Short tales about deadly books, by top mystery authors

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?

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.

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“One of the best novelists around, period.” —The Washington Post

“Lippman has enriched literature as a whole.” —Chicago Sun-Times

“Laura Lippman is among the select group of novelists who have invigorated the crime fiction arena with smart, innovative, and exciting work.” —George Pelecanos

Laura Lippman (b. 1959) is an author of detective fiction. Born in Atlanta, she was raised in Baltimore. Her father was a reporter for the Baltimore Sun, and Lippman followed in his footsteps, working at the paper until 2001. She used her journalistic experience as a foundation for her first novel, Baltimore Blues (1997), which introduced her longtime series character, Tess Monaghan, a reporter-turned-private detective. Dynamic, strong-willed, and smart, Tess was one of the early exemplars of a “tart noir” character. 

Since Baltimore Blues, Lippman has published ten more titles in the series, as well as standalone books including Every Secret Thing (2003) and Life Sentences (2009). She has won nearly every major award for the genre, including the Edgar, Shamus, and Nero Wolfe prizes. Her husband, David Simon, is also a journalist-turned-crime-writer, best known for creating HBO’s The Wire. Lippman’s most recent book is And When She Was Good (2012).