# 3rd grade books about mystery and detective stories

**16** books commonly assigned to 3rd grade students in US schools that explore mystery and detective stories. Every title's grade range covers 3rd grade, so each is grade-appropriate by curriculum placement. Sourced from Common Core exemplars, AP, IB, Cambridge, and 50 state ELA curricula.

**Grade:** 3rd grade  ·  **Theme:** mystery and detective stories
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/grade/3/mystery-and-detective-stories
**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

## 3rd grade mystery and detective stories reading list

- [A Haunting in Williamsburg](https://readinglist.school/book/a-haunting-in-williamsburg) by Lou Kassem _(Grades 3–5 · pub 1990)_
- [Closed for the Season](https://readinglist.school/book/closed-for-the-season) by Mary Downing Hahn _(Grades 3–8 · pub 2009)_
- [Framed!](https://readinglist.school/book/framed) by James Ponti _(Grades 3–8 · pub 2016)_
- [Ghosts Don't Get Goose Bumps](https://readinglist.school/book/ghosts-dont-get-goose-bumps) by Elvira Woodruff _(Grades 3–5 · pub 1993)_
- [Mystery at the Club Sandwich](https://readinglist.school/book/mystery-at-the-club-sandwich) by Doug Cushman _(Grades 3–8 · pub 2004)_
- [Nightmare Mountain](https://readinglist.school/book/nightmare-mountain) by Peg Kehret _(Grades 3–6 · pub 1989)_
- [Piggins](https://readinglist.school/book/piggins) by Jane Yolen _(Grades K–3 · pub 1987)_
- [Running Out of Time](https://readinglist.school/book/running-out-of-time) by Margaret Peterson Haddix _(Grades 3–8 · pub 1995)_
- [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)_
- [Terror at the Zoo](https://readinglist.school/book/terror-at-the-zoo) by Peg Kehret _(Grades 3–6 · pub 1992)_
- [The Mysterious Matter of I. M. Fine](https://readinglist.school/book/the-mysterious-matter-of-i-m-fine) by Diane Stanley _(Grades 3–5 · pub 2001)_
- [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)_
- [The Stranger](https://readinglist.school/book/the-stranger) by Chris Van Allsburg _(Grades 3–5 · pub 1986)_

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