Books like The Naturals

If you liked The Naturals, read The Inheritance Games, Good Girl's Guide to Murder, or One of Us Is Lying — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Looking for books like The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Mystery · grades 9–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of mystery and detective stories, united states, and criminal profilers. 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 The Naturals

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Why each is a match

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The Inheritance Gamesgrades 9–12
Is by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, the same author, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Mystery). Amazon → books like this →
Good Girl's Guide to Murdergrades 9–12
Shares themes of mystery and detective stories, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Mystery). Amazon → books like this →
One of Us Is Lyinggrades 9–12
Shares themes of mystery and detective stories, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Mystery). Amazon → books like this →
Truly Deviousgrades 9–12
Shares themes of mystery and detective stories, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Plague Yeargrades 9–12
Shares themes of mystery and detective stories, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
The Hauntinggrades 6–9
Shares themes of mystery and detective stories, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
The Man in the Woodsgrades 9–12
Shares themes of mystery and detective stories, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Whispers from the Deadgrades 6–9
Shares themes of mystery and detective stories, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (6–9). Amazon → books like this →
Eat Your Heart Outgrades 9–12
Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, same genre (Mystery), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Fake IDgrades 9–12
Same genre (Mystery), overlapping grades (9–12), and the same era (2010s). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Naturals for younger readers (K–2)

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

  • Piggins by Jane Yolen · grades K–3 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories and same genre (Mystery).
  • Baby Monkey, Private Eye by Brian Selznick · grades K–3 — Same genre (Mystery) and the same era (2010s).
  • The Apothecary by Maile Meloy · grades 2–8 — Same genre (Mystery) and the same era (2010s).
  • Are You Scared, Darth Vader? by Adam Rex · grades K–3 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list and the same era (2010s).
  • Best Frints in the Whole Universe by Antoinette Portis · grades K–3 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list and the same era (2010s).

Books like The Naturals for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

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

  • Framed! by James Ponti · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories and united states and same genre (Mystery).
  • Ghosts Don't Get Goose Bumps by Elvira Woodruff · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Mystery).
  • The Name of the Game Was Murder by Joan Lowery Nixon · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Mystery).
  • A Haunting in Williamsburg by Lou Kassem · grades 3–5 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories and same genre (Mystery).
  • Alvin's Swap Shop by Clifford B. Hicks · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories and same genre (Mystery).

Books like The Naturals for middle school (grades 6–8)

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

  • Framed! by James Ponti · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories and united states and same genre (Mystery).
  • The Name of the Game Was Murder by Joan Lowery Nixon · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories, both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, and same genre (Mystery).
  • Alvin's Swap Shop by Clifford B. Hicks · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories and same genre (Mystery).
  • Christina's Ghost by Betty Ren Wright · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories and same genre (Mystery).
  • Closed for the Season by Mary Downing Hahn · grades 3–8 — Shares themes of mystery and detective stories and same genre (Mystery).

Books like The Naturals for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

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

  • Allies by Alan Gratz · grades 5–9 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, overlapping grades (5–9), and the same era (2010s).
  • Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds · grades 3–10 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, overlapping grades (3–10), and the same era (2010s).
  • Daughter of the Stars by Phyllis A. Whitney · grades 9–12 — Same genre (Mystery) and overlapping grades (9–12).
  • Divergent by Veronica Roth · grades 8–12 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, overlapping grades (8–12), and the same era (2010s).
  • Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick · grades 6–9 — Both on the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award list, overlapping grades (6–9), and the same era (2010s).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Naturals?
The 10 closest matches to The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes on ReadingList include The Inheritance Games, Good Girl's Guide to Murder, One of Us Is Lying, Truly Devious, and Plague Year. Each is scored on shared themes (mystery and detective stories, united states, and criminal profilers), 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 The Naturals 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.

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