When authors began writing mystery stories specifically for children, they discovered that kids were drawn to book that showed other children and young people as the heroes of the stories with little help from adults. Some adults were critical of books where young people got into trouble or had adventures with no adult supervision, but children liked the thrill of the stories and the sense of independence. The “girl detective” genre of children’s mystery series, where a girl or young woman, possibly with the help of friends, solved the mysteries, became popular even in the early years of the 20th century. Some of the series listed here are creations of the Stratemeyer Syndicate.
A young girl with a photographic memory solves mysteries by using details that she remembers from her mental pictures. By David A. Adler. 1980-2014.
About a girl in elementary school who solves mysteries with the help of her friends, who call themselves The Martians. By Susan Pearson.
Elizabeth, often called Libby, is a foster child taken in by the Johnson family. Libby slowly gets adjusted to life in their family and on their farm, finds God, and solves mysteries. By Hilda Stahl.
Felicia attends boarding school and solves mysteries with her friend and room-mate, Joan. By Bernard Palmer.
Flee Jay and Clarice Mysteries
About a girl who wants to be a detective and her genius younger sister. By Carol Farley.
A girl whose parents are a police officer and a private investigator solves mysteries. By Betsy Byars, 1994-2006.
Kay Tracey is a teenage detective who solves mysteries with her friends. A Stratemeyer Syndicate series. 1934-1942, Reissued 1951-1984.
Kleep is a girl who lives on another planet and solves unusual problems and mysteries with the help of her best friend, her robot, and her inventor grandfather. By Joan Lowery Nixon.
Sixteen-year-old Linda Craig is an orphan who lives with her brother and grandparents on a ranch, the Rancho del Sol, in California. By Ann Sheldon, A Stratemeyer Syndicate series. 1962-1984.
A historical mystery series with Christian themes that takes place in turn-of-the-century South Carolina. Amanda Shaw is an orphan with a mysterious past but who finds a new life with relatives she had never met. By Lois Gladys Leppard.
Mary Rose and Jo-Beth Mysteries
About a pair of sisters who live in Indiana and have adventures on road trips with their father. Written by Eth Clifford.
Meg and her best friend Kerry solve mysteries in their small Virginia town and other places along the east coast. By Holly Beth Walker.
Meg Mackintosh is a girl who likes to solve mysteries. The interesting thing about this series is that the books are designed so that the readers can attempt to solve the mysteries along with Meg, using the pictures provided and other clues. By Lucinda Landon.
Nancy Drew Mysteries
Nancy Drew encounters and solves mysteries with her friends in her hometown of River Heights and around the world. By Carolyn Keene, A Stratemeyer Syndicate series. 1930-Present.
Olivia Sharp, Agent for Secrets
Olivia Sharp uses her wits and her family’s money to help her friends to solve their secret problems.
A series of mysteries with The Kids of the Polk Street School. Dawn uses her Polka Dot Private Eye detective kit to solve mysteries with her friends and classmates. By Patricia Reilly Giff.
An orphan girl in the early 20th century grows up to become the owner of her own film company in Hollywood. Along the way, she solves mysteries with her friends at school, on vacation, and later, on filming locations, and helps the war effort during World War I. A Stratemeyer Syndicate series.
Sammy Keyes is a girl detective whose own life contains many mysteries. By Wendelin Van Draanen. 1998-2014.
About a girl who wants to be a detective and her two friends. They investigate spooky mysteries in a small town in Pennsylvania. By Drew Stevenson.
“Queer” as in strange, weird, mysterious. No other sense of the word! Two friends, Gwen and Jill, solve mysteries with the help of Jill’s dog, Fletcher, who loves salami. By Elizabeth Levy.
An African American girl in Northern California solves mysteries with her friends. By Patricia Elmore. 1980-1992.
A classic mystery series featuring a girl and her group of friends who solve mysteries and support good causes. Created by Julie Campbell and continued by other authors.
Jestress's Forgotten Books and Stories 