Thrillers for aged 9 and older

Set against the backdrop of a climate catastrophe, this gripping dystopian thriller is oppressively atmospheric as it depicts a reality where if you can’t pay, you can’t breathe. 

Can Ruby and Lucas solve a murder – before the culprit catches up with them? Tense and intriguing, this is ideal for readers who love puzzles and crime-solving. 

In war-torn France, who can Rosie trust? A pacy novel starring a brave Anglo-India heroine.

Twelve year old Ami can’t wait to get started when she arrives at The Escape Room – she loves puzzles, riddles, and all things brain-bending! But the stakes for this particular game are sky-high… can she and her teammates get out in time?

Thanks to a lottery win, Roo is suddenly able to buy a horse – but the horse she wants is stolen. Can she solve who is stealing prize horses? Beautifully written and utterly thrilling. 

As the fear and dread build up in this tense thriller, a group of misfits is forced to work as a team to defeat the most terrifying of hidden attackers. Not for the faint-hearted, this edge-of-seat horror is hard to put down, with many chapters ending on a cliff-hanger.

Archie Blake can pick locks. And when a diamond necklace goes missing and his dad is arrested, it’s down to Archie and his unusual skills to prove his dad’s innocence. An action-packed thriller with many knife-edge moments, this is a real page turner.

With a great mix of science fiction and science fact, this nail-biting race-against-time is presented in an accessible format with black and white illustrations. 

Set in north-east England, this is a gripping, powerful tale of heritage, love, loss, tragedy, kindness and cruelty. An absolute page-turner 

Be prepared for a reading experience unlike any other. From a stunningly original beginning, this adrenalin-fuelled sci-fi adventure will have readers on the edge of their seats right to the last page.  

This exhilarating futuristic adventure, the first in a trilogy, is a fast-paced, thrilling read, perfect for gamers and sci-fi fans.

When Earth is threatened by a terrifying supervillain, brothers Micah and Cass travel back in time to stop him. An exciting sci-fi adventure packed with futuristic technology.

A brilliantly imagined thriller in which dinosaurs survived an extinction event and developed the ability to think, speak, make alliances and wage war.

The graphic novel adaptation of this well-written and action-packed story of a teenage spy works really well

A refreshingly original mystery thriller set in 19^th century Paris featuring Piaf; a girl with a unique mind who battles to find missing children and lost memories in the labyrinth below the city.

A thought-provoking science fiction thriller that looks at Earth and humanity through alien eyes.

An absorbing, exciting, sci-fi adventure based on an ingenious concept, thoughtfully planned and with a strong environmental message.

A nerve-jangling, but very funny, thriller with exceptionally nasty baddies and interesting moral and ethical dilemmas. Will have wide appeal, especially to fans of Alex Rider who like a few jokes with their jeopardy – and an added tiny dinosaur.

Teenage boys Darren and Malek are on the run from a ruthless, secret organisation which transformed them into superhumans and now wants them eliminated. This gripping, action-packed sci-fi tale will have readers on the edge of their seats.