Books like What Happened to Rachel Riley?

Looking for books like What Happened to Rachel Riley? by Claire Swinarski (Middle Grade Mystery · grades 6–8)? It’s most often read for its themes of mystery, school, and courage. The 10 titlesbelow are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, 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 What Happened to Rachel Riley?

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Why each is a match

A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hallgrades 3–6
Shares themes of mystery, same genre (Middle Grade Mystery), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Final Word (The Winterton Deception #1)grades 3–7
Shares themes of mystery, same genre (Middle Grade Mystery), and overlapping grades (3–7).
Fowl Playgrades 3–6
Shares themes of mystery, same genre (Middle Grade Mystery), and overlapping grades (3–6).
Hannah Sharpe, Cartoon Detectivegrades 3–6
Shares themes of mystery and school and overlapping grades (3–6).
The Liars Societygrades 3–6
Shares themes of mystery, same genre (Middle Grade Mystery), and overlapping grades (3–6).
The Lost Librarygrades 4–8
Shares themes of mystery, same genre (Middle Grade Mystery), and overlapping grades (4–8).
The Night Traingrades 4–8
Shares themes of mystery and courage and overlapping grades (4–8).
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler700L
Shares themes of mystery, same genre (Middle Grade Mystery), and overlapping grades (4–6).
Goosebumps: Welcome to Dead Housegrades 3–7
Shares themes of mystery, same genre (Middle Grade Mystery), and overlapping grades (3–7).
Brick Dust and Bonesgrades 6–8
Shares themes of courage and overlapping grades (6–8).

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