# 5th grade Mystery books

**30** mystery books commonly assigned to 5th grade students in US schools. Every title's grade range covers 5th grade, so each is grade-appropriate by curriculum placement. Sourced from Common Core exemplars, AP, IB, Cambridge, and 50 state ELA curricula.

**Reading difficulty:** the typical 5th grade band is 740–1010L (Common Core Appendix A). Of the 1 titles here with a Lexile score, 1 is grade-level, 0 more accessible, and 0 a stretch.

**Grade:** 5th grade  ·  **Genre:** Mystery
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/genre/mystery/grade/5
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.
**Primary source — Common Core ELA exemplars:** https://www.nysed.gov/sites/default/files/programs/standards-instruction/appendix-b-text-exemplars-and-sample-performance-tasks.pdf

## 5th grade Mystery reading list

- [The Dollhouse Murders](https://readinglist.school/book/the-dollhouse-murders) by Betty Ren Wright _(Grades 4–7 · pub 1983)_
- [Swindle](https://readinglist.school/book/swindle) by Gordon Korman _(Grades 4–7 · pub 2008)_
- [Skeleton Man](https://readinglist.school/book/skeleton-man) by Joseph Bruchac _(Grades 3–8 · pub 2001)_
- [The Westing Game](https://readinglist.school/book/the-westing-game) by Ellen Raskin _(750L · Grades 5–7 · pub 1978)_
- [Christina's Ghost](https://readinglist.school/book/christinas-ghost) by Betty Ren Wright _(Grades 4–6 · pub 1985)_
- [Nightmare Mountain](https://readinglist.school/book/nightmare-mountain) by Peg Kehret _(Grades 3–6 · pub 1989)_
- [Pie](https://readinglist.school/book/pie) by Sarah Weeks _(Grades 3–8 · pub 2011)_
- [Terror at the Zoo](https://readinglist.school/book/terror-at-the-zoo) by Peg Kehret _(Grades 3–6 · pub 1992)_
- [Closed for the Season](https://readinglist.school/book/closed-for-the-season) by Mary Downing Hahn _(Grades 3–8 · pub 2009)_
- [Dead Man in Indian Creek](https://readinglist.school/book/dead-man-in-indian-creek) by Mary Downing Hahn _(Grades 4–6 · pub 1990)_
- [Framed!](https://readinglist.school/book/framed) by James Ponti _(Grades 3–8 · pub 2016)_
- [Is Anybody There?](https://readinglist.school/book/is-anybody-there) by Eve Bunting _(Grades 3–5 · pub 1988)_
- [The Name of the Game Was Murder](https://readinglist.school/book/the-name-of-the-game-was-murder) by Joan Lowery Nixon _(Grades 3–8 · pub 1993)_
- [A Haunting in Williamsburg](https://readinglist.school/book/a-haunting-in-williamsburg) by Lou Kassem _(Grades 3–5 · pub 1990)_
- [Alvin's Swap Shop](https://readinglist.school/book/alvins-swap-shop) by Clifford B. Hicks _(Grades 4–6 · pub 1976)_
- [Bigfoot](https://readinglist.school/book/bigfoot) by Hal George Evarts _(Grades 4–6 · pub 1973)_
- [Down the Rabbit Hole](https://readinglist.school/book/down-the-rabbit-hole) by Peter Abrahams _(Grades 2–8 · pub 2005)_
- [Ghosts Don't Get Goose Bumps](https://readinglist.school/book/ghosts-dont-get-goose-bumps) by Elvira Woodruff _(Grades 3–5 · pub 1993)_
- [Hannah Sharpe, Cartoon Detective](https://readinglist.school/book/hannah-sharpe-cartoon-detective) by Janet Tashjian _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2023)_
- [It Found Us](https://readinglist.school/book/it-found-us) by Lindsay Currie _(Grades 3–6 · pub 2023)_
- [Mystery at the Club Sandwich](https://readinglist.school/book/mystery-at-the-club-sandwich) by Doug Cushman _(Grades 3–8 · pub 2004)_
- [Scared Stiff](https://readinglist.school/book/scared-stiff) by Willo Davis Roberts _(Grades 3–6 · pub 1991)_
- [Skeleton Creek](https://readinglist.school/book/skeleton-creek) by Patrick Carman _(Grades 3–8 · pub 2009)_
- [Something Big Has Been Here](https://readinglist.school/book/something-big-has-been-here) by Jack Prelutsky _(Grades 3–5 · pub 1990)_
- [Tarot Says Beware](https://readinglist.school/book/tarot-says-beware) by Betsy Cromer Byars _(Grades 3–8 · pub 1995)_
- [The Apothecary](https://readinglist.school/book/the-apothecary) by Maile Meloy _(Grades 2–8 · pub 2011)_
- [The Maze of Bones](https://readinglist.school/book/the-maze-of-bones) by Rick Riordan _(Grades 3–8 · pub 2008)_
- [The Stranger](https://readinglist.school/book/the-stranger) by Chris Van Allsburg _(Grades 3–5 · pub 1986)_
- [Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer](https://readinglist.school/book/theodore-boone-kid-lawyer) by John Grisham _(Grades 4–6 · pub 2010)_
- [Three Times Lucky](https://readinglist.school/book/three-times-lucky) by Sheila Turnage _(Grades 4–7 · pub 2012)_

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_Generated from primary-source citations indexed on ReadingList.school. HTML view: https://readinglist.school/genre/mystery/grade/5._