8 Suspenseful Boarding School Mysteries

After retiring as head of an elite New York City private school, Maggie Detweiler is ready to start her next adventure. Chairing a team to kickstart the Rye Manor School for girls, Maggie must determine whether the institution has what it takes to succeed. 

At the welcoming dinner, it seems that no one is more keen, or chatty, than star teacher Florence Meagher—that is, until her body is found in the school swimming pool two days later.

Now, Maggie not only has a school to lead, but a murder investigation to solve!

In this second book of the WWI-era historical mystery series, journalist Kitty Weeks returns. 

Kitty’s latest assignment sends her to Westfield Hall, where she expects to meet young ladies learning French and dancing, but discovers there is far more happening at the establishment.

A young student named Elspeth has been found frozen to death in Central Park, and although the doctor believes she was sleepwalking, Kitty knows there is more to the story than meets the eye. 

As she works to uncover the mystery, Kitty suspects Elspeth’s scientist father may be involved, as well as a peculiar man named Thomas Edison…

Now a Netflix TV show, Tiny Pretty Things follows three students, Gigi, Bette, and June, at the top of their Manhattan ballet school. Although they have all experienced their fair share of drama competing for the spotlight, what happens next will be nothing like they’ve ever seen before!

New girl Gigi just wants to dance, but what she doesn’t realize yet is that she can’t escape the food chain.

Born and raised in New York, Bette is trying to define herself outside the shadow of her ballet-star sister, but she discovers that everything comes at a price.

Finally, June needs to secure the lead role in the showcase, but her mother may stop her before she even gets the chance. 

A mix of science fiction, dystopia, and, of course, mystery, Never Let Me Go not only boasts an eerie boarding-school setting in the English countryside, but has come to be regarded as a modern classic by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author.

Discussing themes of humanity and ethics, the novel is told from the first-person perspective of the protagonist, Kathy, recounting her childhood at a private school called Hailsham. There, she and the other children were raised to believe they were special, although as the plot unravels, it becomes clear that something far more sinister is at play.

Although Kathy thought she had left her past behind her, when she becomes involved with two of her friends from Hailsham, she is pulled back into old memories.

Don’t be fooled by the squeaky-clean facade of Urban Promise Prep—dark secrets are close at hand. When the principal winds up murdered at school, the police turn to a trio of students, J.B., Ramón, and Trey, as the culprits. 

Although they had motive and even the murder weapon, the boys maintain their innocence. Now they must work together to find the real killer while avoiding one danger after another.

Widely considered the catalyst of the Dark Academia movement, The Secret History is a classic—and for good reason. 

Following a charming classics professor and his circle of elite conniving students, they build a new way of life for themselves, apart from the rest of their New England college. 

Although not necessarily a boarding school, the isolated campus setting proves fulfilling for intrigue and games. And when tragedy strikes, they will slowly begin to lose any semblance of morality and spiral even further into evil itself.

In The Nightmare Affair, “the world of Nightmares, Sirens, Wizards and Demons at Arkwell Academy,” is on full, vibrant display (Kendare Blake, #1 New York Times-bestselling author). 

16-year-old Dusty Everhart spends her time going to school, catching up with friends, oh, and breaking into homes late at night.

But she’s not a criminal—it’s her duty as the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, to uncover people’s dreams. When her profession leads her to her crush, Eli Booker’s room, things get a lot more complicated. 

Not only is he dreaming about murder, but, not even a few days later, his dream comes true! Now, it will be up to Dusty to follow the clues, in Eli’s dreams and out, before the killer strikes again. 

Kay Donovan lives unburdened by the past as a star hockey player whose charming friend group runs their private boarding school with ease. But when a body is found in the lake, Kay’s life begins to unravel and secrets come to light.

The dead girl has left behind a scavenger hunt for Kay to follow, leading her from suspect to suspect and closer to a dangerous killer.

Kay will do whatever she needs to do not only to survive, but also to keep the past where it belongs: buried.