Cover Story: Thrillers and Mystery

Here are our librarians' picks of the best teen reads in the thrillers and mystery genre.

You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight 

Kalynn Bayron

Charity and her friends are spending the summer in the Camp Mirror Lake Experience, acting out a gory horror story for paying guests. But the summer fun takes a sinister turn when a mysterious figure is seen in the woods and Charity’s friends start going missing. As Charity tries to find them she discovers that the camp is concealing some terrible secrets. An undeniably gory horror story. 

9781526658463 Bloomsbury: 2023 ebook available 

A Game of Life or Death

Triona Campbell 

Set in the not-so-distant future, where tech giants control everything, Asha and her sister Maya are trying to make their way in the world without getting embroiled in the dark web. But when Maya is found dead of unknown causes, and all clues lead back to her employers Zu Tech, Asha knows she has to return to her old life of underground hacking and VR gaming to reveal the truth. Fans of video games and The Hunger Games will love this suspenseful, high-tech thriller.    

9780702317880 Scholastic: 2023 

The Girl Who Broke the Sea

A Connors

When Lily and her Mum arrive at Deephaven, an experimental deep-sea research station three miles below the sea level, they are both hoping that she will be able to get a fresh start and leave her troubled past behind. But something else is lurking in the deep sea, something very old, and it doesn’t want to be alone anymore. Combining action-filled sci-fi with ancient mythology, this is a thrilling tale set at the bottom of the undiscovered ocean.   

9780702317583 Scholastic: 2023 

Unraveller

Francis Hardinge

Kellen should be the richest and most popular person in Raddith, as he has a unique ability to undo the curses that can turn people into birds or boats. But Kellen’s bad temper has left him poor and with many enemies. When a stranger offers him protection in return for using his skills to solve a mystery he reluctantly agrees and finds himself on a challenging and dangerous quest. Bursting with imagination and full of engaging and eccentric characters. 

9781529081411 Macmillan: 2023 ebook available 

Let's Play Murder

Kesia Lupo 

The Game, a virtual reality world buried deep in the dark web, offers extreme online adventure and incredible prizes. When Veronica finds herself accidently stuck inside the game, she will have to work alongside her fellow gamers to solve the mystery and escape. But, as the game begins to glitch around her, it soon becomes clear that the stakes are real, and Game Over might really mean the end...  Agatha Christie meets Black Mirror meets Cluedo in this unique twist on a locked-room-mystery. 

9781526635464 Bloomsbury: 2023 ebook available 

Secret Sister

Sophie McKenzie 

A gripping thriller from a popular author about separated twin sisters and how they find each other. Willow is happily living with her father and stepfamily, thinking that her mother and sister died in an accident when she was a toddler. Meanwhile, Asha has been living in an island commune with her adoptive mother, unaware that her sister is living on the mainland. Will the girls be reunited, or will outside forces keep them apart? 

9781398523265 Simon and Schuster: 2023 ebook available 

Nothing More to Tell

Karen McManus

A thrilling read perfect for fans of ‘One of Us is Lying’. Brynn left her prestigious school after the murder of her favourite teacher, but now she is back and she wants to solve the mystery behind his death. Tripp is Brynn’s former best friend. He was one of the students who found the body and his evidence got them all discounted as suspects. But was he telling the truth? Brynn has to rebuild her friendship with Tripp before she can find out. 

9780241473689 Penguin: 2022 ebook available 

A Forgery of Roses

Jessica Olsen

Myra was born with the power to change a person’s appearance by painting their portrait  but must conceal her skill as many consider this magic to be evil. She struggles to make ends meet, so when she is offered a life-changing amount of money to paint a picture that will bring someone back to life she thinks this may be a way out of her troubles. In fact, her troubles are only just beginning. Horror-infused gothic romance. 

9780008592462 HarperCollins: 2022 ebook available 

The Haunting of Tyrese Walker

J P Rose

Since he arrived in Jamaica strange things have been happening to Tyrese Walker. He suffers from  blackouts and hallucinations, and is plagued by swarms of insects. Tyrese is convinced that he is being haunted, but is it just the stress of his father’s death getting to him? The answer may lie in a mysterious grave hidden in the nearby forest. Atmospheric and spooky. 

9781839132407 Andersen Press: 2022 ebook available 

Their Vicious Games

Joelle Wellington

In Adina’s world girls from rich and powerful families get everything. Adina is brainy but has no money, so seems doomed to a life with few opportunities. She has got one slim chance to escape. A mysterious competition called the Finish offers the winner access to the world of the rich and powerful. But the competition itself is brutal, and when contestants start dying Adina realises that she is truly playing for her life. 

9780241590553 Penguin: 2023 

Bite Risk

S J Wills

Every night with a full moon Sel has to lock his Mum in a cage. If he didn’t she would literally tear him to pieces, because every full moon sees all the adults in Sel’s town turning into werewolves The town treats this weird situation as normal, but when even more outlandish things start to happen Sel begins to suspect that he has not been told the whole truth about what is going on. An effective mix of mystery and horror. 

9781398520943 Simon & Schuster: 2023 ebook available 

The Agency for Scandal

Laura Wood

Set in the 19th century, this historical novel is the perfect mix of romance, mystery and suspense! Izzy works at a detective agency, specialising in investigating the scandalous upper classes. When the Duke that Izzy has a secret crush on is embroiled in her newest case, she must untangle the web of secrets and discover the truth. Will she solve the case or will her feelings for the Duke get in the way?  

9780702303241 Scholastic: 2023 

The Lies We Tell

Katie Zhao

When Anna starts college she has plans to get great grades but also solve the mystery of her murdered childhood babysitter. While there she meets Chris, a familiar face as his family owns the bakery that is the number one rival to her parents' Chinese bakery, Sweetea. The pair are thrown together when a vandal leaves a clue for Anna’s investigation in the form of a racist tag at Sunny’s. A coming-of-age story with a hint of rivals-to-lovers romance.   

9781526654854 Bloomsbury: 2022