Admittedly, curling up with a good mystery on a hot summer morning isn’t quite as good as a cold winter’s night, but you won’t want to wait another four months to read these whodunits.

The Detective’s Assistant by Kate Hannigan.  Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Nell Warne’s only living relative left is her Aunt Kate, but Kate’s too busy with her job as the first woman private eye at the Pinkerton Detective Agency to have much time for an 11-year-old orphan.  Can Nell prove herself enough of a sleuth to win over her aunt?

Mothman’s Curse by Christine Hayes, illustrated by James K. Hindle.  Published by Roaring Brook Press.

When siblings Josie and Fox discover an old Polaroid camera that creates pictures with a ghost in them, they know they have a mystery on their hands.  Little do they know that the ghost will lead them to the evil Mothman, whose presence is said to portend disaster, and who starts to make appearances in their town.

Nooks and Crannies by Jessica Lawson.  Published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Agatha Christie meets Roald Dahl in this Victorian-era thriller featuring amateur detective Tabitha Crum.  When Tabitha and five other children are invited to a mysterious countess’s estate, they think they may be there to inherit a fortune.  One by one, the children begin to vanish, and it’s up to Tabitha to figure out where they are before it’s too late.

The Curious Cat Spy Club by Linda Joy Singleton.  Published by Albert Whitman & Company.

Kelsey, Becca, and Leo happen to be in the same alley at the same time…and they discover three kittens in a dumpster.  They decide to form the Curious Cat Spy Club to solve the mystery of where the kittens came from, ultimately uncovering a pet-napping ring right in their own neighborhood.

Published by Roaring Brook Press

Summary: While their father is running a sale at the family auction house, Josie and Fox discover an old Polaroid camera. Trying it out, they discover a ghostly man appears in all the photos they take.   They buy the camera, and it turns out to be the first in a series of events that spins out of control. The old man in the photos has a connection to Mothman, a red-eyed monster who has appeared in different towns for the last 100 years right before a huge disaster. Now he’s come to Josie and Fox’s town, and they only have a few days to break his curse before disaster strikes. Grades 3-6.

Pros: Plenty of kids love creepy stories, and this story has plenty of creepiness. It will definitely give some shivers, yet isn’t scary enough to be disturbing to most middle grade readers.

Cons: The ghost in the picture has committed suicide, which may be a bit disturbing to some readers.

Published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Summary: When Tabitha Crum gets a weekend invitation to the estate of the mysterious Countess of Windermere, she thinks it will be a fun interlude before her despicable parents drop her off at the orphanage. Five other children have been invited, and at their first dinner, the Countess reveals that all six were adopted by their parents. One of them is her long-lost grandchild, heir to a fortune. The lights go out, somebody dies mysteriously, children start disappearing, and Tabitha has to use all of her best detective powers to figure out what is going on…before it’s too late.  Grades 4-7.

Pros: Agatha Christine meets Roald Dahl in this old-fashioned page-turner. Tabitha is a lovable character, unfortunately stuck with the worst parents to disgrace the pages of a children’s book since Matilda Wormwood’s. She’s also a fan of detective fiction, and with her sidekick Pemberley the mouse, is able to puzzle out the many twists and turns this story takes. The grand finale is completely satisfying, with all loose ends neatly tied up and a happy ending for those who deserve it and just desserts for the ones who don’t.

Cons: Tabitha’s reactions to her horrible parents occasionally seemed a little to kind to be true.

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Summary: Fresh from solving his first case with the NYPD, Eddie Red and his friend Jonah are ready to relax in Mexico on a vacation with Eddie’s parents. But on their first day, a valuable Mayan mask is stolen from the hotel lobby, and Eddie’s father is a prime suspect. Using his photographic memory and drawing skills, Eddie teams up with Jonah and a Mexican girl named Julia to try to find the real thief. When the Mexican police chief puts Eddie’s father under house arrest, Eddie knows he’s running out of time. Will he be able to solve the mystery before his father ends up in jail? Grades 4-6.

Pros: The introduction draws the reader in quickly, with a blood-covered Eddie in a Darth Vader costume calling his parents from a Mexican jail cell, accompanied by an unconscious Jonah. From there, the action shifts back two weeks to reveal how they got there. Eddie’s voice is frank and funny, and Jonah is a perfect sidekick.

Cons: The clue that allowed Eddie and Jonah to finally figure out the solution to the mystery seemed a bit far-fetched.

Published by Albert Whitman & Company

Summary:  When Kelsey helps stop a runaway zorse (a cross between a horse and a zebra), she gets more than she bargained for.  The zorse belongs to Becca, one of the most popular girls in school.  Ducking into an alley to avoid a boy from school, the two girls discover a bag of kittens in a dumpster.  A third member, Leo, gets involved in the rescue, and the unlikely trio decides to form a club to protect the kittens until they can find them homes.  Kelsey has always dreamed of being a detective, and now she has a real mystery on her hands…who put the kittens in the dumpster?  As the Curious Cat Spy Club works to solve it, they uncover a whole pet-napping ring right in their neighborhood.  Recommended for grades 4-6.

Pros:  This well-paced mystery will keep readers guessing right up to the end.  In Nancy Drew-like fashion, the last few chapters involve an exciting run-in with the villain and more than one narrow escape.  There are interesting subplots that give the characters more depth, such as Kelsey’s and Leo’s family issues and Becca’s thwarted romance.

Cons:  Kelsey didn’t get to keep her kitten.  But the cover says this is an exciting new mystery series, so there may yet be hope.

Published by Candlewick

Summary:  Room 11 is having a bad day.  Not only do they have Mr. Carper, a.k.a. the worst substitute in the world, but someone is going around gluing things to people, and the whole class gets in trouble for it.  Then the worst happens…Patches, the new hamster, disappears!  Smashie didn’t really want to get a hamster (she thinks they have creepy feet), so she’s a prime suspect.  She and her best friend, Dontel, decide they better do everything they can to solve the mystery.  Smashie dons her Investigation Suit, and Dontel sharpens up his scientific reasoning as they attempt to figure out just what happened to Patches.

Pros:  Candlewick is getting a reputation for its one-of-a-kind children’s books, and this one fits the bill.  Sure, it’s a great mystery, perfect for third, fourth, or fifth graders, but it’s also got a level of humor that adults will enjoy as well.  “There are days when the only thing that gets me through is the thought of a glass of wine and two hours’ research with a copy of GQ,” announces Mr. Carper.  And he’s just one of a whole host of quirky and appealing characters that populate Room 11.

Cons:  Do nine-year-olds need this much quirkiness?  Smashie sometimes came across as too much of an oddball to really ring true.  I wonder if elementary readers will appreciate the kids in this story or just think they are weird.