Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mariella Mystery Investigates the Ghostly Guinea Pig | 2013 | Kate Pankhurst | Buy |
| 2 | Mariella Mystery Investigates a Cupcake Conundrum | 2013 | Kate Pankhurst | Buy |
| 3 | Mariella Mystery Investigates the Huge Hair Scare | 2013 | Kate Pankhurst | Buy |
| 4 | The Mystery of the Cursed Poodle | 2014 | Kate Pankhurst | Buy |
| 5 | The Spaghetti Yeti | 2014 | Kate Pankhurst | Buy |
| 6 | A Kitty Calamity | 2015 | Kate Pankhurst | Buy |
| 7 | The Disappearance of Diana Dumpling | 2015 | Kate Pankhurst | Buy |
| 8 | The Mystic Mustache | 2016 | Kate Pankhurst | Buy |
The Mariella Mystery series launched in 2013 and ran to eight books by 2016. Written and illustrated by Kate Pankhurst, the series centers on Mariella Mystery, a nine-year-old with a gift for spotting things that don’t add up. She takes on cases that range from a ghostly guinea pig to a suspicious bake-off, approaching each with a combination of determination and cheerful overconfidence.
The books are designed for newly independent readers, with short chapters, frequent illustrations, and a journal format that breaks up the text and gives children extra material between plot beats. Mariella’s voice is funny and distinctive, and the mysteries are gentle enough for younger readers without feeling watered-down. Tips for aspiring detectives appear throughout, adding a practical, playful layer to the stories.
The series occupies a similar space to Dork Diaries and Diary of a Wimpy Kid in its illustrated, diary-style approach, but keeps the focus firmly on solving puzzles rather than school social dynamics. For children who enjoy mysteries with plenty of personality, Mariella Mystery provides a complete run of eight cases to work through.