Books like The Whispers in the Walls — picked by fans

This is an oldie but a goodie, first published in 2007.

It is a standalone mystery narrated by Ted, a neurodiverse boy who thinks differently from other children. Ted's unique skills include noticing patterns, paying close attention to detail, and seeing what others overlook. All qualities that make him the perfect detective.

Ted and his sister, Kat, watch their cousin Salim board the London Eye. But when the ride ends, Salim does not get off. So begins the mystery: What has happened to Salim?

I would recommend this great page turner for readers aged 11 to 14.

I have recently discovered this series and are thoroughly enjoying Plum and Woo and the Suspicious Scarf. It’s a middle-grade mystery series featuring two memorable protagonists: Hannah Plum and Patti Woo, who spend holidays together because their parents are “dating.”

Plum and Woo are an unlikely pair with very different personalities, and those contrasting traits make them both relatable. At the same time, their shared age and experiences help their friendship feel genuine as the story unfolds.

Set largely in a chalet surrounded by a snowy forest, the girls follow clues, face moments of danger, and work through the ups and downs of their friendship while also navigating the complexities of their parents’ relationship.

I recommend this series for readers aged 9 to 12. There are three books in the series, written by an Australian author.

This is a fast-paced and entertaining spy thriller.

It forms part of a series featuring Ruby, a thirteen-year-old genius code-cracker who is confident, brave, and sassy. When Ruby is recruited by a secret spy organisation, she is drawn into an adventure full of cryptic codes, puzzles, and unexpected twists.

Although the story is told in the third person, Lauren Child uses italics to capture Ruby’s inner thoughts and observations. Ruby’s inner monologue is funny, sharp, and highly relatable for the intended age group. Lauren Child does an excellent job of getting into the mind of a thirteen-year-old.

This is a substantial, thick book, and at times the plot becomes complex, with lots of turns. I recommend it for readers aged 10 to 14.

This is the second book in this detective series, which focuses on the adventures of Friday Barnes, an eleven-year-old girl detective.

Friday is on a scholarship at the prestigious boarding school, Highcrest Academy, but school is anything but easy. She has a brain wired like a computer and is considered by many of her peers to be a daggy nerd. Friday’s trademark “terrible brown cardigan and green beret” doesn’t help!

In the second book, Friday is once again solving mysteries, but this time, she becomes intrigued by the behaviour of a strange, but charming, new boy.

This book is very readable, at times funny, and all about sleuthing and solving clues. Middle graders will love the boarding school setting, mysteries, and following the adventures of an unlikely hero, Friday Barnes, whose sleuthing skills outsmart her peers, her teachers, and, at times, even the police.

The author is Australian. I would… show more.

This may have been the first time travel book I ever read, though I didn’t anticipate the life-changing significance back in the halcyon days of middle school.

At a time of awkward, pubescent change, its story about identity, isolation, and the pursuit of individuality struck a chord, enough that I still think of it decades later. The sci-fi premise is simple but haunting: a shed where time passes differently becomes the backdrop for a psychological duel between brothers.

Revisiting it recently through adult eyes, the prose is understandably spare—it is young adult fiction, after all—but the introspective core and emotional resolution remain impressively resonant.

Ben instantly became one of my favourite authors after this. It’s not often you can feel an author’s passion for their work, but it shone from every page in this book. I was already hooked on ancient Rome, but I just found this stood out amongst its peers. Ben didn’t concentrate on the generals and senators that would write their names into history, but on the everyday soldiers that lived by the edge of their sword. It is a book I will certainly never forget

The Dragonlance series is rightly regarded as a classic of fantasy fiction, but I feel the main trilogy doesn’t hold up quite as well these days as the Legends trilogy that begins with Time of the Twins.

This book has slightly more grown-up writing than other books in the series, and I think the two main characters, Raistlin, the sickly mage, and his physically powerful brother, Caramon, are two of the best ever created.

The plot over the trilogy is really exciting and draws the reader in, with some unexpectedly emotional events and lots of character development. I wanted to be Caramon when I was a youngster, and, actually, I still do!

This book kept me guessing. 

A three-year-old disappears during her wealthy father’s fiftieth birthday celebration. Is it a case of stranger abduction, or something more complicated? Don’t ask the police; they’re clueless—literally. The mystery hooked me from the start, and the characters (absolute jerks, most of them) were so real, I could almost smell their boozy breath. I never did guess the shocking “darkest secret,” but that’s for the best. Correctly predicting a plot twist might be satisfying in the moment, but I’m more impressed when an author surprises me.  

This story differs from the others on my list, as it takes place in England in the early twentieth century. Setting and time period aside, the plucky main character Tabitha along with her pet rat and fellow detective (in her mind) steal the show and our hearts. We can’t help but root for her despite all she comes up against and all who belittle her as she follows clues in her unique and endearing manner through a giant and possibly haunted estate. Nooks & Crannies does a fine job balancing humor and wit with more serious subjects such as murder and abuse, and is sure to appeal to fans of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Loot is a really fun book about kids for whom thievery runs in the family. Twelve-year-old March sees his father die during a heist, and now March is on a mission to find the precious stones that will reverse the curse on his family. On the way, he meets the twin sister he never knew he had, and together, they set out to find the jewels. What I love most about this book is that March is kind of an anti-hero. He’s not the all-around good guy that readers find in so many middle grade books. He loves being a thief and wants to carry on his father’s legacy. But, of course, March is a great kid at heart, and I couldn’t help but root for him all the way through this maze of a mystery.