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See the Sammy Keyes books in order by Wendelin Van Draanen, with quick summaries, series background, and simple tips on where to start.

Last updated: July 7, 2026

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Sammy Keyes books in publication order

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18 books

1

Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief

by Wendelin Van Draanen

1998

Sammy spots a hotel burglary through binoculars, but no one believes her. To prove she's telling the truth, she digs into the case while juggling middle school drama and life with her grandmother at the Heavenly Hotel.

2

Sammy Keyes and the Skeleton Man

by Wendelin Van Draanen

1998

A Halloween outing turns creepy when Sammy and her friends stumble into a real crime. Rumors, disguises, and a haunted house push her toward a mystery that is darker than it first looks.

3

Sammy Keyes and the Runaway Elf

by Wendelin Van Draanen

1999

A Christmas parade, a missing girl, and a dognapped Pomeranian drop Sammy into a messy holiday case. Blackmail, grudges, and neighborhood secrets make this one personal fast.

4

Sammy Keyes and the Sisters of Mercy

by Wendelin Van Draanen

1999

While helping at a soup kitchen, Sammy learns that a girl her age is living on the streets. Between that mystery and a dirty softball rivalry, she starts seeing how much trouble can hide in plain sight.

5

Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary

by Wendelin Van Draanen

2000

A spooky trip outside town lands Sammy and her friends in the middle of an old feud, a suspicious fire, and rumors of hidden gold. The deeper she digs, the stranger Moustache Mary's world gets.

6

Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy

by Wendelin Van Draanen

2001

Sammy heads to Hollywood hoping to learn the truth about her mother. Instead she walks into a murder investigation where ambition, old lies, and family pain are tangled together.

7

Sammy Keyes and the Search for Snake Eyes

by Wendelin Van Draanen

2002

When a terrified teen thrusts a bag at Sammy, she discovers there is a baby inside. Soon she is dodging gang trouble and trying to protect both mother and child before Snake Eyes finds them.

8

Sammy Keyes and the Art of Deception

by Wendelin Van Draanen

2003

A stolen painting turns Sammy's latest case into a collision of art scams, danger, and school drama. She has to sort real talent from fraud while facing Heather and a growing crush.

9

Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen

by Wendelin Van Draanen

2004

Cats keep disappearing, Sammy's mother brings bad news, and a mysterious wrestler-in-training seems to know more than he says. Personal upheaval and a strange animal case crash together in classic Sammy style.

10

Sammy Keyes and the Dead Giveaway

by Wendelin Van Draanen

2005

After a prank goes wrong, everyone blames Heather for something Sammy secretly caused. While wrestling with whether to confess, Sammy uncovers a bigger mystery involving an older woman and land everyone wants.

11

Sammy Keyes and the Wild Things

by Wendelin Van Draanen

2007

A camping trip turns dangerous when Sammy and her friends get lost in rough country. Snakes, scorpions, and a condor poacher make survival and sleuthing happen at the same time.

12

Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash

by Wendelin Van Draanen

2008

Sammy scares a stranger to death by accident, then ends up with a stash of cash people are willing to chase her for. Summer fun vanishes fast when free money turns deadly.

13

Sammy Keyes and the Wedding Crasher

by Wendelin Van Draanen

2010

Threats against the school's most hated teacher pull Sammy into a suspect-filled mystery just as wedding chaos takes over her life. Between bridesmaid duties and boy trouble, she still has to catch who means real harm.

14

Sammy Keyes and the Night of Skulls

by Wendelin Van Draanen

2011

A zombie costume outing leads Sammy into graveyards, skulls, and people who are hiding something around Halloween. Spooky fun gives way to a smart mystery about death, culture, and what gets buried.

15

Sammy Keyes and the Power of Justice Jack

by Wendelin Van Draanen

2012

A self-styled superhero on a dirt bike wants Sammy as his sidekick, but crime seems worse since he arrived. Sammy investigates whether Justice Jack is helping the town or making everything messier.

16

Sammy Keyes and the Killer Cruise

by Wendelin Van Draanen

2013

Sammy and her newly found father board a cruise that turns into a locked-room style mystery at sea. Codes, suspects, and greed make it hard to tell who on board can be trusted.

17

Sammy Keyes and the Showdown in Sin City

by Wendelin Van Draanen

2013

A trip to Las Vegas forces long-buried family questions into the open. With Elvis impersonators, casinos, and nonstop chaos around her, Sammy chases answers and a new mystery at the same time.

18

Sammy Keyes and the Kiss Goodbye

by Wendelin Van Draanen

2014

In the final Sammy Keyes mystery, Sammy is suddenly the one in real danger. As familiar faces return, she has to put everything she has learned to work for one last case.

Sammy Keyes books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief"

    Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief

    by Wendelin Van Draanen

    1998Sammy Keyes, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Sammy Keyes and the Skeleton Man"

    Sammy Keyes and the Skeleton Man

    by Wendelin Van Draanen

    1998Sammy Keyes, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Sammy Keyes and the Sisters of Mercy"

    Sammy Keyes and the Sisters of Mercy

    by Wendelin Van Draanen

    1999Sammy Keyes, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Sammy Keyes and the Runaway Elf"

    Sammy Keyes and the Runaway Elf

    by Wendelin Van Draanen

    1999Sammy Keyes, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary"

    Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary

    by Wendelin Van Draanen

    2000Sammy Keyes, Book 5
  6. Book cover for "Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy"

    Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy

    by Wendelin Van Draanen

    2001Sammy Keyes, Book 6
  7. Book cover for "Sammy Keyes and the Search for Snake Eyes"

    Sammy Keyes and the Search for Snake Eyes

    by Wendelin Van Draanen

    2002Sammy Keyes, Book 7
  8. Book cover for "Sammy Keyes and the Art of Deception"

    Sammy Keyes and the Art of Deception

    by Wendelin Van Draanen

    2003Sammy Keyes, Book 8
  9. Book cover for "Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen"

    Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen

    by Wendelin Van Draanen

    2004Sammy Keyes, Book 9
  10. Book cover for "Sammy Keyes and the Dead Giveaway"

    Sammy Keyes and the Dead Giveaway

    by Wendelin Van Draanen

    2005Sammy Keyes, Book 10
  11. Book cover for "Sammy Keyes and the Wild Things"

    Sammy Keyes and the Wild Things

    by Wendelin Van Draanen

    2007Sammy Keyes, Book 11
  12. Book cover for "Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash"

    Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash

    by Wendelin Van Draanen

    2008Sammy Keyes, Book 12
  13. Book cover for "Sammy Keyes and the Wedding Crasher"

    Sammy Keyes and the Wedding Crasher

    by Wendelin Van Draanen

    2010Sammy Keyes, Book 13
  14. Book cover for "Sammy Keyes and the Night of Skulls"

    Sammy Keyes and the Night of Skulls

    by Wendelin Van Draanen

    2011Sammy Keyes, Book 14
  15. Book cover for "Sammy Keyes and the Power of Justice Jack"

    Sammy Keyes and the Power of Justice Jack

    by Wendelin Van Draanen

    2012Sammy Keyes, Book 15
  16. Book cover for "Sammy Keyes and the Showdown in Sin City"

    Sammy Keyes and the Showdown in Sin City

    by Wendelin Van Draanen

    2013Sammy Keyes, Book 16
  17. Book cover for "Sammy Keyes and the Killer Cruise"

    Sammy Keyes and the Killer Cruise

    by Wendelin Van Draanen

    2013Sammy Keyes, Book 17
  18. Book cover for "Sammy Keyes and the Kiss Goodbye"

    Sammy Keyes and the Kiss Goodbye

    by Wendelin Van Draanen

    2014Sammy Keyes, Book 18

Series background & context

Sammy Keyes is a middle grade mystery series built around a heroine who is smart, stubborn, funny, and almost always in over her head. Sammy lives with her grandmother in the seniors-only Heavenly Hotel, which means she is already bending rules before the first mystery even starts. She is starting seventh grade, her mother is mostly absent, and adults do not always take her seriously. That makes her a great kid detective. She notices things because she has learned not to assume somebody else will.

She also cannot leave well enough alone.

The books follow Sammy through seventh and eighth grade in the fictional California town of Santa Martina, with each case landing about a month after the one before it. Some mysteries begin with a burglary or a missing person. Others start with a Halloween scare, a softball rivalry, a camping trip, or a family secret that refuses to stay buried. The fun of the series is that everyday middle school life and real criminal trouble sit right next to each other. One minute Sammy is dealing with Heather Acosta, the queen of mean. The next, she is sneaking into a hotel, searching a graveyard, or trying not to become the next target herself.

These are fast books, but they are not lightweight.

What keeps the series going is the mix of comedy and emotional stakes. Sammy is funny and irreverent, but she is also carrying big questions about family, trust, and where she belongs. Her friends, her grandmother, and the wider town all matter, and over time the series builds an ongoing story about growing up, not just cracking cases. That longer thread is one reason readers who start with Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief often want to keep going. By the time you reach the later books, the mysteries still deliver, but so does the payoff of watching Sammy change.

The tone sits somewhere between classic kid-detective fiction and a lively school story. There are suspects, clues, disguises, red herrings, and narrow escapes, but there are also crushes, awkward dances, bad teachers, and all the social chaos that comes with middle school. Van Draanen lets Sammy be brave without making her perfect. She jumps to conclusions. She gets mad. She makes messes. Then she keeps going.

If you like reading series in order, this one rewards it. The first fifteen books can work on their own, but the relationships and family questions build steadily, and the final stretch hits hardest when you know the full cast. Expect funny mysteries, real danger, and a heroine who solves problems the same way she lives, headfirst.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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