Books like How to Survive Your Murder

If you liked How to Survive Your Murder, read That's Not My Name, Not Quite Dead Yet, or The Reappearance of Rachel Price — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine (Mystery · grades 9–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of mystery, survival, and family. 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 9–12 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to How to Survive Your Murder

Reading the whole similar-books list? Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

Listen free on Audiblestarts instantly

New members only · many assigned titles are included with the membership. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you.

Try it on audio — free. Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

Listen free on Audiblestarts instantly

New members only · many assigned titles are included with the membership. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you.

Why each is a match

Amazon links below are affiliate links — as an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

That's Not My Namegrades 9–12
Shares themes of mystery and survival, both on the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and same genre (Mystery). Amazon → books like this →
Not Quite Dead Yetgrades 7–12
Shares themes of mystery and family, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
The Reappearance of Rachel Pricegrades 7–12
Shares themes of mystery and family, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
Under the Surfacegrades 7–12
Shares themes of mystery and survival, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
The Agathasgrades 9–12
Shares themes of mystery, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Refugee800L
Shares themes of survival and family and overlapping grades (5–9). Amazon → books like this →
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time1090L
Shares themes of mystery and family and overlapping grades (8–12). Amazon → books like this →
Everything We Never Hadgrades 7–12
Shares themes of family and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
Never Thought I'd End Up Heregrades 7–12
Shares themes of family and overlapping grades (7–12). Amazon → books like this →
Ruby Lost and Foundgrades 6–9
Shares themes of family and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →

Books like How to Survive Your Murder for younger readers (K–2)

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

Books like How to Survive Your Murder for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • Cryptid Hunters by Roland Smith · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of mystery, survival, and family.
  • The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of mystery and family and same genre (Mystery).
  • Code Name Kingfisher by Liz Kessler · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of survival and family.
  • Final Word (The Winterton Deception #1) by Janet Sumner Johnson · grades 3–7 — Shares themes of mystery and family.
  • Fowl Play by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of mystery and family.

Books like How to Survive Your Murder for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • Cryptid Hunters by Roland Smith · grades 5–8 — Shares themes of mystery, survival, and family.
  • The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright · grades 4–7 — Shares themes of mystery and family and same genre (Mystery).
  • Code Name Kingfisher by Liz Kessler · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of survival and family.
  • Final Word (The Winterton Deception #1) by Janet Sumner Johnson · grades 3–7 — Shares themes of mystery and family.
  • Fowl Play by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb · grades 3–6 — Shares themes of mystery and family.

Books like How to Survive Your Murder for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

  • Shut Up, This Is Serious by Carolina Ixta · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of family and overlapping grades (9–12).
  • Sky's End by Marc J. Gregson · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of survival and overlapping grades (7–12).
  • Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of survival and overlapping grades (7–12).
  • The Forbidden Book by Sacha Lamb · grades 7–12 — Shares themes of survival and overlapping grades (7–12).
  • The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko · grades 6–9 — Shares themes of family and overlapping grades (6–9).

Common questions

What books are similar to How to Survive Your Murder?
The 10 closest matches to How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine on ReadingList include That's Not My Name, Not Quite Dead Yet, The Reappearance of Rachel Price, Under the Surface, and The Agathas. Each is scored on shared themes (mystery, survival, and family), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 9–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like How to Survive Your Murder reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 9–12), 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.

← Back to How to Survive Your Murder

Browse by another angle