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Home > Books and reading > For teens > Booklists
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Young adult crime

With bestselling crime writers including John Grisham, Harlan Coben and James Patterson all turning to writing for a younger audience, young adult crime is being touted as 'the next big thing'. Here we share some of our favourite crime thrillers for teens and young adults.

  • Heart-Shaped Bruise

    Heart-Shaped Bruise

    by Tanya Byrne
    Headline Publishing
    Lying forgotten on top of a wardrobe at the Archway Young Offenders institution is a notebook. Inside its pages, the notorious Emily Koll reveals the story she has refused to tell anyone, even her psychiatrist - the truth about the...
    Read about 'Heart-Shaped Bruise'
  • Looking for JJ

    Looking for JJ

    by Anne Cassidy
    Scholastic
    In this brave and intelligent novel, Anne Cassidy explores a range of themes, questioning everything from the ethics of tabloid journalism to the outcome of ineffectual parenting.
    Read about 'Looking for JJ'
  • Shelter

    Shelter

    by Harlan Coben
    Indigo
    In the first young adult novel from bestselling crime author Harlan Coben, Mickey sets out to investigate the mysterious disappearence of his new girlfriend Ashley.
    Read about 'Shelter'
  • Long Reach

    Long Reach

    by Peter Cocks
    Walker Books
    When Eddie's brother Steve is killed whilst working undercover for the police, 17-year-old Eddie finds himself following in his footsteps and taking on the job to infiltrate the dangerous Kelly family.
    Read about 'Long Reach'
  • Theodore Boone

    Theodore Boone

    by John Grisham
    Hodder & Stoughton
    A cold-blooded killer is about to go free, and only Theo knows the truth.
    Read about 'Theodore Boone'
  • Soul Beach

    Soul Beach

    by Kate Harrison
    Indigo
    Alice’s world has been turned upside down by the unsolved murder of her beautiful older sister, Meggie
    Read about 'Soul Beach'
  • Crusher

    Crusher

    by Niall Leonard
    Doubleday
    When Finn Maguire finds his father brutally murdered, he sets out to discover who was behind the crime, taking him on a dangerous journey into London's criminal underworld.
    Read about 'Crusher'
  • Sister, Missing

    Sister, Missing

    by Sophie McKenzie
    Simon & Schuster Children's Books
    Sister, Missing is the second book in McKenzie’s projected trilogy about three siblings who share a common birth mother, but a complex extended family.
    Read about 'Sister, Missing'
  • Street Duty: Knock Down

    Street Duty: Knock Down

    by Chris Ould
    Usborne
    When a young girl is injured in a traffic accident, Trainee Police Officer Holly Blades is one of the first to arrive on the scene.
    Read about 'Street Duty: Knock Down'
  • Dark Eyes

    Dark Eyes

    by William Richter
    Puffin
    Wallis Stoneman sets out to look for her birth mother, but soon finds herself in danger in this gritty, fast-paced young adult thriller.
    Read about 'Dark Eyes'