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Old is Gold: 3 Mystery Series for Better Reading, Spelling & Writing
- Posted By Superadmin Lilbutmighty
- 04/29/2025
Hello, everyone! I am Ms Nandy, a teacher at Lil’ but Mighty! This is my first ever post and I am excited to share with you several book series which I hope you will enjoy as much as I do. Since a young age, my mother cultivated a love of reading in me. Growing up in an era where iPhones did not exist, I would reach the loan limit of my library card (and most of my family members’ ones) during the school holidays and read like there was no tomorrow. My love for books definitely contributed to my stellar English grades in both primary and secondary school. Join me as I take a walk down memory lane and reminisce on some of my favourite books!
1. Enid Blyton – Famous Five series
Enid “Mary” Blyton was an author based in London. She wrote more than 600 children’s books, most of which consisted of mystery or adventure stories. My favourite was her Famous Five series, which featured siblings Julian, Dick and Anne along with their cousin, George (a girl!) and Timmy the dog. The gang of five spent their summer holidays in different settings doing a variety of activities. Interestingly, a mystery to solve always popped up. Every book was a joy to read as my imagination took me to places that I could not go physically!
2. James Lee (Jim Aitchison) – Mr. Mystery / Mr. Midnight series
Many authors use a pseudonym while writing, and James Lee was one of them! His real name is Jim Aitchison, and he spent over 20 years living in Singapore as a permanent resident. It was during this time that he wrote two of his most popular series, the Mr. Midnight and Mr. Mystery books. The Mr. Mystery story plots were centred around a group of friends who ran a detective company, Soh & Co. Some of the characters were Alvin Soh, Tan Wei Ling, Azizul and Sinchita. Did their names catch your attention? Yes! The best part about these series were the Asian names and backdrops – a breath of fresh air from the countless Western books in the market. Each book is also thin, which makes it appealing even for the not-so-avid readers. Based on the genres of horror, mystery and suspense, these books kept me on the edge of my seat plenty of times!
3. Robin Stevens: Murder Most Unladylike
Unlike the other two, this was one of the books that I stumbled upon as a young adult while sourcing suitable reads for my students. Robin Stevens is a US-born writer who moved to England early in her life. The story plot is set in the 1930s and revolves around two boarding school students, Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong. As boarding schools are a unique concept to most of us, reading stories set in such backdrops exposes us to knowledge about life beyond our little sunny island.
British English versus American English
While I would highly recommend checking out the above books for a variety of reasons, the most important is that they are all written using British English. This is the English system that we formally use in Singapore, and what our education system is based on. Did you know that the spelling of some words and the word choice differ for British and American English? One benefit of reading books that are written in British English is how it can help you to familiarise yourself to as well as reinforce the recommended spelling conventions so that you will avoid making errors in the English Paper 2 sections like Editing and Comprehension Cloze.
Knowing the correct spelling will also benefit you because it ensures that you maintain consistency in your writing, i.e. that you use British English spelling throughout your composition, instead of switching from one to the other. Check out the tables below for some common examples!
Mystery: The importance of creating suspense
Reading these books can also help you do better in Continuous Writing! One key aspect of mystery stories is maintaining suspense. This is crucial to keep readers engaged until the end of the book. You can see an example of how suspense is created in the excerpt below:
In the above excerpt, Dick does not mention what he sees – instead, the author describes his reactions vividly. What did he see that was so extraordinary? This makes us involuntarily turn the page and read on!
Here’s another one for you:
Once again, instead of immediately telling the readers what Wei Ling saw written on the note, the author chooses to use dialogue, intentionally keeping it vague by using the pronoun “this” to refer to what was on the slip of paper. It is also through the description of Alan’s facial expression – his eyes lighting up – that we get a clue that the children had chanced upon something exciting.
Hence, exposing yourself to more mystery stories will help to hone this skill of creating and maintaining suspense in your own writing. It makes you become more aware of what it takes to SHOW instead of tell, and in doing so, produce descriptions that are vivid and engaging for the readers. As seen from the above examples, you can create suspense by:
- delaying the reveal instead of immediately telling the reader what it is that is causing the characters to react in a certain way e.g. surprise, shock, anger etc.
- describing the characters’ reactions using show-not-tell phrases – focusing on their facial expressions and body language – and through the use of purposeful dialogue
- intentionally using pronouns like “this” or “that” to refer to what the characters heard or saw to avoid mentioning what it actually is
When the reveal finally happens, your effort in employing these techniques will pay off because you have managed to keep your readers hooked to the story!
In a nutshell, reading mystery books can benefit your writing and reading skills greatly. I hope you find these recommendations useful! Try reading some of them – let your imagination run wild as you step into the shoes of the characters, and have a whale of a time. Enjoy!
Ms Nandy
Empowering young minds is a powerful job. I find satisfaction in teaching my students the power of words. No two students are the same and instead of measuring their achievements against the societal yardstick, I strive to help my students become better versions of themselves – not only academically but also on a holistic level. Nothing makes me happier than watching my students achieve good grades and grow more confident!
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