Mysteries are arguably the most popular genre in fiction. Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys have captivated readers for generations. With summer just around the corner, I think it's a perfect time to recommend four new YA mysteries, complete with teen sleuths, for summertime escapist fun. In Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen McManus (One of Us is Lying) twins Ezra and Ellery solve a series of homecoming queen murders. Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett (Alex, Approximately) introduces mystery lover Birdie Lindberg, who teams up with an aspiring magician to expose the devious activities of a reclusive mystery author. In The Vanishing Stair, the second installment in Maureen Johnson's (Shades of London) Truly Devious trilogy, mystery obsessed Stevie Bell continues to uncover clues to a triple murder at Ellingham Academy. The Hummingbird Dagger by Cindy Anstey (Suitors and Sabotage) is a regency novel filled with romance and mystery, involving an amnesia plagued young woman who is the target of devious criminals.
In Two Can Keep a Secret twins Ellery and Ezra are staying with their grandmother in Echo Ridge, while their mother is in rehab. Their mother's twin, a high school homecoming candidate, died there 17 years ago, the homecoming queen five years ago was murdered and now threats against the homecoming court have again surfaced. The twins are working at the Fright Farm, formerly known as Murderland, where the homecoming queen's corpse was found. Ellery, a true crime buff, is determined to solve the mysteries. The story is told in alternating chapters from the perspectives of Ellery and Malcolm, the younger brother of a man suspected of the five-year-old murder. This fast paced mystery is filled with red herrings and shocking twists that will keep readers turning pages until the satisfying conclusion, that reveals not only the murderer's identity and motivation, but other town secrets as well.
Serious Moonlight introduces mystery-loving Birdie Lindberg, who finds herself working the graveyard shift at her new job at an historic Seattle hotel, with aspiring magician Daniel Aoki, after an awkward one night stand with him, which she initiated, but ultimately fled. Birdie, whose strict grandparents have kept her isolated from kids her own age, spends most of her free time hanging out at the Moonlight Diner, where she met Daniel, or with her free-spirited Aunt Mona. Daniel, hoping to break through Birdie's defensive behavior, suggests they investigate whether a guest holding secret meetings at the hotel is actually Raymond Darke, a reclusive bestselling local mystery author. As Birdie begins to blossom, she and Daniel rekindle their initial attraction while sharing their individual vulnerabilities with each other. He struggles with depression after an accident with a magic trick leaves him deaf in one ear, and she worries that she suffers from narcolepsy, which is especially troublesome for someone who works the night shift. The mystery is compelling, with each chapter opening with a quote from a famous literary sleuth, but it is the developing relationship between these sensitive teens that is truly memorable.
The Vanishing Stair, the second installment in the Truly Devious mystery trilogy, finds true-crime obsessed Stevie Bell, continuing to investigate an unsolved kidnapping and triple murder that rocked her school, Ellingham Academy, in 1936. After a classmate's murder at the academy, her parents make her come home, but then allow her to return at the urging of their employer Senator Edward King. When she returns, she resumes a relationship with his rebellious son David, who initially lied about his identity. Unbeknownst to him she agreed to keep tabs on him for his father in exchange for her return. Hired by an academic to help research details for her upcoming book on the legendary murders, Stevie uncovers the answers to several of the long-standing riddles of the case. The story, alternating between the past and present, resolves several elements of the mystery yet others go unsolved, leaving readers anxious for the final installment, The Hand on the Wall, coming out in January 2020.
As The Hummingbird Dagger opens, a near-fatal carriage accident near London in 1833 leaves a young woman with amnesia and in the care of young Lord James Ellerby of Hardwick Manor. Calling herself Beth, the girl struggles to regain her memory and is terrified by a recurring nightmare of a hummingbird with blood dripping from its steel beak. James and his sister Caroline, who were suspicious of Beth's shifty carriage companions and insist she recuperate at their home, try to help her uncover her identity, even as frightening occurrences continue to take place on and around the manor. A romance between James and Beth slowly evolves as clues to the mystery begin to help Beth reclaim her past and defy those plotting against her. Those readers, who love historical fiction filled with intrigue and suspense, will enjoy this latest book from Cindy Anstey, a master of the YA Regency Novel.
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