Whether you want to be like The Karas or just hone your investigative skills, check out this article to learn how to be a good teenage detective.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Preparing your equipment

Step 1. Always have a good detective kit handy
The set should contain a compass, a magnifying glass and a binoculars. A notebook, pen, phone, and digital camera can also be helpful.

Step 2. Make business cards
Give your agency a catchy name and have some business cards made to give to people who hire your services.
Create an email specific to your agency
Part 2 of 4: Learning the Art of Investigation

Step 1. Read mystery books
The series Os Karas, by Pedro Bandeira, and some titles from the Vaga-Lume Collection are great starting points, as well as the books by Sherlock Holmes. It doesn't hurt to watch some old detective movies, like Charlie Chan's, either.

Step 2. Learn to find clues quickly and efficiently
Anything can be proof. Remember this whenever you are looking for clues.

Step 3. Be observant
In many cases, the smallest things end up being the most important. Pay attention to things that others tend to ignore.

Step 4. Always be aware
Build on the approach of great detectives in fiction.

Step 5. Learn to do research
Research the information pertinent to each case with the utmost care. Use online sources, archival materials and photographic evidence and don't forget to question those involved.
Part 3 of 4: Taking Care

Step 1. Choose a job that is safe and suitable for your position as an amateur and underage
Start by looking for a missing kitten or puppy, for example, digging up lost jewelry or setting a timer to find out who is stealing your classmates' lunches.

Step 2. Never get into a situation you can't get out of
Don't trespass on any private property, don't enter dangerous places, don't try to get free on public transport, and don't get cornered.

Step 3. Don't get involved in real crimes
If you come across something potentially illegal, wrong or frightening, contact the authorities or someone you trust. Do not try to investigate serious cases on your own.
Part 4 of 4: Being a Great Teen Detective

Step 1. Enjoy
Have fun gathering evidence of the crime, making deductions and drawing logical conclusions. Ask questions and put the facts in order to test your hypotheses.

Step 2. Invest in a career based on your investigative skills
You may end up choosing a profession that requires investigative talent, such as a police officer, lawyer, forensic scientist, or even a private detective.
Tips
- Learn to formulate hypotheses.
- Try logic puzzles and other mind exercises.
- Anything can be evidence, from the professions of those involved to where they were at the time of the crime.
- Some interesting mystery books are the series Os Karas, by Pedro Bandeira, some titles from the Vaga-Lume Collection, such as The Mystery of the Five Stars, by Marcos Rey, and those by detective Sherlock Holmes.
- Assemble a small investigative group. You never know who might be a witness.