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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✍️ 27 stories

“Our Sweet, Happy Beginning” by Riel Rosehill

A book was screaming as I locked up the library.I could hear it as I turned the key in the door and switched off the lights. Dust danced, swirling in the rays of the setting sun shining through the gaps left between the curtains as I closed them, like fairy dust, mixing with the sweet scent of old books lingering in the air. The promise of happy endings, stacked high on dark wooden shelves towering to the ceiling, at heights way out of reach.I adored the blissful tranquillity of the evenings, these quiet moments among the st...

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“Robbed by Cats” by Graham Kinross

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, whiskers and the black eyebr...

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“Crimson Spurts” by Suma Jayachandar

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 bitt...

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“Returning Home” by John Steckley

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...

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“Curse of the Cane Man” by Michael Jefferson

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. Steve smirks....

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

‘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’...

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“The Whistler” by Jacob Wimett

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 me...

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“The Case of Timmy Tomtittat ” by M B

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 th...

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“THE MISTERY OF THE MISSING CORPSES” by Mara Masolini

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 remain...

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“The Forgotten Book” by Harnoor Kaur

“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....

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“The Ephemeral Nature of Love” by Shuvayon Mukherjee

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 ...

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“Heads or Tails” by Aaliyah Hussain

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 saun...

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“The Scriptorium Archivist” by R W Mack

“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 v...

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“Finding The Truth” by Crystal Glisson

I feel my phone vibrating, and quickly answer it. Hello, I say, trying to be quiet. “Finally, I have been trying to reach you.” I hold the phone away from my ear. Sarah could be loud sometimes. I was busy, I told her. “Mitzie, are you at the library again?” I smile to myself. My best friend knew me well. Yes, I am, I tell her, now keep it down. “I swear you would live there, if they’d let you.” I could hear the annoyance...

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“Revelations” by Minerva Noiropp

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 avera...

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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

✍️ 27 stories

“Our Sweet, Happy Beginning” by Riel Rosehill

“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 Volcanoes of Iceland'” by Marcus Newton-Howes

“The Whistler” by Jacob Wimett

“The Case of Timmy Tomtittat ” by M B

“THE MISTERY OF THE MISSING CORPSES” by Mara Masolini

“The Forgotten Book” by Harnoor Kaur

“The Ephemeral Nature of Love” by Shuvayon Mukherjee

“Heads or Tails” by Aaliyah Hussain

“The Scriptorium Archivist” by R W Mack

“Finding The Truth” by Crystal Glisson

“Revelations” by Minerva Noiropp

🌟 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

184

Contest entries

130

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Tired of MS Word?

Explore more writing prompt ideas: