Cover of The Book Thing

The Book Thing

Tess Monaghan series

A thief targets a local bookstore and it will take a bibliophile PI to save the shop

Tess Monaghan wants to like the Children's Bookstore. It's bright, cozy, and packed with the kinds of books that she is dying for her daughter to fall in love with. But no matter how badly she wants to support this adorable local business, the owner's attitude stops her in her tracks. What kind of children's bookseller hates children?

Read more

What's eating Octavia, the grouchy owner, is more than the pressures of running a small business. Each Saturday, someone steals a stack of her priciest, most beautiful children's books, and the expense threatens to force her fledgling store out of business. Luckily, Tess is more than a book lover—she's a private investigator who doesn't mind working pro bono to help out an independent bookshop. Her simple act of kindness will make Octavia smile for the first time in months—and uncover a crime more suitable for the mystery aisle than the children's section.

Genre
mysterycrime
Setting
2010s
Audience
adult
Length
short · 42 pages

Click a tag to see books like this one that share it.

Read it? Sign in to help tag it.

Liked The Book Thing? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked The Book Thing. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. The Scroll Shares mystery, short stories, fiction
  2. Kwik Krimes Shares mystery, short stories, crime
  3. The Gate of Baghdad: Harley Quin Shares mystery, short stories, crime
  4. Baltimore Noir Shares mystery, short stories, Baltimore

“People who read The Book Thing tend to reach for these next.”

  1. The Mysterious Disappearance of the Reluctant Book Fairy
  2. February Thaw & Other Stories of Contemporary Fantasy
  3. Blood on the Tracks
  4. The Little Men

“If you want more of the same (mystery), start with these.”

  1. Greenshaw's Folly: A Short Story
  2. 36 Hours
  3. The Cornish Mystery: A Short Story
  4. Red Handed

“If it was the short stories that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. Sleep No More: Six Murderous Tales
  2. The Love Detectives
  3. Inspector Zhang Gets His Wish
  4. Murder Is My Business

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. Read This!: Handpicked Favorites from America's Indie Bookstores
  2. Rebel Bookseller: Why Indie Businesses Represent Everything You Want To Fight For From Free Speech To Buying Local To Building Communities
  3. The King's English: Adventures of an Independent Bookseller
  4. Murder at the Bookstore