Crime Books

This is always a popular theme for readers of all ages, but crime writing is particularly prolific for YA readers at the moment, and much of it is actually quite well done. These are all recent and reasonably strong additions to the YA crime collection.

Please click here to hear me talk to Jesse Mulligan about these worthy books on Radio New Zealand on Tuesday 07 October 2025.  

For Ages 10+

Danger Road

By A.L. Tait

Published in 2025

This is the most recent book from Australian middle grade author Allison Tait and uses a really popular trope in any crime fiction but has been particularly popular in YA fiction – the cold case. That idea of the past coming back to haunt you, that unresolved mystery that has been hanging over everyone’s heads and I suspect it works particularly well in YA fiction because it is always a teenager that steps up and solves this years old mystery when none of the adults around them could and this really speaks to YA audiences because, as any of us that own or used to own tweens and teenagers know, they always know best.

This is set in a small town in rural Australia, where rugby is all important and everyone knows everyone, which is why when high school rugby star Corey Armstrong was hit by a car and left to die, everyone assumed it was someone just passing through. Twenty-five years on a True Crime podcast decides to look into the case, but local brothers Alex and Leo, whose parents have a close connection to the case, decide they want to find out the truth first.

Okay, so it is NOT the most original concept (especially the True Crime Podcast addition), but it is well executed for this target age group. It’s not dark or gruesome and just tragic enough. It’s well paced, relatable and has just the right amount of teenage hero plot to keep the target audience engaged - they make stupid but brave decisions, ultimately almost getting done in by the original killer, they understand the clues the adults don’t see and heroically solving the puzzle.      

For Ages 11/12

Medici Heist

By Caitlin Schneiderhan

Published in 2024

This is set in Florence in the early sixteenth century and for a YA novel whose main focus is supposed to be a stylish ensemble heist, its historical elements stand up surprisingly well to scrutiny, and I think are what make the story.

The Florence of this period is a fascinating place, it has just come back under the control of the ridiculously powerful Medici Family, having managed to enjoy the freedom of being a free, self-governing Republic for a few decades. The Medici power re-grab of the region has been brutal and violent, and they are determined to punish the people for overthrowing them by extorting impossible sums of money from them and stamping out the resistance movement who is trying to keep the last vestiges of the Republic alive.  Into this tinder box walks 17-year-old Rosa, whose whole life working cons with her mother has led to this moment because she has a score to settle with the powerful Medici brothers. She gathers a host of characters from her past together to pull off the ultimate cash grab.

Look, historical Oceans 11 for a YA audience this is NOT, though the plot clearly shows that it what is has set out to be, the heist reveal is particularly disappointing and unless I missed something (which I am happy to admit I may have – I am not the sharpest tool in the shed!) it is never really fully explained. It really is the creation of Florence in this period, the nuisance of the political situation of the time, the corruption, the contrast between wealth and poverty of the area, that makes the story. Lots of interesting elements are brought into the story like including a young Michaelangelo (who would have been in Florence benefiting from Medici patronage at the time) in the heist plot and a historically accurate inclusion of a human trafficking and how it worked in 16^th century Europe.

It is probably a little less slick and clever than it thinks it is, it could have done with a more ruthless editor, and it will be more accessible and enjoyable for teenagers with an interest in history and historical settings, but apart from all of that, it is a solid crime story. 

For Ages 12/13+

The Champions

By Kara Thomas

Published in 2024

Kara Thomas published a YA crime story called The Cheerleaders in 2018, set in the fictional American small town of Sunnybrook, focusing on deaths of five of the High School’s Cheerleading squad in different circumstances over the course of a couple of months. It was another ‘cold case’ type set up (though several of the deaths weren’t considered crimes and those that were had (theoretically!) been solved so as far as the town was concerned there were no cases left to go cold) but I thought was still a solid story, so when this one was published late last year, set in the same town, a decade later, I was keen to read it.

So now it is the boys’ turn – this time it is a member of the football team that dies in suspicious circumstances at a party and it’s the new girl in town, Hadley, who uncovers all kinds of secrets when writing a story on the football team for the school paper.

Much like the tiny town of Cabbot Cove in ‘Murder, She Wrote’, you have to start wondering if there is something in the water in this town that keeps producing psychopaths and narcissists, but if you can get past that it is a pretty solid story with an important message about the danger of the ‘jock / sporting hero’ culture. Making the main character new to the town is a clever plot device, as gives the author the excuse to go back and examine the earlier cases for the reader, enabling this to be a stand alone novel. It will be engaging to both young men and young women, which is another bonus when it comes to the message the author is getting across.

For Ages 14+

When the Deep, Dark Bush Swallows You Whole

(Aotearoa New Zealand)

By Geoff Parkes

Published in 2025

This was not published or marketed as a YA book, but the characters that the story revolves around are all late teens, early twenties and the story was pretty simple so to me it definitely felt more like an older YA book than anything else. And it’s another cold case story – well, more of a lukewarm case I guess.

In January 1983, Emilia arrives from Finland in a small farming community in remote King Country to try to get to the bottom of what happened to her backpacker sister who disappeared from the town the year before. She meets Ryan, a young man back who is back in his childhood home working as a shearer during his break from University and he agrees to help, but why is he keeping the fact he was in a relationship with her missing sister from Emilia?

It's not a particularly clever or outstanding crime story, but it doesn’t try to be, it is well-paced, the setting, atmosphere and characters are all very well crafted and it keeps you reading with a few twists thrown in here and there.  

Click here to access some of my past chats with Jesse on Radio New Zealand.