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TOP 5 kid detectives

Detectives have to be more than just plain nosy – only the truly tough, steely and determined will get to the bottom of the crime. As Humphrey Bogart says in ‘The Big Sleep’ (when asked why he keeps on investigating):  ‘Too many people told me to stop.’ 

(Though my favourite bit of dialogue from the same film is actually:

Bacall: ‘You’re not very tall, are you?’

Bogart: ‘Well, I try to be.’)

1. NANCY DREW from the Nancy Drew series

Even though the titian hair was rumoured to be the result of a printing error, it all added to the appeal of the first super-star girl detective. Outspoken and feisty, Nancy has shown an uncanny ability to grow with the times (since 1930 no less).

2. REYNIE MULDOON from our own bestselling Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

An average-looking boy, there’s nothing remotely average about his powers of deduction and ability to read people.

3. HARRIET from Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

Wannabe writer and spy Harriet is fiercely ambitious, but she soon realises that there are some things you shouldn’t write in a notebook – or at least, not where it can be found.

4. EMIL from Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kästner

Top marks for retrieving his German marks (sorry …) and managing in a new city all by himself – or at least with 24 other boy detectives. A 1929 classic.

5. ALICE JONES from Alice Jones and the Impossible Clue by Sarah Rubin

A mathematical whiz, and the go-to girl for solving only the most impossible clues, she’s our new detective du jour. Who needs a trench coat and trilby when you’ve got that many brain cells? Publishing early 2016!

Who’s your favourite junior sleuth? Tweet us at @chickenhsebooks!