mystery books for children - quick question

[midnightexpress]

I wonder if anyone can help. For work purposes, I'm trying to find an example of a popular mystery book (or better, a series of books) for children, something more up-to-date than Nancy Drew, which I suspect most children won't have heard of the days (or am I wrong about that?). It needs to be something for children of maybe 8+.

TIA.

Nancy Drew has been updated actually. Chasing Vermeer is sort of a mystery book. My dd enjoyed that very much at 8.

The London Eye Mystery? Sophie Mackenzie's books. Might be a little old but it depends how precocious your 8 year-old is

Is a historical setting any good? Caroline Lawrence has written a series that now runs to 17 Roman Mysteries - The Book People was doing a good offer on the first 15 recently. I haven't read them but someone else's 9 year old dd has been mentioned devouring them here recently. The first book is The Thieves of Ostia.

Joan Aiken wrote a series of 11 books between the 1960s and her death in 2004 that are sort of adventure/thriller/mystery with some great characters, especially Dido Twite. They're set in the 19th century only some of the history is a bit different to what really happened.

I think they'd be ideal for an 8 year old - I'm currently rereading the early ones that I read at that age myself, and then I will go on to the newer ones in the series, some of which I've not read before and didn't even know about until recently. The first book is The Wolves of Willoughby Chase.

This review site might come up with some good ideas:

www.thebookbag.co.uk

Sarah Jane adventures?

Midnight is a Place was another Joan Aiken one.

Cam Jensen?