Mysteries/True Crime Suitable for a Teen

Discussion in 'Reading Pad' started by tkradtke, Mar 25, 2019.

  1. tkradtke

    tkradtke Professional Brainstormer

    Messages:
    6,030
    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    My 17 year old has decided that she thinks that mysteries might be the key to her finally liking to read. She just got back from a spring break service trip with school and one of the boys was reading And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie on the trip and raving about it (and he claims to not be a "reader" either). Our library happens to have two copies, so I'm picking them up tomorrow (I should have mentioned, she wants me to read too so we can have our own little book club).

    Does anyone have any mysteries or true crime books you would recommend? She watches a lot of true crime documentaries, and loves scary movies, so she can handle quite a bit. But I want to shy away from anything with too much of a romantic storyline.

    Thanks so much for any suggestions you might have!
     
    busywoman139 and meterr like this.
  2. bestcee

    bestcee In love with places I've never been to

    Messages:
    19,372
    Joined:
    Dec 18, 2013
    I've been reading 'in death series', but I wouldn't recommend it for a teen. After some of the books I've had to take a break!

    It's weird because everything I think to suggest has romance. What is it with mysteries and romance? Like Mary Higgins clark- nope, romance.
    True crime- Ann rule does that, but it can be fairly graphic because it's the truth.
     
    tkradtke likes this.
  3. Ferdy

    Ferdy Heavy Metal Head Banger

    Messages:
    6,328
    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2009
    ohhh I started with my love for misteries with Agatha Christie's books, when I was a teenager! I've read almost all the books through the years....
    nowadays, I tend to read a lot of thrillers, and misteries/murder books...I need to think about a few names for you, be back later!
     
    tkradtke likes this.
  4. Karen

    Karen Wiggle it, just a little bit!

    Messages:
    30,371
    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2008
    I LOVED Steven King's 11/22/63 about a time traveler trying to stop JFK's assignation. It's a really long one, but it was fascinating because it was mixed in with an event from history. I also went through a phase reading Harlan Coben and a series about the same character Myron Bolitar:

    https://www.goodreads.com/series/54101-myron-bolitar

    I can't remember specifically if there was romance, but I don't think so?
     
    busywoman139, tkradtke and Ferdy like this.
  5. jk703

    jk703 CEO of Anything and Everything, Everywhere

    Messages:
    13,408
    Joined:
    Sep 17, 2012
    tkradtke likes this.
  6. HavaDrPepper

    HavaDrPepper Space. The final frontier

    Messages:
    3,264
    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2015
    Agatha Christie books are always a good choice. And, as an adult I still love to read all the Nancy Drew mysteries.

    Otherwise, I am really into the cozy mystery genre. Some may have a little hint of romance in them but nothing explicit. I really enjoy series of cozy mysteries. Some of my favorite authors in cozy mysteries are: Stacey Alabaster (Bakery Detectives), Lynn Cahoon (Tourist Trap), Debbie Viguie (Psalm 23 mysteries... a little darker type of mystery). Another author I enjoy is Steve Robinson and his Jefferson Tayte genealogical mysteries.
     
    tkradtke likes this.
  7. Ferdy

    Ferdy Heavy Metal Head Banger

    Messages:
    6,328
    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2009
    as @Karen mentioned, I love Harlan Coben books too, and about this character Myron Bolitar, there are 4 books where his nephew is the main character , it's cool for teenagers...mystery and bits of highschool and I don't remember of romance
     
    Karen and tkradtke like this.
  8. tkradtke

    tkradtke Professional Brainstormer

    Messages:
    6,030
    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    Thanks so much for the suggestions everyone! I went to the library armed with this thread to check out options.

    I know! I guess some isn't bad... just not too much and not too much detail :giggle

    A podcast I listen to mentions her books a lot... I'm going to have to check them out for me. I'm real hit or miss with non-fiction.... how do they read?

    I've never read any Agatha Christie books, so I thought it was an odd choice for a teen.... but now I'm thinking differently :-)

    I loved it too... afraid the size will freak her out though (she seriously hasn't read a book that wasn't for school since like 3rd grade). I read it on my Kindle and had no concept of the size (thank goodness!)... lol!

    I'll check those out!

    Oooohhh.... those look good! I'll add them to the list if this first book goes well. (and if not, they might just go on my list)

    I honestly have never read a Nancy Drew Mystery! Trixie Belden was the mystery series I loved as a kid. A few years ago, I requested some from the library hoping Clara would be interested (she wasn't at the time).... I ended up rereading them. Maybe I'll pick up a Nancy Drew or two next time I'm at the library.

    I tried looking up these at my library today... my branch didn't have a single book by any of these authors! I'll have look at requesting some from other branches.

    Oh that's cool! I'll definitely check those out!
     
    jk703 likes this.
  9. tkradtke

    tkradtke Professional Brainstormer

    Messages:
    6,030
    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    Wait!! I just realized that I picked up a book by the author of Truly Devious today! The children's librarian recommended The Name of the Star (from The Shades of London series) for Clara. It's a fiction story written around the Jack the Ripper murders. We took the Jack the Ripper walking tour while in London last year, so I thought that might appeal to her.
     
    jk703 likes this.
  10. Ferdy

    Ferdy Heavy Metal Head Banger

    Messages:
    6,328
    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2009
    @tkradtke it's a 3 books serie by harlan coben, with the character Mickey bolitar: link . I'm not a teen but I loved it...:giggle
     
    Karen likes this.
  11. HavaDrPepper

    HavaDrPepper Space. The final frontier

    Messages:
    3,264
    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2015
    I have some Nancy Drew books from the 1930's... my mother read them when she was young! My cousin and I did a little research on the Nancy Drew mysteries. They are still being written even though the original author is deceased. There have been several ghost writers over the years and there are books that are more up to date. I haven't read those. I like the ones from the original author.

    I actually have all of the authors I listed as Kindle books. If you have a e-reader of any kind, check to see if the library has an e-reader version of the books. Since they are all Kindle books, all of them are on Amazon if you want to see the synopsis of the books. Some of them I got for free which then got me hooked on the authors!
     
  12. londoncuppa

    londoncuppa I like rain, England ... and big words

    Messages:
    2,163
    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2014
    I was a massive Tricia Belden fan too, Tracie. I’m also an Agatha Christie devotee. A safe, fun mystery series are the Aunt Dimity and Mrs. Jefferies series. Gladys Mitchell wrote the Mrs. Bradley mysteries, which are in the same vein as Agatha Christie.
     
  13. busywoman139

    busywoman139 Wish and hope and ... poof! There it is!

    Messages:
    781
    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2012
    I LOVE that she wants to have your own little book club!!!! I have done that informally - if my son suggests a book I read it so we can discuss!

    Agatha Christie has written so many books - if she likes them, she'll have reading materials for a long while! I don't read a lot of mysteries myself but I will suggest The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. The protagonist is a sassy 11 year old who is obsessed with poison/chemistry and solves mysteries. (I listened to it and loved the audio.)

    For True Crime, I recently read Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI which was very interesting (and sad).
     
    Karen likes this.
  14. Karen

    Karen Wiggle it, just a little bit!

    Messages:
    30,371
    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2008
    This is on my list too!
     
  15. Tree City

    Tree City Get a stepladder, I'm busy

    Messages:
    6,267
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2011
    You've heard of bookriot, right? (Or am I making up TLP posts lol?) Anyway, I like that site, and they have a list of 10 Great Mystery Books for Teens. I've heard good things about Pretty Girl-13, but haven't read it so don't blame me if it's bad. :giggle There's a Ruta Sepetys novel on there too, and she wrote Salt to the Sea, our June 2017 pick.
     
    busywoman139 likes this.
  16. blueberries

    blueberries Did I ever tell you I have a thing for snakes?

    Messages:
    858
    Joined:
    Dec 19, 2013
    I'm a big fan of Sue Grafton's alphabet mysteries - they feature a kick ass woman detective, who is single and stays that way. There are a couple of romantic scenes in maybe one or two of the books, but nothing overtly graphic.

    Also good are the books written by Rita Mae Brown and her cat Sneaky Pie Brown - mysteries where the main character's animals are main characters too, and iirc no sex or romance at all (although I haven't read every single book in the series, so later ones might have some, but my mother reads them so its innocuous at best).
     
  17. klee73010

    klee73010 I might have a thing for drummers

    Messages:
    5,472
    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2015
    Last year i read a non fiction book "My Life among serial killers" i think? Following a doctor doing studies. You mentioned she likes documentaries, and this book was definitely like that.
     

Share This Page