A review by cj_mo_2222
The Book Thing by Laura Lippman

5.0

Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan volunteers her services to discover who has been stealing books from a newly-opened children's bookstore in her neighborhood. Tess loves books and feels so strongly about having a local bookstore available for her daughter that she is willing to try to solve these crimes on her own time. Unfortunately, it takes more time than she had planned on to catch this thief.

"The Book Thing" is one of the stand-alone short stories in the Bibliomysteries series. This series includes short stories with different characters, written by a variety of best-selling authors each in their own unique style. The common theme in this diverse group of stories is books. "The Book Thing" is a mystery about who is stealing books from a bookstore, but it is ultimately story about the love of books. In this story, Tess realizes that everyone should be able to pick their own favorite books and express their love of books in their own way.

Followers of the Tess Monaghan series will enjoy seeing Tess uncover the mystery behind the sudden rash of book thefts as well as the chance to see Tess spending quality time with her young daughter. As always, Tess's hometown of Baltimore plays a big role in the story and I love how "The Book Thing of Baltimore" is woven into the story. Readers who have enjoyed any of the other stories in the Bibliomysteries series, but are unfamiliar with the Tess Monaghan series, will not be disappointed in this installment.

I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of Open Road Publishers in exchange for an honest review.