True Crime Books for Teens

True Crime and Unsolved Mysteries for Teens

True crime books for teens range from reported accounts of real cases to YA mysteries built around cold cases, missing people and the search for evidence. The podcast genre’s appeal often lies in timelines, interviews, motive and unanswered questions. Here, non-fiction about crime and justice sits alongside fiction set in schools, boarding houses and remote locations, giving teachers and families ways into questions of evidence, media coverage, responsibility and how a mystery is solved. This list features books by Dashka Slater, Bryan Stevenson, Karen M. McManus, Holly Jackson, Ravena Guron, Maureen Johnson, Kate Weston, Kara Thomas, and Sue Wallman.

True Crime and Unsolved Mysteries for Teens – our recommendations

The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater

Dashka Slater reconstructs the true story of Sasha, an agender teenager who wears skirts, and Richard, another Oakland teenager who sets Sasha’s skirt alight while Sasha sleeps on the 57 bus. The incident brings their lives and communities together through a criminal case and its aftermath. Slater follows its consequences for the victim, perpetrator and those around them, examining identity, race, responsibility, punishment, recovery and forgiveness. This true account for 14+ year olds blends a real crime narrative with pertinent questions of justice.

Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed by Dashka Slater

Dashka Slater reports on a racist Instagram account created by a high-school student and the impact it had on classmates and the wider California community. Drawing on interviews, court documents and social-media material, the narrative traces the school’s response, protests and legal disputes, as well as the lasting effects on the teenagers involved. Its multiple viewpoints invite lively discussion of racism, online speech, complicity and what accountability can mean when harm spreads through a screen.

Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Adults): A True Story of the Fight for Justice by Bryan Stevenson

Bryan Stevenson recounts his work as a lawyer and the cases that shaped the Equal Justice Initiative, including that of Walter McMillian, who was sentenced to death for a murder he did not commit. The adaptation foregrounds wrongful convictions, capital punishment and the people caught inside the American justice system. This edition for 12+ year olds brings a personal account of legal advocacy into the YA market and opens discussion of evidence, race and how courts can fail.

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Five students at Bayview High go into detention, but only four make it out alive. Simon, who runs a gossip app that publishes classmates’ secrets, is found dead, and the four students become suspects in his murder. Karen M. McManus alternates among their viewpoints as secrets surface and the police investigation narrows the field. This standout school-set YA whodunit gives true-crime fans a compact suspect list, a public case and a mystery shaped by what each witness chooses to reveal.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

In the English town of Little Kilton, Pip Fitz-Amobi chooses a five-year-old murder case for her school project. Andie Bell disappeared, and the police believed her boyfriend, Sal Singh, murdered her before taking his own life. Pip questions the accepted account, interviews people connected to the case and starts to uncover secrets in her small town. Holly Jackson builds the gripping mystery through Pip’s research and the changing evidence, giving readers a school investigation with the structure of a true-crime inquiry.

The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

Bel Price barely remembers her mother, Rachel, who disappeared sixteen years earlier. When a documentary crew returns to film the cold case, Rachel suddenly reappears, creating more questions for Bel than the family can answer. Bel watches the cameras, listens to competing accounts and begins to test what she has been told. This superb missing-person mystery for 14+ year olds explores the collision between family history, public storytelling and the possibility of knowing why someone vanished.

This Book Kills by Ravena Guron

Popular student Hugh Henry Van Boren is found dead, and the method resembles a murder in a story Jess Choudhary wrote. Jess has been told to keep her school record clean to protect her scholarship, yet she is pulled into the investigation as suspicion spreads through the student body. Ravena Guron lets the reader share Jess’s first-person account as she weighs what she knows against what classmates are hiding. The delicious premise sets authorship, motive and an active murder inquiry side by side.

Catch Your Death by Ravena Guron

Devi, Lizzie and Jayne are snowed in at the grand Bramble Estate when its wealthy matriarch, Emily Vanforte, is poisoned at a family dinner. The three girls find themselves confined with a murderer and a house full of people who may have had a motive. As they search for clues, they encounter hidden passages, missing weapons and old tensions among the Vanfortes. Ravena Guron uses the classic locked-house setup for an unputdownable teen investigation.

The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson

Stevie Bell is a true-crime aficionado with a long-standing interest in unsolved cases. When the owner of Sunny Pines, formerly Camp Wonder Falls, invites her to help make a true-crime podcast about the 1978 murders of four camp counsellors, Stevie brings her friends to the site. Interviews and clues lead them through a long-dormant investigation, while present-day dangers make the camp’s summer project urgent. Maureen Johnson sets a cold case inside a magnificent contemporary teen mystery about evidence, memory and motive.

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

Stevie Bell arrives at Ellingham Academy, a Vermont boarding school whose founder’s family became part of a notorious unsolved case. In 1936, Albert Ellingham’s wife and daughter vanished in a kidnapping, and a student was murdered; the case has never been solved. Stevie, fascinated by true crime, wants to untangle the old mystery. When a death at the school brings danger into the present, the past and current investigations begin to overlap. A gripping read.

Murder on a School Night by Kate Weston

At their secondary school, best friends Kerry and Annie investigate after a classmate is found dead. As other girls die in cases linked to menstrual products, rumours race through school and social media. The pair follow clues while trying to work out whether the deaths share a perpetrator and how the school’s students are connected. Kate Weston’s crime mystery mixes friendship and dark comedy with a present-day murder investigation. This outstanding YA school mystery is perfect for 14+ year olds.

The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

Five cheerleaders have died in the town of Sunnybrook, and their school has ended the squad. One of the dead was Monica’s sister, Jen. Years later, a new clue prompts Monica to look again at the deaths and question the account the town has accepted. As she speaks to people connected to the girls, old tensions and family history surface. Kara Thomas delivers a memorable contemporary YA mystery.

I Know You Did It by Sue Wallman

This crime thriller for 13-18 year olds opens on Ruby’s first day at a new school, where she finds a note in her locker: “I KNOW YOU DID IT.” The message revives her memory of Hannah, a girl who died when they were children. When two students are found dead, Ruby fears she may be next and that someone is shaping the evidence against her. Sue Wallman connects an unresolved childhood death with a new school investigation, building the relentless story around guilt, secrets and suspicion.

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True crime resources for teachers

• The UK National Archives offers a historical murder investigation based on the death of Lord Darnley, husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1567. Suitable for KS2-KS4, the downloadable lesson pack includes original documents, investigation activities and teachers’ notes.
• The National Archives’ Body Snatchers teaching resource explores the London Burkers, nineteenth-century grave robbing and the Anatomy Act of 1832. Designed for KS3 and KS4, the downloadable lesson pack includes historical confessions, primary sources, discussion activities and teaching guidance.
• Victorian Children in Trouble with the Law uses original prison photographs, criminal records and transportation documents to investigate how young offenders were treated. The National Archives provides classroom questions, historical context and curriculum connections for KS3 and KS4.
• The Old Bailey Proceedings Online provides free access to a searchable collection of nearly 200,000 criminal trials held in London between 1674 and 1913. Teachers and students can explore original trial accounts, witness statements, verdicts, punishments and the development of the British criminal justice system.
• The Royal Society of Chemistry offers a practical crime scene investigation for 11-14 year olds. The downloadable resources include a student workbook, forensic experiments, evidence analysis, presentation slides, teachers’ notes and technician instructions.
• Also from the Royal Society of Chemistry, Is the Secretary Guilty? challenges students aged 14-16 to investigate a fictional crime using chemical separation techniques. The resource includes student worksheets, experimental guidance and opportunities to evaluate evidence and present conclusions.
• Young Citizens provides a mock trials classroom pack for KS3-KS5. Students explore courtroom roles, examine evidence, analyse witness statements and participate in a simulated criminal trial. The teaching materials are available through free registration.
• The Sentencing Council’s You be the Judge interactive resource allows students to consider six criminal cases involving offences such as fraud, robbery and assault. Learners examine the circumstances, decide on appropriate sentences and compare their decisions with those made by judges and magistrates.
• The National Justice Museum runs bookable virtual courtroom workshops for KS2-KS5. Classes can investigate historical and contemporary criminal cases, examine courtroom procedures, take part in mock trials and discuss verdicts and sentencing. The museum also offers educational visits and outreach activities.
• Aston University’s Writing Wrongs podcast explores real criminal investigations through forensic linguistics. Presented by academic specialists, episodes examine disputed confessions, linguistic evidence, authorship analysis and miscarriages of justice. Selected episodes provide useful material for older students studying English language, law and criminology. Teachers should check individual content warnings.
• The Royal Television Society examines the ethics of true crime documentaries and television programmes, including the treatment of victims and their families, factual accuracy, privacy and legal responsibilities. This article provides discussion material for GCSE and A-level media studies and related subjects.
• The Independent Press Standards Organisation publishes the Editors’ Code of Practice, including guidance on crime reporting, accuracy, privacy and the protection of victims and witnesses. These professional standards provide a useful starting point for examining how real criminal cases are represented in newspapers and online media.
• The Guardian Foundation’s NewsWise programme offers free news literacy resources for children aged 7-11. Lesson plans, activities and teacher guidance help pupils distinguish fact from misinformation, evaluate sources and develop responsible reporting skills, providing useful foundations for exploring crime reporting and investigative journalism.
• The British Board of Film Classification provides free educational resources covering age ratings, violence, potentially distressing content and responsible media viewing. Its teacher guidance and classroom activities can help schools select appropriate documentary and crime-related film material for different age groups.
• The Children’s Society provides guidance for professionals delivering education about real-world crime, exploitation and serious violence. It explores trauma-aware teaching, safeguarding, avoiding distressing imagery and ensuring that discussions involving victims and criminal behaviour remain sensitive and age-appropriate.

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