The best YA murder mysteries

Reading lists

Young Adult murder mysteries to read at any age

The Inheritance Games

Gorgeous deluxe clothbound hardback editions with two metallic foils on the cover designs, sprayed edges, unique designed endpapers and ribbon markers. These deluxe collector editions ooze as much romance, glamour and luxury as the Hawthorne family! 
 
The perfect addition to any book collector’s shelf – and a must-have for all Inheritance Games fans! 
 
 
She came from nothing. 
Avery has a plan: keep her head down, work hard for a better future. Then an eccentric billionaire dies, leaving her almost his entire fortune. And no one, least of all Avery, knows why. 
 
They had everything. 
Now she must move into the mansion she's inherited. It's filled with secrets and codes, and the old man's surviving relatives - a family hell-bent on discovering why Avery got 'their' money. 
 
Now there's only one rule: winner takes all. 
Soon she is caught in a deadly game that everyone in this strange family is playing. But just how far will they go to keep their fortune? 
 
PRAISE FOR THE INHERITANCE GAMES SERIES: 
 
Barnes is a master of puzzles and plot twists.’ E. Lockhart, author of We Were Liars 
 
‘Impossible to put down’ Buzzfeed 
 
“The romance in this had me freaking out over the littlest things! I’m obsessed!” - reader review 
 
“Richly dark and has all the elements of a classic mystery but with a fresh, modern twist.” - reader review 
 
“A five-star read that I was unable to put down until every question was answered.” - reader review

Jennifer Lynn Barnes is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty acclaimed young-adult novels, including The Inheritance Games series, Little White Lies, Deadly Little Scandals, The Lovely and the Lost, and The Naturals series. Jen is also a Fulbright Scholar with advanced degrees in psychology, psychiatry, and cognitive science. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University in 2012 and was a professor of psychology and professional writing at the University of Oklahoma for many years. She invites you to her online at www.jenniferlynnbarnes.com or follow her on Twitter @jenlynnbarnes.

Gorgeous deluxe clothbound hardback editions with two metallic foils on the cover designs, sprayed edges, unique designed endpapers and ribbon markers. These deluxe collector editions ooze as much romance, glamour and luxury as the Hawthorne family! 
 
The perfect addition to any book collector’s shelf – and a must-have for all Inheritance Games fans! 
 
 
She came from nothing. 
Avery has a plan: keep her head down, work hard for a better future. Then an eccentric billionaire dies, leaving her almost his entire fortune. And no one, least of all Avery, knows why. 
 
They had everything. 
Now she must move into the mansion she's inherited. It's filled with secrets and codes, and the old man's surviving relatives - a family hell-bent on discovering why Avery got 'their' money. 
 
Now there's only one rule: winner takes all. 
Soon she is caught in a deadly game that everyone in this strange family is playing. But just how far will they go to keep their fortune?

The Grandest Game

Impossible puzzles, shocking twists and addictive romance combine in this unmissable, brand-new mystery set in the #1 bestselling INHERITANCE GAMES world – guaranteed to keep you hooked until the very last page . . . 
 Play to win millions. Risk it all for love. The stakes have never been higher . . . 
 A RUTHLESS GAME. 
 Welcome to the Grandest Game, a life-changing competition run by billionaire heiress Avery Grambs and the four infamous Hawthorne brothers, whose family fortune she inherited. 
SEVEN MYSTERY PLAYERS. 
 Swept away to a luxury private island, some of the players are in it for money. Some for power. Some for reasons all their own . . . And admidst it all is the enigmatic and irresistible Grayson Hawthorn, tasked with a vital role. 
 
 LOVE AND LIVES AT STAKE. 
 But as sparks fly and tensions rise it soon becomes clear that everyone has secrets, and those seven players will do whatever it takes to win. 
 What readers are saying about The Grandest Game: 
‘The ROMANCE in this book?! . . . So beautifully woven in with the glorious riddles.’ 
‘PHENOMENAL’ 
‘TWIST AFTER TWIST, I was up all night trying to figure out the puzzles, I love it!’ 
‘Absolutely SPECTACULAR!’ 
‘I felt like I was on a ROLLERCOASTER, gasping and silently screaming.’

Seven tickets. An island of dreams. The chance of a lifetime. 
 
Welcome to the Grandest Game, an annual competition run by billionaire Avery Grambs and the four infamous Hawthorne brothers, whose family fortune she inherited. Designed to give anyone a shot at fame and fortune, this year's game requires one of seven golden tickets to enter. With millions on the line, those seven players will do whatever it takes to win. 
 
Some of the players are in it for the money. Some for power. Some for reasons all their own. Every single one of them has secrets. Amidst it all is Grayson Hawthorne, tasked with a vital role in this year's game. But as tensions rise and the mind-bending challenges push the players to their limits-physically, mentally, and emotionally-it soon becomes clear that not everyone is playing by the rules. 
 
Do you have what it takes to play?

The Lovely and the Lost

A FORGOTTEN PAST. 
Kira vividly remembers the moment Cady Bennett and one of her search and rescue dogs found her as a child, living alone in the wild, with no memories of her life before. Years later, now adopted into the Bennett family, Kira has spent most of her life training in search and rescue herself. 
 
A MISSING GIRL. 
So, when Cady’s estranged father appears with news of a missing child out in the wilderness, Kira vows to bring the girl home. 
 
A DARK SECRET. 
As the search intensifies, danger mounts and long-buried secrets begin to come to light. To find one missing child, Kira will have to question everything she thinks she knows.

A mystery-thriller from the number one bestselling author of The Inheritance Games. 
 
A FORGOTTEN PAST. 
Kira vividly remembers the moment Cady Bennett and one of her search and rescue dogs found her as a child, living alone in the wild, with no memories of her life before. Years later, now adopted into the Bennett family, Kira has spent most of her life training in search and rescue herself. 
 
A MISSING GIRL. 
So, when Cady’s estranged father appears with news of a missing child out in the wilderness, Kira vows to bring the girl home. 
 
A DARK SECRET. 
As the search intensifies, danger mounts and long-buried secrets begin to come to light. To find one missing child, Kira will have to question everything she thinks she knows. 
 
Praise for The Lovely and the Lost: 
 
‘A propulsive mystery-thriller . . . You will cling to this book until you reach the end.’ - Maureen Johnson

Games Untold

Romance, luxury, and secrets abound in this thrilling new collection that takes readers deeper into the world of the #1 bestselling Inheritance Games series. 
 
There is nothing frivolous about the way a Hawthorne man loves. 
 
An amnesiac playboy and the woman with every reason to hate him. A daredevil, his favorite heiress, and three nights in Prague. An unlikely pairing between a cowboy and a goth. Four brothers with an inescapable bond, strengthened by the family they chose, in a house of wonders that promises to always deliver one more secret. 
 
Discover their stories of love and loss, power, puzzles, and life-and-death secrets in this mind-blowingly romantic collection that proves that when you love the way Hawthornes love, there is no going back. 
 
This collection includes:· That Night in Prague (novella)· The Same Backward as Forward (novella)· The Cowboy and the Goth· Five Times Xander Tackled Someone (and One Time He Didn’t)· One Hawthorne Night· What Happens in the Treehouse· $3CR3T $@NT@· Pain at the Right Gun

There is nothing frivolous about the way a Hawthorne man loves. 
 
An amnesiac playboy and the woman with every reason to hate him. A daredevil, his favourite heiress, and three nights in Prague. An unlikely pairing between a cowboy and a goth. Four brothers with an inescapable bond, strengthened by the family they chose, in a house of wonders that promises to always deliver one more secret. 
 
Discover their stories of love and loss, power, puzzles, and life-and-death secrets in this mind-blowingly romantic collection that proves that when you love the way Hawthornes love, there is no going back.

The Brothers Hawthorne

2 MILLION COPIES SOLD OF THE #1 BESTSELLING SERIES! 
 
 IMPOSSIBLE PUZZLES. SHOCKING TWISTS. IRRESISTIBLE ROMANCE. 
 Welcome to the explosive new Inheritance Games mystery that will keep you hooked until the very last page . . . 
 
 A FAMILY SECRET . . . 
 Grayson Hawthorne was raised as the heir apparent to his billionaire grandfather, taught from the cradle to put family first. So when Grayson's half-sisters find themselves in trouble, he's determined to care of the problem - efficiently, effectively, mercilessly. And without getting emotionally involved. 
 
 AN IMPOSSIBLE CHALLENGE . . . 
 Jameson Hawthorne is a risk-taker, a sensation-seeker, a player of games. So when his mysterious father appears and sets him a challenge, Jameson can't resist. Now he must infiltrate London's most exclusive underground gambling club, which caters to the rich and the powerful, and win an impossible game of the highest stakes. Luckily, Jameson Hawthorne lives for impossible. 
HEARTS AND LIVES ARE AT STAKE . . . 
 Drawn into twisted games on opposite sides of the globe, Grayson and Jameson - with the help of their brothers and the girl who stole both their hearts - must dig deep to decide what each of them will sacrifice to win. 
 
 'IMPOSSIBLE TO PUT DOWN' Buzzfeed 
 'A MASTER OF PUZZLES AND PLOT TWISTS' E. Lockhart, author of We Were Liars

Barnes is a master of puzzles and plot twists.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty acclaimed young-adult novels, including The Inheritance Games series, Little White Lies, Deadly Little Scandals, The Lovely and the Lost, and The Naturals series. Jen is also a Fulbright Scholar with advanced degrees in psychology, psychiatry, and cognitive science. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University in 2012 and was a professor of psychology and professional writing at the University of Oklahoma for many years. She invites you to her online at www.jenniferlynnbarnes.com or follow her on Twitter @jenlynnbarnes.

FOUR BROTHERS. TWO MYSTERIES. ONE EXPLOSIVE READ. 
 
Grayson Hawthorne was raised as the heir apparent to his billionaire grandfather, taught from the cradle to put family first. Now the great Tobias Hawthorne is dead and his family disinherited, but some lessons linger. When Grayson's half-sisters find themselves in trouble, he swoops in to do what he does best: take care of the problem - efficiently, effectively, mercilessly. And without getting bogged down in emotional entanglements. 
 
Jameson Hawthorne is a risk-taker, a sensation-seeker, a player of games. When his mysterious father appears and asks for a favor, Jameson can't resist the challenge. Now he must infiltrate London's most exclusive underground gambling club, which caters to the rich, the powerful, and the aristocratic, and win an impossible game of greatest stakes. Luckily, Jameson Hawthorne lives for impossible. 
 
Drawn into twisted games on opposite sides of the globe, Grayson and Jameson - with the help of their brothers and the girl who inherited their grandfather's fortune and stole their hearts - must dig deep to decide who they want to be and what each of them will sacrifice to win. 
 
AND THERE'S NOTHING MORE HAWTHORNE THAN WINNING . . .

From the bestselling author of The Inheritance Games

Little White Lies

Welcome to the page-turning, twisty, gasp-inducing world of the Debutantes - an addictive YA mystery duology from the author of #1 bestselling, TikTok sensation INHERITANCE GAMES series. 
'A plot twist every twenty pages . . . Barnes is at her page-turning best.' E. Lockhart, author of We Were Liars 
 A six-figure offer. A family mystery to solve. A town of buried secrets. 
 When Auto mechanic Sawyer Taft's estranged grandmother offers her a six-figure contract to participate in debutante season, Sawyer's first instinct is to run a mile. But then she realizes her grandmother's offer might mean solving the biggest mystery of her life - her father's identity. So she signs on the dotted line and braces herself for a year of makeovers, big dresses and even bigger egos. . . 
 However, Sawyer doesn't expect to find a group of fellow debutantes with scandalous, dangerous secrets of their own and soon it's clear that the truth about her father is just one of the shocking secrets buried deep in this high-society world . . . And no one wants Sawyer poking her nose into the past. 
 Shocking twists, family secrets, a fish-out-of water protagonist and a page-turning mystery combine in Little White Lies and Deadly Little Scandals (The Debutantes Duology) - perfect for fans coming from THE INHERITANCE GAMES series looking for their next addictive read from the Master of YA Mysteries, Jennifer Lynn Barnes.

A plot twist every twenty pages and characters as devious as they are southern-belle glamorous . . . Barnes is at her page-turning best.

Page-turning tension, witty humour, and a mystery that will keep you guessing . . . Barnes at her best.

A six-figure offer. A family mystery to solve. A town of buried secrets. 
When Auto mechanic Sawyer Taft's estranged grandmother offers her a six-figure contract to participate in debutante season, Sawyer's first instinct is to run a mile. But then she realizes her grandmother's offer might mean solving the biggest mystery of her life - her father's identity. So she signs on the dotted line and braces herself for a year of makeovers, big dresses and even bigger egos. 
 
However, Sawyer doesn't expect to find a group of fellow debutantes with scandalous, dangerous secrets of their own and soon it's clear that the truth about her father is just one of the shocking secrets buried deep in this high-society world . . . And no one wants Sawyer poking her nose into the past.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Millions, hearts, and lives are on the line in this heart-stopping sequel to The Grandest Game by #1 bestselling author Jennifer Lynn Barnes. 
 
Seven players arrived on Hawthorne Island, each with their own secrets and motivations to win the Grandest Game. Millions are at stake, but so are hearts—and lives. The players now must race to win the game, solve myriad mysteries, and survive the twists and turns of Glorious Rivals. 
 
The stakes get higher, the game gets twistier, and everything heats up in this newest instalment in the TikTok sensation Inheritance Games Saga - now over 6 MILLION COPIES sold.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Praise for Glorious Rivals

Impossible to put down

A master of puzzles and plot twists

Books by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Debutantes2 Books

The Fixer2 Books

The Grandest Game2 Books

The Inheritance Games6 Books

The Inheritance Games Deluxe Collector’s Series3 Books

Articles featuring Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Young Adult murder mysteries to read at any age

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