Julia is a professional nerd who can be spotted in the wild lounging with books in the park in Brooklyn, NY. She has a BA in International Studies from the University of Chicago and an MA in Media Studies from Pratt Institute. She loves fandom, theater, cheese, and Edith Piaf. Find her at juliarittenberg.com.
Julia is a professional nerd who can be spotted in the wild lounging with books in the park in Brooklyn, NY. She has a BA in International Studies from the University of Chicago and an MA in Media Studies from Pratt Institute. She loves fandom, theater, cheese, and Edith Piaf. Find her at juliarittenberg.com.
Boarding schools are an ideal setting for mysteries. The closed environment leads to heightened relationships, and those relationships lead to all manner of betrayals, backstabbings, and brutality. Depending on the age demographic of the boarding school mystery, they can really run the gamut from homework theft to full-blown serial killing.
Mysteries are great for younger readers because they encourage critical thinking and puzzle-solving. As readers grow, mysteries continue to activate those exciting problem-solving skills in a controlled environment. And as an adult, the school setting is always fun for nostalgia. There’s also something deeply interesting about being a teacher at a boarding school. There are more restrictions than a college, but the novels that focus on teachers bring back all those high school feelings in a different context. Many boarding school mysteries also contain fantasy elements because the fantasy school setting has been popular ever since Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea.
Whether you’re in school or way past graduation, there’s a boarding school mystery to capture your attention.
Mysteries for Precocious Young Readers
Girl Detective by R.A. Spratt, illustrated by Phil Gosier
Friday Barnes isn’t a typical boarding school attendee. She isn’t on a scholarship, but she uses the reward money from solving a case to get her foot in the door at Highcrest Academy. But her detective reputation precedes her, and she’s soon solving every mystery at the school, all while keeping up with her schoolwork. But she’ll never play sports.
The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane by Julia Nobel
In this middle grade fantasy mystery, Emmy finally realizes she can solve the mysteries that plagued her after her father’s death. At Wellsworth, Emmy finally finds the friends and excitement she’s been craving. At the same time, a secret society starts leaving enticing clues that draw her deeper into a possible conspiracy related to her father’s death.
The Mysteries of Adolescence
Everyone’s Thinking It by Aleema Omoton
A countryside English boarding school is not always welcoming to students of color. Iyanu and Kitan are taking on more than just institutional racism, though. Iyanu’s photos are stolen and sent to everyone at the school with cryptic messages, and she has to prove to Kitan that it wasn’t just her own ploy for attention. High school hierarchy can easily get in the way of the truth.
Truly, Devious by Maureen Johnson
All Stevie Bell has ever wanted is to go to Ellingham Academy, but not for the regular reasons, like prestige, networking, or general love of spooky New England vibes. The famous 20th-century millionaire inventor, Albert Ellingham, built a school full of secrets. It houses the greatest mystery in the world: how Ellingham’s family was killed. Stevie must solve the case before the resurfaced Truly, Devious killer gets to her as well. But getting to Ellingham is just the beginning.
The New Girl by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Jesse Sutanto is an absolute queen in the mystery genre. here she crafts a fantastic teenage boarding school mystery from the perspective of track star Lia Setiawan. Draycott Academy seems like the most perfect place in the world, but on her first day, Lia sees a girl getting carted away with no explanation. The school is full of darkness, and Lia is unable to stop herself from searching for an answer—no matter how it affects her.
Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
There’s a certain type of high school student who’s desperate to cause no drama and be noticed by no one. When Sade starts at the Alfred Nobel Academy, after being homeschooled for most of her life, her plans to blend in are dashed when her roommate disappears. But Elizabeth’s disappearance is just the first of Sade’s problems, and the school’s mysteries.
The Chandler Legacies by Abdi Nazemian
At Chandler Academy, joining The Circle is everything. The teacher who leads it is as good as a god to the chosen few. The five students (Beth, Spence, Ramin, Freddy, and Brunson) who join get close quickly, and start sharing the darkness inside through their writing. The more they find out about their school and its secrets, the more they want to stand against the negative parts of Chandler.
Looking for Alaska by John Green
I probably don’t have to tell you to read the novel that launched John Green into the YA stratosphere, but I will anyway. I returned to it recently and got even more out of the story, which is always a joy with a great book. Miles “Pudge” Halter begs to go to Culver Creek Boarding School to find his own Great Perhaps, and gets quickly caught up in a group of misfits, led by the intimidating Alaska Young. Before, everything was exciting and new. But in the darkness of the after, Pudge is desperate to solve the mystery.
Adults Go Back to School
Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey
Osthorne Academy for Young Mages is unlike any other boarding school: it’s all about magic. Ivy Gamble, a hardened private detective, comes to investigate the death of a professor, where she was left in two halves in the library. Though she’s not magic, her twin sister, Tabitha, is. Despite all that magic, the school headmaster still reaches out to Ivy personally to solve the murder with no magical traces. It’s an interesting meditation on a life not lived.
The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman
Decades after a gut-wrenching tragedy, Jane returns to the Heart Lake School for Girls as a Latin teacher. She wants to turn to a blank page with her daughter. But instead of a fresh start, Jane is reminded of the tragic triple-suicide of her best friends that she witnessed, when her high school journal turns up. And it’s not only her past: young girls around Jane start dying again. There’s more to the students at this school than meets the eye.
You can also find horror novels set at boarding schools and dive into the whole slate of genres. If you’re still hungry for more boarding school vibes, dark academia is the best adjacent genre: from manga to romance and back to mystery.
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