Books like A Deadly Game of Magic

If you liked A Deadly Game of Magic, read The Dark and Deadly Pool, The Name of the Game Was Murder, or Stranger with My Face — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like A Deadly Game of Magic by Joan Lowery Nixon (Fantasy · grades 6–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of mystery and detective stories, magic tricks, and murder. The 10 titles below are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level, and each linked to the curricula, states, and grades where it’s assigned, with primary sources.

These are reading-level matches, not just topical ones — so the picks stay grade-appropriate for a grades 6–8 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to A Deadly Game of Magic

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Why each is a match

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The Dark and Deadly Poolgrades 6–8
Is by Joan Lowery Nixon, the same author, shares themes of mystery and detective stories, and both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list. Amazon → books like this →
The Name of the Game Was Murdergrades 3–8
Is by Joan Lowery Nixon, the same author, shares themes of mystery and detective stories and murder, and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Stranger with My Facegrades 6–8
Shares themes of mystery and detective stories, both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, and same genre (Fantasy). Amazon → books like this →
Twisted Summergrades 6–8
Shares themes of mystery and detective stories and murder, both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Christina's Ghostgrades 4–6
Shares themes of mystery and detective stories, both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–6). Amazon → books like this →
Closed for the Seasongrades 3–8
Shares themes of mystery and detective stories and murder and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Don't Look Behind Yougrades 6–8
Shares themes of mystery and detective stories, both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, and overlapping grades (6–8). Amazon → books like this →
Magykgrades 3–8
Shares themes of magic, fiction, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →
Nightmare Mountaingrades 3–6
Shares themes of mystery and detective stories, both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, and overlapping grades (3–6). Amazon → books like this →
Running Out of Timegrades 3–8
Shares themes of mystery and detective stories, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (3–8). Amazon → books like this →

Books like A Deadly Game of Magic for younger readers (K–2)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps K–2— same scoring, different audience.

  • Enchanted Wood by Ruth Sanderson · grades K–3 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list and same genre (Fantasy).
  • Piggins by Jane Yolen · grades K–3 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories.
  • The Paper Crane by Molly Bang · grades K–1 — Same genre (Fantasy) and the same era (1980s).
  • The Talking Eggs by Robert D. San Souci · grades K–3 — Same genre (Fantasy) and the same era (1980s).
  • Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams · grades 2–8 — Shares themes of murder and overlapping grades (2–8).

Books like A Deadly Game of Magic for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 3–5— same scoring, different audience.

  • Tarot Says Beware by Betsy Cromer Byars · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories and murder and overlapping grades (3–8).
  • The Christmas of the Reddle Moon by J. Patrick Lewis · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of magic, fiction and same genre (Fantasy).
  • Dead Man in Indian Creek by Mary Downing Hahn · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories, both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–6).
  • Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine · grades 4–7 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, same genre (Fantasy), and overlapping grades (4–7).
  • Enchanted Wood by Ruth Sanderson · grades K–3 — Both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list and same genre (Fantasy).

Books like A Deadly Game of Magic for middle school (grades 6–8)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 6–8— same scoring, different audience.

  • Whispers from the Dead by Joan Lowery Nixon · grades 6–9 — Is by Joan Lowery Nixon, the same author, shares themes of mystery and detective stories, and both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list.
  • The Haunting by Joan Lowery Nixon · grades 6–9 — Is by Joan Lowery Nixon, the same author, shares themes of mystery and detective stories, and overlapping grades (6–9).
  • Tarot Says Beware by Betsy Cromer Byars · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories and murder and overlapping grades (3–8).
  • The Third Eye by Lois Duncan · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories, both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, and overlapping grades (6–8).
  • Dead Man in Indian Creek by Mary Downing Hahn · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories, both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list, and overlapping grades (4–6).

Books like A Deadly Game of Magic for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 9–12— same scoring, different audience.

  • Whispers from the Dead by Joan Lowery Nixon · grades 6–9 — Is by Joan Lowery Nixon, the same author, shares themes of mystery and detective stories, and both on the Young Hoosier Book Award list.
  • The Haunting by Joan Lowery Nixon · grades 6–9 — Is by Joan Lowery Nixon, the same author, shares themes of mystery and detective stories, and overlapping grades (6–9).
  • A Fate So Cold by Amanda Foody · grades 7–12 — Same genre (Fantasy) and overlapping grades (7–12).
  • Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Fantasy).
  • Eragon by Christopher Paolini · grades 6–9 — Same genre (Fantasy) and overlapping grades (6–9).

Common questions

What books are similar to A Deadly Game of Magic?
The 10 closest matches to A Deadly Game of Magic by Joan Lowery Nixon on ReadingList include The Dark and Deadly Pool, The Name of the Game Was Murder, Stranger with My Face, Twisted Summer, and Christina's Ghost. Each is scored on shared themes (mystery and detective stories, magic tricks, and murder), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 6–8), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like A Deadly Game of Magic reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 6–8), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.
How does ReadingList choose similar books?
Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Book data last updated 2026-09-05. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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