Mystery Stories for English Learners: 15 Graded Mysteries from A1 to B2
The best mystery stories for English learners give you a puzzle you want to solve and English you can follow, so you keep reading to the last page. Here are 15 original mysteries by level, from a missing cake at A1 to a Victorian detective at B1 and an office whodunit at B2. Each one is an audiobook narrated in British English with the text on screen, and an ebook with an English Learning Guide.
Every one of these mystery stories for English learners has a free first chapter, so you can listen before you buy. Jump to A1 · A2 · B1 · B1–B2 · B2.
What kind of mystery do you like?
| If you like… | Start with | Level |
|---|---|---|
| A small puzzle, solved in a morning | Nobody Saw the Cake | A1 |
| Short mysteries you can finish in ten minutes | It Was Here a Minute Ago | A2 |
| A hidden object and an old secret | The Key in the Book | A2 |
| A Victorian detective in foggy London | Three Bells at Midnight | B1 |
| A locked room nobody could leave | Four Minutes in the Tunnel | B1 |
| A whodunit with a room full of suspects | The Email Nobody Sent | B2 |
A1 mystery stories (beginner)
Three short café mysteries, each about 45 minutes of listening. Very clear English in the present tense, and nobody gets hurt.
A2 mystery stories (elementary)
Two novels, plus two collections of six short mysteries set in one small town by the sea.
B1 mystery stories (intermediate)
Four longer mysteries, about two hours each. Three of them follow Ada Whitmore, a young detective in Victorian London.
B1–B2 mystery stories
Two longer mysteries that start at B1 and finish at B2.
B2 mystery stories (upper intermediate)
Two full mysteries with the widest range of grammar.
Read the next one: three mystery series
Each book is a complete story, so you can start anywhere.
- A Café Mystery (A1): Nobody Saw the Cake → Nobody Made the Jam → Nobody Took the Star. The same café, the same friends, a new puzzle each time.
- Merrowby mysteries (A2): It Was Here a Minute Ago → It's Been There for Years. Twelve short mysteries in one seaside town.
- Ada Whitmore, Victorian London (B1): Three Bells at Midnight → Four Minutes in the Tunnel → Five Names in the Will.
Ready for B1 or B2? See all our books for intermediate English learners, with romance, science fiction and fantasy too.
All 15 mystery stories for English learners at a glance
| Book | Level | Kind | Listening time | Audiobook / ebook |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nobody Saw the Cake | A1 | Café mystery | 45 min | $1.99 / $0.99 |
| Nobody Made the Jam | A1 | Café mystery | 47 min | $1.99 / $0.99 |
| Nobody Took the Star | A1 | Café mystery | 45 min | $1.99 / $0.99 |
| The Blue Suitcase | A2 | Travel mystery | 2 h 7 min | free |
| The Key in the Book | A2 | Cosy mystery | 2 h 4 min | $1.99 / $0.99 |
| It Was Here a Minute Ago | A2 | Six short mysteries | 68 min | $1.99 / $0.99 |
| It's Been There for Years | A2 | Six short mysteries | 1 h 22 min | $1.99 / $0.99 |
| Three Bells at Midnight | B1 | Victorian detective | 1 h 44 min | $2.99 / $1.99 |
| Four Minutes in the Tunnel | B1 | Locked-room mystery | 1 h 43 min | $2.99 / $1.99 |
| Five Names in the Will | B1 | Victorian whodunit | 1 h 47 min | $2.99 / $1.99 |
| The Garage Tapes | B1 | Coming-of-age mystery | 2 h 27 min | $2.99 / $1.99 |
| The Man at Platform Seven | B1–B2 | Family mystery | 2 h 49 min | $2.99 / $1.99 |
| The Secret at Silver Bay | B1–B2 | Seaside mystery | 2 h 31 min | $2.99 / $1.99 |
| The Museum Never Lies | B2 | Literary mystery | 2 h 53 min | $2.99 / $1.99 |
| The Email Nobody Sent | B2 | Workplace whodunit | 2 h 52 min | $2.99 / $1.99 |
Every audiobook includes the read-along text, and every ebook includes the English Learning Guide.
Questions about mystery stories for English learners
Where are the mysteries set?
Mostly in Britain: a café in a small Cotswolds town (A1), a seaside town in Norfolk (the A2 short mysteries), foggy Victorian London (B1), and the Lake District, Cornwall, York and a London office (B1 to B2). Two A2 novels go further: The Blue Suitcase to Portugal, and The Key in the Book to a small town in Vermont, USA.
What is a cosy mystery?
A cosy mystery is a gentle puzzle in a small, friendly place, like a café, a bookshop or a seaside town. Nobody gets badly hurt, and the fun is in working out what happened. Our A1 and A2 mysteries are all cosy.
Which mystery is the easiest to start with?
Nobody Saw the Cake (A1). It’s 45 minutes long, it’s in the present tense, and the whole mystery happens in one morning. If you’re past A1, try It Was Here a Minute Ago (A2): six mysteries of about ten minutes each.
Also on the blog: Graded readers for English learners · Short stories for English learners · Books for intermediate English learners
Books for Intermediate English Learners: 16 Novels to Read and Listen To (B1–B2)
16 complete novels for intermediate English learners, B1 to B2: mysteries, romance, science fiction and fantasy. Audiobook with read-along, ebook with Learning Guide.
Short Stories for English Learners: 17 Easy Beginner Reads
Easy short stories for English learners: love stories, mysteries and ghost stories for adult beginners (A2), with audio. From $0.99.
Graded Readers for English Learners: Read and Listen at Your Level
What graded readers are, how to choose your level, and our 25 original graded readers and short stories, A1 to B2+, to listen and read. Prices from $0.99.