair) is a quirky mystery about museums, friendship, and community, perfect for the artsy crowd who can handle a slower-paced story. Ages 9+

When a dead body is found in Coop’s small town, he and his best friends Justice and Liberty are intrigued and want to help solve the mystery. But the stakes get even higher when Coop’s grandfather is accused of murdering the victim (who turned out to be Coop’s missing grandma!). Can Coop get the scoop on this mystery and save his grandfather before it’s too late? Coop Knows the Scoop is a thrilling middle grade mystery with a rollercoaster of a narrative and seriously high stakes. Ages 11+

After suffering an injury and losing his arm on the war front, Truly’s father is back in his childhood home with their large family, helping her absent grandparents run their struggling bookstore. Before long, Truly and her new friends are solving a mystery related to a note found in one of the old books. This is a cozy, wintry story that features hard life moments as a family adjusts to a veteran parent who has been changed forever by war and finds their way back to each other. Ages 11+

This cozy middle-grade mystery series stars 12-year-old Lark Heron-Finch, who happens to have a limb difference. Much like Nancy Drew, each case Lark solves has an old-school feel, and living on a small island allows her plenty of room to move freely and investigate solo. This is perfect for fans of cozy mysteries such as The Parker Inheritance. Ages 10+

Maizy and her best friend Izzy are working on a film Maizy has named Shellfish Holmes, about a lobster detective. But Izzy seems bored with the project and even thinks it’s a bit childish. Maizy’s life gets more interesting when a box of Nancy Drew books with an inscription to a girl with the same name as her grandmother (Susie, aka Jacuzzi). There’s also a picture of what appears to be a young Susie. When Jacuzzi denies sending over the box, Maizy reunites with a former neighborhood friend, Nell, to get to the bottom of the mystery. In the process, the girls learn a lot about Jacuzzi and the Nancy Drew books. Sisterhood of Sleuths is a fantastic middle grade mystery about friendship, history, intellectual property, and film-making. Ages 9+