Adults who take the time to ask kids what they really like to read find mysteries are high on the list. From beginning readers to teenagers, kids revel in the vicarious thrills of a fast-moving plot full of action and clues. Nate the Great by Marjorie Sharmat, first published in 1972, remains a favorite in the early elementary grades. With 20-plus books in the series, children who enjoy the adventures of young detective and his dog, Sludge, have plenty to keep them busy, while mystery-loving parents who read the series aloud to their offspring will get a kick out of Nate’s hard-boiled narrative, with its short sentences and (sort of) tough manner.

Another old favorite is Cam Jansen, whose photographic memory helps her recall clues. She appears in a series for beginning readers, called Young Cam Jansen, as well as the Cam Jansen chapter books for slightly more advanced readers, both by David A. Adler. Cam and her sidekick, Eric, find mysterious circumstances everywhere they go, whether it’s the carnival, amusement park or museum.

In a more recent addition to the genre, a girl named Sly forms her own detective agency, Sleuth for Hire. In the first installment, Sly the Sleuth and the Pet Mysteries by Donna Jo Napoli, Sly takes on three cases about a cat, a fish, and a dog. With a little aid from her cat, Taxi, the girl helps out her friends and neighbors. In the rest of the series, she solves cases concerning codes, sports, and food.

Pictures play a role in all these mysteries for younger readers, but nowhere more than in the Meg Mackintosh series by Rhode Islander Lucinda Landon. In Meg Mackintosh and The Case of the Curious Whale Watch: A Solve-It-Yourself Mystery, Meg, her brother, and their grandfather board the Albatross for a trip that quickly turns into a mystery. Readers can study the clues in the illustrations, such as the scene of the crime where a treasure map was stolen, and answer the author’s questions, such as, “What can you deduce?” and “Why not?” Meg’s nine escapades take her to a medieval castle, Camp Creepy, a locked library, and more.

The perennial favorite, Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective, also pulls readers into matching wits with the main character. In each chapter Encyclopedia tackles a mini-mystery in his hometown, where his father is the police chief. The boy detective announces his conclusions, but readers get to figure out how he reached them, then check the details at the back of the book.

Prime numbers and percentages leave the classroom and start figuring in real life in Wendy Lichtman’s Do the Math: Secrets, Lies, and Algebra, an entertaining combination of murder mystery and math for upper elementary students and middle schoolers. Eighth-grader Tess loves math and cleverly sees middle school in mathematical terms. At one point, she makes a Venn Diagram of herself and her two best friends, showing how much they overlap and how much they don’t. But Tess also uses her math skills, shown in drawings, to solve a possible murder mystery.

In Scat, by Carl Hiaasen, another good pick for middle school, Nick and his friend, Marta, investigate the disappearance of their crusty biology teacher, right after the class trip to Black Vine Swamp. Could her absence be linked to a student she embarrassed in class, the belligerent boy known as Smoke? The zeal to preserve Florida wildlife brings strange characters together in this intriguing story by the author of Hoot, who is best know for his off-beat novels for adults.

Peter Abrahams also has a huge following among adults but in recent years has expanded his audience to teenagers. In his latest, Reality Check, 16-year-old Cody misses his ex-girlfriend, Clea, when she moves from small-town Colorado to an elite Vermont boarding school. When a football injury ends Cody’s sports dreams, he drops out of school and gets a job. But news that Clea has disappeared sends Cody cross-country by car to join the search. Plenty of plot twists and increasing danger build suspense, while new challenges change how Cody thinks of himself and the future in this strong combination of character and crime.