Write about a character on the hunt to solve a mystery who uses their local library (or librarian) as a source of information.

Posted in Thriller and Suspense on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 25 stories

“Robbed by Cats” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #142

TW: Swearing... Shawn couldn’t believe it when he was robbed by a gang of cats. At first they were just six adorable fluffballs who came to see him from the gaps between the houses on his way home. Then they spoke. “What’s in the bag buddy?” The voice seemed to come from within Shawn’s head. He looked around. “Down here, whiske...

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“Crimson Spurts” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #142

I wouldn’t have come home, had my brother not left it.I alight from a black and yellow auto-rickshaw. My parents are not expecting me. So, nobody picked me up from the railway station.I pay the driver. He turns the tri-wheeler around and sputters away. I stand in front of imposing gates, with pink and white bougainvillea bursting from its sides. My hands tremble as I unlatch it after nearly 5 years. I crack it open just enough for me to slip in with my backpack.The sweet fragrance of jasmine tries to ward off the bitter memories emanating fr...

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“Returning Home” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #142

Returning Home People will think I’m crazy if I tell them what I am about to do. That would even include my husband. He understands a lot about me, but not in matters such as this. One day – maybe soon, he will. The house we are thinking of buying is just what we want in so many ways. It’s old enough to be classy, but not so old that it needs or will soon need repairs done. It’s in the countryside, near town, so we won’t feel crowded like in the apartment we live in now, but still be close to town to easily go to see m...

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“Curse of the Cane Man” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #142

Detective Steve Swanson clips the potted gardenia on his desk, then carefully waters it. Chief Pasquale Puglisi drops a folder on Steve’s desk. “Something for you to look into besides domestic scuffles.” Steve opens the folder, gazing curiously at the black and white photograph of a muscular young man with greasy hair, a monobrow, and an uneasy smile. &...

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“The Whistler” by Jacob Wimett

Submitted to Contest #142

His breath was frosted in the chilly air as he rushed to his campsite; dodging Scouts as they made their way to the dining hall in the exact opposite direction. Everyone was going to eat, but Neil needed to find Thomas.Thomas didn’t show up for anything after Geocaching, not Communications, not First Aid, not even Mining in Society, and he was really excited about that. “Weird, and my dad was a coal miner, so it’ll be interesting to see.”He didn’t get to see, because he never came to the pavilion where they held the merit badge lesson....

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“'The Volcanoes of Iceland'” by Marcus Newton-Howes

Submitted to Contest #142

‘The Volcanoes of Iceland’By Marcus Newton-Howes, April 2022Based on the Reedsy prompt: Write about a character on the hunt to solve a mystery who uses their local library (or librarian) as a source of information._______Kjartan had been back in Reykjavík for a couple of months, and was only now just settling into home life again. It was 10pm, and as it was winter, this meant it had been dark for quite some time. The kids were both sleeping. The project he’d been overseeing, the Kárahnjúkar hydroelectric dam, had been stressfu...

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“The Forgotten Book” by Harnoor Kaur

Submitted to Contest #142

“How can I help you?” The Librarian said kindly. I was at the library. But I should introduce myself first. I'm Elizabeth Parkers. Born in Canada, and raised by Canadians, I'm a single child, and I'm in Grade 11. Pretty cool (In my opinion, of course). You might be wondering why I'm in the library. So I'm someone who wants to be an explorer when I grow up. And I already found my first mission! To look for a very mysterious book. And the only thing I know about it is that it's in a town called Gloomwind. Let's go back to the Librarian now.“Do...

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“The Case of Timmy Tomtittat ” by M B

Submitted to Contest #142

Normalton Public Library was one of the few grand buildings of the small town: a ‘bastion of knowledge and wisdom,’ the poetically-inclined called it. The stone lions guarding the entrance yawned and stretched before settling back down on their pedestals. It was overcast. The wind blew down empty streets. The stone feline on the left turned its head lazily to watch a patron trudging up the steps. She was a girl in her teen years with brunette hair. A smattering of freckles ran from the bridge of her nose to below her brown eyes. ...

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“THE MISTERY OF THE MISSING CORPSES” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #142

THE MISTERY OF THE MISSING CORPSES It had happened some years ago.The investigation had since long been closed. No one was looking for the dead bodies that had disappeared from the coffins. The corpses had disappeared while they were exhibited in the funeral chapels adjacent to the hospital. From midnight to six in the morning the funeral chapels remained closed. During these hours ( this time) they were guarded by video cameras and a guardian stood in there. Teddy knew the night g...

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“The Ephemeral Nature of Love” by Shuvayon Mukherjee

Submitted to Contest #142

Grandad died before I understood how I felt about him.A week after he passed, my mother - no doubt grappling with her own demons of regret - left to me the task of sorting through his belongings. I sat in the cramped living room of a stranger and looked around helplessly. Grandad was more of an idea than a person. Others spoke of him as a decorated military man, later in life a successful investment banker par excellence. A widower, a single father and later a Grandad. Whether any of it was true mattered little. I never got to know...

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“Heads or Tails” by Aaliyah Hussain

Submitted to Contest #142

July 21st, 2011Jenna Lowe was well aware that a hot, thirty-four degrees day in London was as rare as her father skipping his afternoon siesta. Incredibly rare, and hard to miss. It was one p.m. The summer heat was at its peak, inviting most of London outdoors. Sun out, shirts off, ice cold beers cracked open. The news channel had deemed it the ‘Hottest Day of the Year,’ and that it most definitely was. Jenna sauntered outside, her flip-flops rubbing against her feet, making them feel hot and clammy. She raised her hand...

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“The Scriptorium Archivist” by R W Mack

Submitted to Contest #142

“The Saint Francis de Sale Biblioteque appreciates the return of our stolen materials.” “Of course,” Detective Lawrence Oulette said with a practiced smile. “Everything in its rightful place, eh?” He fidgeted with his father’s ring; a gift for graduation from the police academy. It’d been his grandfather’s before and great-grandfather's as well. The library curator nodded in his habit, brown as the vellum binding of the booms he placed below the counter. “We were concerned to have a theft of such historic relevance. We are blessed to have ...

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“Revelations” by Minerva Noiropp

Submitted to Contest #142

There are all sorts of libraries in the world. Some are in buildings that you have to go to. Others are mobile and the stories are able to come to you. Then there are those who are virtual, on the internet, available for anyone with access to the internet and a search engine. I had a mystery I had to solve, of late. It took many visits to the library to find the information I needed. However, this wasn't the average sort of library. It is a very special one. To access it you need a unique key. This key I am talking about is one very hard to ...

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“Into the Pages” by Rhonda Williams

Submitted to Contest #142

There was something in Doss Hall that shouldn’t be there. After a moment, Victoria opened the padlock and pushed the fence open, then unlocked the library’s front door. She stalled for a moment with her hand on the doorknob and glanced behind her. The black of night was all-consuming and she couldn’t see past her parked car right in front of her. The street lamp directly above flickered randomly until it completely stopped and went out. The emptiness of the cool, fall night sent chills down her body. She pulled the door open and let out a...

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“Amid Shelves ” by Karen Lethlean

Submitted to Contest #142

Amid Shelves Simmons Library was a melting pot of haves and have-nots, a mixture of homeless people and older residents of nearby neighborhoods. Many of them with heads down, engrossed in various books. Others using computers, particularly printers which were available for internet usage. Gwen didn’t like to think of herself as particularly well off, sometimes she struggled but did dwell in a house. Close to six years since Ted passed. Her biggest problem, a car loan Ted took out. Too big a car for her and too uncomfortable in traffic. Bl...

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Write about a character on the hunt to solve a mystery who uses their local library (or librarian) as a source of information.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 25 stories

“Robbed by Cats” by Graham Kinross

“Crimson Spurts” by Suma Jayachandar

“Returning Home” by John Steckley

“Curse of the Cane Man” by Michael Jefferson

“The Whistler” by Jacob Wimett

“'The Volcanoes of Iceland'” by Marcus Newton-Howes

“The Forgotten Book” by Harnoor Kaur

“The Case of Timmy Tomtittat ” by M B

“THE MISTERY OF THE MISSING CORPSES” by Mara Masolini

“The Ephemeral Nature of Love” by Shuvayon Mukherjee

“Heads or Tails” by Aaliyah Hussain

“The Scriptorium Archivist” by R W Mack

“Revelations” by Minerva Noiropp

“Into the Pages” by Rhonda Williams

“Amid Shelves ” by Karen Lethlean

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with someone being given a book recommendation.

Write a story about a librarian that doesn’t fit into the common librarian stereotypes.

Write a story that includes one character reading aloud to another.

Write about somebody who likes to work in silence.

Contest #142

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

175

Contest entries

129

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: