Posts Tagged mysteries

More Than Mysteries

By on September 19, 2025   /   Articles, Book Lists, Fiction  

You don’t have to be a super sleuth to discover these recently published mysteries written by diverse authors. Readers will be intrigued trying to puzzle out whodunit in these page-turning stories. Yes, they will encounter clues, red herrings and action packed scenes, but, most importantly, they will be thrilled to meet relatable young detectives who will inspire them to care about the questions they are seeking to answer. What stands out about these titles is that they are layered with bigger questions – such as injustices in Black History, or the unresolved lives of supernatural spirits, class prejudices in resort towns, the difficulties of true friendship, or ethics in celebrity TV shows. Without a doubt, readers will be entertained.

THEIR JUST DESSERTS

 

Their Just Desserts by Tracy Badua

Laila is thrilled to be on the TV set of a kid’s bake show, while her best friend Lucy, inspiring journalist, would rather be investigating a news story. Both best friends are determined to solve the mystery of the stolen jewels to help their friend, whose father has been accused of this crime. The girls strong personalities, and friendship difficulties, matched with the delicious baking scenes and excitement of the investigation are captivating.

 

 

Billions to Burn

Billions to Burn by Taylor Banks

Clever puzzles, high jinx, and treasure maps, fuel Zeus’s cross country quest to find his grandfather. Along the way he and his three friends are chased by scary henchmen but also are presented with opportunities to learn about the Harlem Renaissance and other aspects of the injustices to Blacks in American History. The inclusion of these thought provoking themes are layered in a natural and fascinating way. The action escalates, and ends with a cliff hanger. Keep your eyes open for a sequel.

 

 

A STUDY IN SECRET

A Study in Secrets by Debbi Michiko Florence

Megumi ‘Meg’ Mizuno is an unwilling student at Leland Chase aka The Last Chance Academy. After her mother’s death two years ago, she has spiraled academically, and longs to spend more time with her busy and distracted father. When a silver envelope is slipped under her door she sees the chance to solve a scavenger hunt and win the luxury vacation prize that would bring her closer to her father. Meg, who has had difficulties making friends in the past, finds she needs to begin trusting her classmates, or else lose any chance of winning the hunt. The private school, shrouded in secrets, is the perfect backdrop for this series opener – as is the unexpected ending.

 

Blood in the Water by Tiffany D. Jackson

Kaylani is trying to make the best of her summer visiting her family’s hoity-toity friends. It shouldn’t be too hard, after all Martha’s Vineyard is full of beaches, kids her age and interesting Black History. When a young boy dies a shocking death, Kaylani is thrown into the role of detective. As Kaylani uncovers clues she’s confronted with secrets about her own life. Plot twists and emotional turns will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

 

 

 

THE LAST RESORT

Last Resort by Erin Entrada Kelly

Lila has never met her Grandpa Clem, and is not to thrilled when her parents uproot her to spend time at his Inn to sort things out after his death. On arrival, she begins to see and communicate with ghosts, who tell her that her grandfather was murdered. With the help of a boy next door, Lila sets out to find the truth so she can release the spirits and allow them to pass to the other world. This spine chilling spooky mystery includes interactive elements. Using a QR code, readers can connect with the ghosts and conduct investigations of their own.

 

 

Opal Watson: Private Eye by Brittany J.Thurman

Opal’s a confident detective who has solved many a case for her friends and family. Now that she’s moved to the Crescent, the new apartment building that her dad is managing in Chicago, she’s confronted with a super challenging mystery. When her best friend and neighbor, Madison hears a strange noise in her bathroom, Opal investigates and finds a much bigger mystery – one that may threaten the existence of the entire building. She and a reluctant partner are assigned a video project about The Great Migration, and discover more surprising secrets about their building.

 

 

Jen Kraar
Jen Kraar grew up chasing lizards in India, making up stories about the residents of the spirit houses in Thailand, and riding retired racehorses in Singapore. On occasion she would visit the Met in NYC, and, like Claudia and Jamie, dream of splashing among the muse statues in the cafeteria’s fountain. Jen explores themes of finding home in the middle grade novels and picture books she writes. Now, as a Manager at Pittsburgh’s beloved City of Asylum Bookstore, she builds a diverse collection of books, talks about kid lit with customers young and old, and reads every middle grade ARC (advanced reading copy) she can get her hands on. When Jen is not reading or writing she is baking scones, knitting while viewing French detective shows with her partner, or visiting her daughters in Brooklyn and Durham.

 

 

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Heists, Hijinks, and Hardboiled Heroes: Misadventures in Middle Grade

By on December 9, 2024   /   Articles, Book Lists, Fiction  

One of the fun things about middle grade books is that they possess the capacity to reflect the adult world on a smaller scale, mimicking and evoking the tropes of other genres without missing a beat. You can have your hardboiled private detectives, your intrepid journalists, your tarnished white knights. You can have your criminal masterminds, menacing henchmen, and slick con artists. The only difference is, they’re tweens and their playground is quite literally the school playground. But all the passions, foibles, dreams and disappointments can be found here … just don’t get caught by the principal!  Read on for a selection of old and new books which expertly capture the dark side of middle school.

The Big Splash by Jack D. Ferraiolo

Hardboiled loner Matt Stevens winds up entangled in the dark and dastardly schemes of a middle school crime syndicate, facing off against hitmen armed with water pistols, in this cool, stylish, and snappy callback to classic noir.  Though set firmly in the world of seventh- and eight-grade, this serious plays its tropes and themes seriously, from the wise-cracking, world-weary hero to the ruthless crime lord, from the complicated yet lovely femme fatale to the corrupt authorities. A sequel, The Quick Fix, saw Matt investigating who blackmailed the school basketball star.

High Score by Destiny Howell

Seventh-grade mastermind DJ has called it quits to schemes and cons, doing his best to lay low in a new school. Then his former partner and best friend Conor shows up, and winds up on the wrong side of the school’s criminal kingpin. To cancel out Conor’s debt and save him from becoming a social pariah, DJ has to assemble a new crew and acquire an astronomical amount of arcade tickets. It looks like he’s back in the game after all. Fast-paced, funny, and clever, this middle grade heist is as daring as any Danny Ocean might conceive. Followed by Second To None, in which DJ’s crew deals with a conspiracy aimed at taking down the school’s high achievers and club leaders.

 

The Great Green Heist by Varian Johnson

Another instance of a mastermind being recalled to a life of intrigue and danger, this political thriller sees Jackson Greene, reformed con man, pulling together a team of specialized operatives to swing the school presidential election. There’s nothing quite like the reluctant anti-hero ripped from a peaceful life and torn between friendship and honor. This is followed by To Catch a Cheat, in which Jackson and friends must clear their names after being framed by outwitting a devious blackmailer. “Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in,” to quote the Godfather movies…

 

The Cookie Crumbles by Tracy Badua and Alechia Dow

Talented baker Laila and her best friend, aspiring journalist Lucy, are excited to participate in the Golden Cookie Competition, especially since winning could determine their future in high school together. Before the final round, they must contend with sabotage, foul play, and the poisoning of one of the judges. In this cozy yet tense mystery, the recipe for success involves friendship, chocolate, and a healthy dose of danger. To be followed in 2025 by Their Just Desserts, another tasty mystery set against a baking competition.

 

The Sherlock Society by James Ponti

The Sherlock siblings—Alex and Zoe–, along with their friends Lina and Yadi, set out to form their own detective agency, only to discover it’s not as easy as it seems. Assisted by their grandfather, a retired reporter with a collection of cold cases, the Sherlocks launch a hunt for Al Capone’s lost treasure, only to stumble across more contemporary crimes in need of solving. With this delightfully intelligent, fast-paced tale, Ponti evokes classic juvenile sleuths while giving them a modern day makeover.

 

Bubblegum Shoes: The Case of the Contraband Closet by Goldy Moldavsky

In this clever mystery coming out next year, would be private detective Maya Mendoza has a nose for intrigue, a knack for getting in trouble, and a reputation for missing the mark. But when someone pulls off the heist of the century by emptying her school’s “Contraband Closet” of all its treasures, Maya has to enlist her estranged best friend and several new allies to solve the case. The clock is ticking and everyone is a suspect in this snappy, suspenseful series opener.

 

And there you go, a selection of hardboiled heroes, reluctantly reformed con men, and amateur investigators, all ready to see justice satisfied one way or another. Now if only they could solve the mystery of where I left the remote…

 

 

 

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Meet Fred Bowen, author of the FRED BOWEN SPORTS STORY SERIES

By on August 25, 2021   /   Articles, Author Interviews  

Today at MUF we’re so excited to welcome Fred Bowen, author of Peachtree’s popular Fred Bowen Sports Story Series for middle grade readers. A lifelong sports fanatic, he has coached youth league baseball, basketball, and soccer. His kids’ sports column “The Score” appears each week in the KidsPost section of the Washington Post.  His latest book in the Fred Bowen Sports Story Series is Soccer Trophy Mystery. 

Here Fred shares his rules for writing for middle graders, his favorite teams, and the most important thing we can learn from sports.

Soccer Trophy Mystery

MUF: Thank you so much for answering a few questions for us. Starting with the hardest question first: What’s your favorite sport? 

Fred: I enjoy most sports if they are well played and the teams or players are well matched.  But my favorite sport to watch is baseball.  My son, Liam, is the head baseball coach at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and so my favorite team to watch is the UMBC Retrievers.

Growing up, I played lots of sports: baseball, basketball, football, soccer, tennis and even street hockey.  I wasn’t great at any of them but I loved playing and being active.  Now that I am older my favorite sport to play is golf.  I am still trying to score my first hole-in-one.

MUF: As a kid, did you love reading, love playing and watching sports, or love both? What led to your career as a sportswriter? 

Fred: Both. As I said above, I played lots of sports growing up.  I also spent many hours watching sports on television.  Living in New England, I was a big Boston Red Sox and Boston Celtics fan.  Because my father was in advertising, he would get tickets to see the Celtics and the Bruins, Boston’s pro hockey team.  So I was lucky enough to see such great basketball players as Bill Russell, Bob Cousy and many others up close in the Boston Garden.  I also saw the incomparable Bobby Orr of the Bruins play hockey several times.

As for reading, I grew up on the Chip Hilton sports books.  The books, written in the 1940s and 50s by Hall of Fame basketball coach Clair Bee, followed Chip and his friends’ sports adventures at Valley Falls High School and State (his college).  I suspect the books would seem very old fashioned now, but I loved them.  They helped me understand the joy of being lost in a book.  I also read sports magazines such as Sports Illustrated as well as the sports section of several newspapers.

Finally, I did not start out as a writer.  I studied history at the University of Pennsylvania (PENN) and then went on to law school at George Washington University.  I was a lawyer for more than thirty years.

The most important reason I became a writer is because I married my wife, Peggy Jackson, who was, at the time, a journalist.  She encouraged my writing.

Fred Bowen

Kidlit author Fred Bowen

First, I wrote movie reviews for local papers.  That was fun.  I got paid to go to the movies!  A few years later, after my son was born, I started reading sports books to him.  I didn’t think they were very good so I tried writing one.  Those efforts produced T.J.’s Secret Pitch, the first in my Fred Bowen Sports Story series.  I now have 24 books in the series with Soccer Trophy Mystery being the latest.  I plan on writing kids’ sports books as long as I am having fun doing it and kids want to read them.

MUF: For your young readers, what would you tell them are the most important things they can learn about the world and themselves by participating in sports? What if they’re not sporty at all? 

Fred: There are lots of things kids can learn from sports such as sportsmanship and how to be a good teammate.  But I think the two most important lessons kids can learn from sports are:

  • Always try your hardest. That way you can be satisfied even if things do not turn out the way you had hoped.  It is easy to say, “I could have gotten an “A” if I had studied.”  It is harder to study your hardest and get a “B.”  But at least you will know you gave it your best effort

 

  • I have hinted at this lesson in the first answer. Sometimes, you can try your hardest and things still do not turn out the way you wanted.  Your team loses or you don’t make the team.  Life is filled with disappointments.  Sports is often a good (and safe) place for kids to learn how to deal with disappointments but to bounce back and try again.

Sports are not the only place to learn these lessons.  Some kids are not “sporty.”  They can still learn these lessons about effort and learning how to bounce back from disappointment if they are interested in music or theater or some other activity.  The important thing is you have to care about your interest.  Don’t be a kid who is always complaining things are “boring.”  Find something you like to do and give it your best efforts.

MUF: For writers, any advice on how you created such a successful and wonderful book series? What’s your secret?  

Fred: First, thanks for the kind words about the series.  One of my “secrets” is I am lucky enough to write about a subject that is interesting to me and my readers.  I have been a sports fan for my entire life and so it is a joy to write about the games and personalities in sports.  I think my readers sense my enthusiasm for the subject and that is one of the reasons they love my books.

As for the more technical aspects of writing, I was asked to speak at a conference of people who wanted to write for middle readers (ages 8-12).  So I came up with my Rules for Writing for Middle Graders.  Here they are (although I am sure I broken all of them at some time).

  • Write in short, clear sentences;
  • Avoid long descriptions;
  • Avoid adverbs and the passive voice;
  • Subject/Verb/Object is a good sentence structure 90% of the time;
  • Show, don’t tell;
  • All action should either reveal character and/or move the plot along;
  • If you can tell your story (or part of your story) clearly through dialogue, do it;
  • Try to break up the words on the page – no young reader likes to see page after page filled with words;
  • Think about your reader.

MUF: Finally, how can fans find you? Do you have a website and/or any social media that you use? 

Fred: The best way to reach me is to go to my website: www.fredbowen.com

Click on the “Contact” heading at the top of the home page.  That will direct kids or any interested people to a way they can send me an email.  I always enjoy hearing from my readers and will answer any emails sent to me.

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