Characters who are always 10 steps ahead of everyone. Prefer middle grade or YA.

[Daphne]

Hey! Does anyone kn ow of any books that have either main characters or supporting characters who have great observation skills (like Sherlock Holmes) and who are always 10 steps ahead of everyone and always have a plan. An example of this type of character is Sage from The False Prince. Or even characters like the Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist. Preferably middlegrade or YA books please :-) Thanks so much!!

[Joseph]

If you like Sherlock Holmes, another great detective that I suggest to YA mystery lovers is Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot.

[Daphne]

Joseph wrote: "If you like Sherlock Holmes, another great detective that I suggest to YA mystery lovers is Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot."

Thanks so much :-) I've never read Agatha Christe before but I've always wanted to, so maybe I'll start with that.

[Lee Anne]

If you liked False Prince, you MUST read The Thief series. You won't notice it much in the first book, but trust me on that one.

[Elizabeth]

The Spirit Thief is a bit like that.

[Daphne]

Those look soooo cool. Thanks!

[Ann aka Iftcan]

The Great Brain and related books.

Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint again--plus related books

The Mad Scientists' Club and related. . .

The Marvelous Inventions of Alvin Fernald

[Tytti]

I've heard this one has: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Don't forget Miss Marple. (Agatha Christie)

[Sophie]

I second Megan Whalen Turner's Thief series.

[Daphne]

Thanks so much to everyone who commented. And I'm definitely going to read the thief series now. I looks awesome :-)

[Daphne]

*it not I

[Pamela]

Granny Weatherwax in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. (The ones about Tiffany Aching, starting with The Wee Free Men, are for younger readers.) The Wee Free Men (Discworld, #30)

Timothy Paul in Children of the Atom by Wilmar H. Shiras. Children Of The Atom

[Michele]

+1 for Miss Marple and Poirot. Depending on the reading level of the person, perhaps also Laurie R. King's Holmes/Russell books, starting with The Beekeeper's Apprentice.

[Joseph]

Michele wrote: "+1 for Miss Marple and Poirot. Depending on the reading level of the person, perhaps also Laurie R. King's Holmes/Russell books, starting with The Beekeeper's Apprentice."

And I say +1 for Laurie R. King's Holmes/Russell books.

[[deleted user]]

Legend.

[Pamela]

Jeeves in the Jeeves and Wooster books by P.G. Wodehouse
Here's my favorite: The Code of the Woosters The Code of the Woosters

Flora, in Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons Cold Comfort Farm

[Emily]

The List of Seven

[Daphne]

Thanks! Those all look so cool.

[Ficie]

I really liked Jonathan Stroud's The Screaming Staircase. Lockwood, one of the protagonists, is the kind of character you are looking for.

[Daphne]

Thanks so much! That actually looks so cool. I put it on my to-reads list.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Enid Blyton has a couple of charters in some of her mystery series like that. (These are MG mystery stories.)

[Daphne]

Thanks!

[M. Lee]

Artemis Fowl is a child genius with very elaborate plans.

Tavi from the Codex Alera (Furies of Calderon is the first book) reminded me a lot of Sage (possibly because I read the books at the same time). Pretty much all of the major characters in the series qualify, though.

In Ender's Shadow and Shadow of the Hegemon, both Bean and Achilles qualify. Aly in Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen was raised as a spy, so of course she's a step ahead.

Moist von Lipwig in Going Postal is another one (Vetinari is an even better example, but he's not a main-main character in any Discworld book, just a constant presence).

[Daphne]

Wow! Those all look so awesome! Thank you so much.

[Pamela]

Granny Aching in The Wee Free Men The Wee Free Men (Discworld, #30)

[Abigail]

The Great Greene Heist, by Varian Johnson.

[Kathy]

Pamela has already suggested the two wonderful Granny characters in Terry Pratchett's novels, and I'll throw in a third: Havelock Vetinari, a.k.a. The Patrician, the "benevolent tyrant" of the Discworld series. Between his spy network and a seeming ability to blend into his surroundings, this character knows exactly what's going on in his city at all times. He's best seen to advantage in Guards! Guards! and Feet of Clay.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

I rather liked the Patrician in Jingo (we get to see him out of the city in this one) and in Night Watch we get to see him as both a student assassin AND as the ruler of Ankh-Morpork.

[Kathy]

Agreed, Ann aka Iftcan. However, I wouldn't suggest that OP Daphne tackle Night Watch until she's read a few other Discworld novels. It would be too confusing.

[Daphne]

Thanks :-)

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Definitely not until after at least Guards! Guards!, Feet of Clay, Jingo and maybe Thud. Those are all stories that are about the central characters in Night Watch. Although the Patrician appears in other books as well. (Unseen University books, the Moist van Lipwig books etc.)

[Daphne]

OK. Thanks for the tip :-)

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

The Day of the Jackal, although it's not YA or middle grade.

[Rebekah]

I immediately thought of The Thief series, but I see that's been well mentioned here already, with good reason!

Other favorites of mine:

- The Scarlet Pimpernel, a classic for a good reason. It was probably written for adults, but it's fine for young adults both in content and interest.

-The Sherwood Ring YA, historical setting, a dose of fantasy, and a plot driven by the intelligence of the protagonists and antagonist.

[Tess]

The Lies of Locke Lamora - He's not ALWAYS ahead, but quite often he is.

[Hillary]

For a sophisticated YA reader (who can handle Holmes in the original) Lord Peter Wimsey by Dorothy Sayers. Murder Must Advertise is a good one to start with.