Redefining “Deep State” with Mysteries!

Hello, All Readers, especially Educators, Families, and Kids,

Feel like you’ve been getting whacked over your head daily, maybe hourly, by the noise of social media, conflicting news about topsy-turvy world events, and burgeoning AI?

Like me, does the resulting craziness leave you questioning if the truth is out there somewhere? What is true, false, or somewhere in between? Have I just been handed information, misinformation, or disinformation? I believe that applying skills to help discern the differences is, ultimately, vital to our well-being and pursuits of happiness.

If you’re a critical thinker who is increasingly questioning what you see and hear, then scrambling for reliable sources to help you winnow the wheat from the chaff, bravo! I call this initial, healthy skepticism, checked by effective sources and techniques to find facts and evidence, “deep-state thinking.” Adults, where did you learn these techniques? Kids need to learn them, too!

As a teacher, I taught my young students how to develop critical thinking and questioning skills so they could become deep-state thinkers for life. Some of those strategies were to look beyond the small picture (right now, what’s in front of you) and ask what the effects of the information might be on the big picture (in the future, where you should imagine the logical outcome, pro or con); to ask “thick questions,” those that require answers beyond a simple “thin” yes or a no; and to run information through your “sieve of truth,” that being your own prior knowledge, experiences, and what you believe to be logical and reliable.

BUT I used one more tool: reading mysteries! Why this genre? Reading mysteries encourages us to become deep-state thinkers by teaching readers, in a fun way, to~

• Look for Clues
  • Mysteries train the mind to notice details. Kids and adults should pause during reading and identify clues, red herrings, suspects, patterns, and contradictions. This builds close‑reading skills and sharpens attention.

 

• Ask, “What Do You Know So Far?” 
  • Stopping at key points to summarize evidence forces readers to separate facts from assumptions. This habit strengthens analytical thinking and helps them track complex plots. Deep-state thinkers on the horizon!

 

• Predict Before Turning the Page 
  • Prediction is a powerful critical‑thinking skill! It invites readers to guess motives, outcomes, or hidden connections. The goal isn’t accuracy—it’s practicing inference and reasoning. Readers should be able to justify their predictions.

 

• Compare Multiple Suspects or Theories 
  • Mysteries naturally present competing explanations. Readers must evaluate each theory: What supports it? What weakens it? This mirrors real-world decision-making and teaches structured reasoning. Do I see deep-state thinkers coming?

 

• Highlight Author Techniques
  • Mystery writers use misdirection, pacing, foreshadowing, and unreliable narrators. Pointing these out helps readers understand how information is shaped—and how narratives influence perception. Yes, even young children can learn how to do this. Deep-state thinkers are budding!

 

• Encourage Discussion and Debate 
  • Talking through a mystery forces readers to articulate their reasoning. Group discussions help kids and adults defend ideas, challenge assumptions, and consider alternative viewpoints. Whoa! Deep-state thinkers are blossoming!

 

• Explore Moral and Ethical Questions 
  • Mysteries often raise ethical issues about justice, fairness, and human behavior. These moments can spark deeper conversations about choices, consequences, and values. This can focus readers on “the big picture”!

 

• Turn Mysteries into Problem-Solving Activities 
  • Create mini investigations: timelines, suspect charts, clue maps. These visual tools help readers organize information and think systematically.

 

• Connect Mysteries to Real-Life Critical Thinking 
  • Readers can learn how the same skills—evaluating evidence, questioning motives, spotting inconsistencies—apply to news, social media, and everyday decisions. Wow! Deep-state thinkers have arrived!

 

• Encourage Writing Their Own Mysteries 
  • When readers craft puzzles themselves, they learn how logic, structure, and evidence work from the inside out. This is application of knowledge, one of the most effective ways to deepen critical thinking!

 

• Use Age-Appropriate Mystery Formats 
  • For young kids: picture-book mysteries, early chapter books, scavenger hunts. For Middle-Grade, teens, and adults: whodunits, psychological thrillers, historical mysteries. Match complexity to developmental level to keep the thinking challenging but accessible.

 

• Celebrate the Process, Not Just the Solution
  • Critical thinking grows when readers enjoy the process of investigation itself. Praise curiosity, creativity, and persistence—not just “solving it.”

 

To these ends, I decided to ramp up readers’ deep-state thinking in The Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries, Book 8, Bougainvillea Street: Stolen Tiara, which will be released this September. I hope I have nudged you sufficiently to pick up your copy this fall.

So, get a clue, all readers. Prepare for a brain workout or rehab as you witness the value of critical thinking and questioning along with our four amazing detectives in their upcoming mystery! May reading mysteries and developing deeper deep-state thinking be gifts for all of us.