I love mysteries—at least, I used to. I devoured Sherlock Holmes and Nancy Drew as a kid, and as an adult I fell in love with Monk, Columbo, and the BBC Poirot series. But for a long time, I stopped reading mysteries. It’s like I forgot they existed.

I recently wrote my first-ever mystery short story, which was a lot of fun, and it inspired me to revisit the genre. Unsurprisingly, this month’s assortment of novels has renewed my love of mystery reading.

  • The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (a Sherlock Holmes story)
  • Enola Holmes and the Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer (MG historical about Sherlock’s younger sister)
  • A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro (YA contemporary about the descendants of Watson and Holmes)
  • Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (a Hercule Poirot story)
  • And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (probably my favorite mystery of all time)
  • The Best American Mystery Stories 2008 edited by George Pelecanos (short stories)

I can’t believe we’re only a quarter through the year, and I’ve already read 20 books toward my 2018 goal of 50. Snaps for Rachel! Let’s see if I can keep up this momentum as I move into Young Adult April.