Books for 12 year old - YA psychological thriller types with NO SEXY BITS!

[RoastBeast]

I have a 12 year old girl - loves reading and is into murder mystery type books. Has also loved Hunger Games, Zoe Sugg Magpie books, Girl Missing - that type of thing. More grown up than Murder Most Unladylike/School for Good and Evil etc but not quite adult.
Can anyone recommend any YA/adult books she may like that don’t have any sex scenes/more adult content.
I have the Good girls guide to murder books and may give her those. Also have the One of Us is lying series and have read the first book. She would love it - there’s no graphic detail but the sex tape/teen sex talk/sexting/sleeping around stuff that puts me off. She’s a young 12 in so many ways but reads like an adult so it’s finding books that fit. Any ideas?!

Has she read Agatha Christie? They were my gateway into murder/mystery fiction at around 10 or 11. My almost 9 year old has just started reading them after watching an adaption at Christmas. I liked Georgette Heyer's mysteries and Ngaio Marsh's as well at that age. Some adult themes yes but no graphic sex.

YA, Lockwood & co? Personally I love them. Don't remember any sex.

Second vote for Agatha Christie.
Also, would she enjoy Dan Brown books? I don't recall any sex scenes there.

The Skulduggery Pleasant series. Good strong female lead who I'm pretty sure is 12 in the first book. My sons were OBSESSED. 14yo still is, took him to a signing with the author who is just lovely.

Also would recommend Agatha Christie they were the first Murder mysteries I read

The Hunger Games books are quite graphically violent OP, children killing children. I would ask myself why I’m so anti-sex scenes in books if I’m happy for my 12 year old reading torture through a YA lens. Why not loosen the reins a bit if a YA book has a bit of a teenage fumble.

Not trying to be provocative towards your judgement, you know her best. I discovered & sneakily read mum’s Joan Collins books at your daughter’s age! Could use the One Of Us Is Lying series (especially as you’d think she’ll enjoy it) to open a conversation about safe & consensual sex as she’s going into teens. Might make her feel grown-up enough to share things with you in the near future years. Just a thought!

She hasn’t read Agatha Christie books yet but I have suggested them to her before. Great idea!
Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll make a list and check with her what she’s already read. I can’t keep up!

The recent hercule poirot with a new author are very good.
also the death of roger ackroyd

Frances Hardinge books are really good for challenging books but age appropiate content.

When I saw the title I came on here to say Agatha Christie.

I have just read Josephine Tey's Daughter of Time - modern detective investigates the Princes in the Tower/Richard III - very enlightening. I believe she has written other novels with the same detective

I can't remember if Cadfael (Ellis Peters) has any sex in it and I've not read any of the authors other works under her own name and not the pseudonym of Ellis Peters

At her age I enjoyed Agatha Christie, PG Wodehouse (in particularthe Jeeves and Wooster books), and Sherlock Holmes stories. I also loved Lark Rise to Candleford and I think I first read Jane Eyre at around 12 or 13.

The cherub books are YA secret agent series.

I got called into the school when my 11 year old DS was seen reading Dan Brown. Quite inappropriate I would have thought.

Philip Pullman Dark Materials (a bit off genre).

Emily Barr (can't remember if there's any sex or not, sorry).

@VeryWorriedDaughter Message appreciated and definitely no offence taken. I’ve read Hunger Games and One of Us is Lying so am sure of which she would be ok with/not. She recently read a series - I think The Cherub books but may be confusing them with a different series. She read about 8 books and loved them then stopped halfway through one and refused to finish it or read the last few books for a while. I had a little peek and there was nothing too racy - suggestions of sex and talk of condoms - she knew she didn’t want to read it and stopped. Promise I’m not a prude/raising a prude! Just a girl with a very strong sense of what she’s ok with and what she wants to be older before reading/talking about/doing. 😊

Please approach your local library, the librarians would love to compile a list for you

The school was being ridiculous there.

It’s an old series, but Nancy Drew might be one to look at?

Great ideas, thanks everyone!

Bonkers.

I’ve just remembered the Divergent series and Maze runner. Will have to dig them out…

The Agatha Oddly books by Lena Jones are great- three in the series. And A Good Girl's Guide to murder series was another one I loved. (Yes, I read all of these as an adult!)

Another vote for Agatha Christie too- I started reading her at about 10 and am still obsessed over 20 years later!

Another for Nancy drew only I amn’t sure how they’ve aged?!

I loved the DanBrown books and although I can't remember any detailed sex scenes, (talk of waking up along side...) but the graphic deaths/torture etc are quite detailed not an issuefor me personally, however, I lent ours to our school secretary (adult english teacher)and she couldn't read them because they were 'too descriptive' and upset her too much!!

Some of the more modern Nancy Drew books are great for that.

If she is okay with a male protagonist the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz is fantastic and the Young Bond series by Charlie Higson is very good too.

I hope she never teaches The Handmaid’s Tale

Jacqueline Wilson - Baby love (set in 60s about a girl that has a moment with a boy. Touches on the idea of sex but doesn't give details but gives more details about childbirth in the 60s - shaving and enemas)
Also Love Frankie - about a girl who falls for the girl that used to bully her

Northern lights - Phillips Pullman
Terry Pratchett's got some young adult books as well as his disc world series
Noughts and crosses - I can't remember how detailed the sex is in this though. It happens but it might be of a kissing and then implied rather than explicit mentions

Books for thought and conversation Peter Pan the original some of the language around tinker bell is interesting and at the end of the book Peter doesn't remember her but Wendy and her granddaughter still go and clean for him

Lord of the flies

My niece is 13 so some of these might something for your daughter to grow into for the next year or so. I can't remember what it is called but there's a site that gives age ratings for books based on recommendations. My sister gave me the rats to read as a 10 year old and she doesn't apply the same recommendations for her daughter so get a lot of use from this site for her book worm!