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* MeaningfulName: Being that "Kettle Stitch" is an accomplished hacker, their surname, Lovelace, is most likely a nod to mathematician Ada Lovelace, whose theories formed the basis for the first computer programs.
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* PerpAndWeapon:
** The comic uses this in its BatmanColdOpen. When the library police apprehend a book thief, they find him dousing the books in gasoline, holding a lit match, and threatening to burn everything down if the cops don't back off. Agent Bay solves this the CowboyCop way: [[spoiler:he uses the recoil from a shotgun to propel himself across the room, then shoots the perp at just the right angle that his blood spatter extinguishes the match]].
** In the opening chapter, the perp threatens to immolate himself and his books when the cops come for him.
** The comic uses this in its BatmanColdOpen. When the library police apprehend a book thief, they find him dousing the books in gasoline, holding a lit match, and threatening to burn everything down if the cops don't back off. Agent Bay solves this the CowboyCop way: [[spoiler:he uses the recoil from a shotgun to propel himself across the room, then shoots the perp at just the right angle that his blood spatter extinguishes the match]].
** In the opening chapter, the perp threatens to immolate himself and his books when the cops come for him.
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* PerpAndWeapon: In the opening chapter, the perp threatens to immolate himself and his books when the cops come for him.
to:
* PerpAndWeapon: PerpAndWeapon:
** The comic uses this in its BatmanColdOpen. When the library police apprehend a book thief, they find him dousing the books in gasoline, holding a lit match, and threatening to burn everything down if the cops don't back off. Agent Bay solves this the CowboyCop way: [[spoiler:he uses the recoil from a shotgun to propel himself across the room, then shoots the perp at just the right angle that his blood spatter extinguishes the match]].
** In the opening chapter, the perp threatens to immolate himself and his books when the cops come for him.
** The comic uses this in its BatmanColdOpen. When the library police apprehend a book thief, they find him dousing the books in gasoline, holding a lit match, and threatening to burn everything down if the cops don't back off. Agent Bay solves this the CowboyCop way: [[spoiler:he uses the recoil from a shotgun to propel himself across the room, then shoots the perp at just the right angle that his blood spatter extinguishes the match]].
** In the opening chapter, the perp threatens to immolate himself and his books when the cops come for him.
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* ArtisticLicense: Library sciences. At one point, Chief Spencer refers to a potentially stolen Bible from 1838 as one of "500 surviving US incunabulas." An incunabulum is a manuscript created before the mass advent of the printing press, typically created before the year 1500, and the correct plural is incunabula.
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''[[http://www.shigabooks.com/bookhunter.php Bookhunter]]'' is a comicbook by Creator/JasonShiga.
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''[[http://www.shigabooks.com/bookhunter.php Bookhunter]]'' is a comicbook comic book by Creator/JasonShiga.
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[[quoteright:174:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bookhunter.jpg]]
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%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.
%%
[[quoteright:260:https://static.tvtropes.
%%
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[[http://www.shigabooks.com/bookhunter.php Bookhunter]] is a comicbook by Creator/JasonShiga.
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* ReplacedWithReplica: The plot concerns the theft of an antique Bible with historical significance. The theft went unnoticed for weeks because the thief left a ''very'' accurate fake in its place. The big twist at the end is [[spoiler:that stolen book was ''also'' a fake, thanks to CollidingCriminalConspiracies--the real book had been stolen by someone higher-up, months beforehand]].
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* AirVentPassageway: A variation. Nobody uses the air vent to travel, but Kettle Stitch's heist involves stashing a safe inside the ventilation system. And of course the ducts are large and sturdy enough for that plan to work.
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* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: Averted and lampshaded. As Bay examines the safe used to store the Bible, he confirms the library didn't use an easy-to-guess combination:
-->'''Agent Bay:''' Did you leave it on the factory setting?\\
'''Chief Spencer:''' We changed it.\\
'''Agent Bay:''' To a birthdate?\\
'''Chief Spencer:''' No.
-->'''Agent Bay:''' Did you leave it on the factory setting?\\
'''Chief Spencer:''' We changed it.\\
'''Agent Bay:''' To a birthdate?\\
'''Chief Spencer:''' No.
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Cross-wicking from new Master Forger trope.
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* MasterForger: The thief "Kettle Stitch" (real name [[spoiler: Susan Lovelace]]) makes a forgery of a priceless historical Bible, so when she steals the real thing from its display at Oakland Public Library, she leaves the copy behind in its place. Her forgery is good enough, the library staff don't even notice the theft until weeks later -- though it's not good enough to fool a trained document analyst from the police. Then the ending twist reveals [[spoiler: the book she stole was actually another forgery. Chief Spencer, head of Oakland Library's security, had replaced the real Bible with a copy of his own creation months before.]]
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* BloodyHilarious: The aforementioned scene ends with Bay shooting a hole in his torso with a shotgun so his blood and guts will extinguish the match he's trying to use to torch the place.
to:
* BloodyHilarious: The aforementioned scene first chapter ends with Bay shooting a hole in his the perp's torso with a shotgun so his blood and guts will extinguish the match he's trying to use to torch the place.
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* ChekhovsGun: Bay observes the library during open hours. Many of the items he observes in this scene wind up being used as weapons in the final scene.
to:
* ChekhovsGun: Bay observes the library during open hours. Many of the items The Bookmobile he observes sees in this scene gets used in the PhoneTraceRace a few chapters later--and many other library items wind up being [[ImprovisedWeapon used as weapons weapons]] in the final scene.
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* DesperateObjectCatch: Library Police Detective Bay pursues the thief "Kettle Stitch" across rooftops as she tries to get away with a priceless (stolen) antique book. When Kettle Stitch misses a jump and falls, Bay improvises a BuildingSwing to save the book.
to:
* DesperateObjectCatch: Library Police Detective Agent Bay pursues the thief "Kettle Stitch" Kettle Stitch across rooftops as she tries to get away with a priceless (stolen) antique the stolen book. When Kettle Stitch misses a jump and falls, Bay improvises a BuildingSwing to save the book.
Changed line(s) 47 (click to see context) from:
* ReusedCharacterDesign: Several of the main characters are played by members of Shiga's "Star System". Most notably, Agent Finch is Sara from ''ComicBook/EmpireState''. All of them have European-sounding names in this, despite being Chinese (if their ethnicity is specified at all) in the other comics they appear in.
to:
* ReusedCharacterDesign: Several of the main characters are played by members of Shiga's "Star System". Most notably, Agent Finch is would later show up as Sara from ''ComicBook/EmpireState''. All of them have European-sounding names in this, despite being Chinese (if their ethnicity is specified at all) in the other comics they appear in.
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* TheSeventies: The story's set in 1973. The usual signifiers for the decade (fashion, hair, disco music, etc) are absent or downplayed. Instead, 70s technology is the most relevant: libraries are just beginning to transfer their records to computer systems (huge computers with magnetic tape reels, of course), and phone hacking is a concern.
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* SpiesInAVan: The Library Police have at least one unmarked van, disguised as an ice cream truck, used for spying on suspects and deploying SWAT teams.
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* {{Acrofatic}}: Chief Spencer is a large, round man, but in the final chase scene he proves to be just as fast and nimble as Agent Bay.
* CluelessMystery: [[spoiler:Kettle Stitch]]'s identity is uncovered through real police work, and they're someone the reader couldn't possibly predict.
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%%* CopShow
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* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The opening chapter informs the reader just how much books are SeriousBusiness in this world, and just how far Agent Bay will go to get his perp.
to:
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The Agent Bay shows how far he'll go to get his perp when he exploits shotgun recoil to blast himself across the room, then shoots a hole through the suspect's torso.
* EstablishingSeriesMoment: In the openingchapter informs chapter, the reader actions of a "freelance censor" prompt a SWAT team to storm his apartment, and the perp threatens to immolate the books and himself in response -- demonstrating just how much books are SeriousBusiness in this world, and just how far Agent Bay will go to get his perp.world.
* EstablishingSeriesMoment: In the opening
Changed line(s) 29 (click to see context) from:
* FairPlayWhodunnit: Played with. [[spoiler:Kettle Stitch]]'s identity is uncovered through real police work, and they're someone the reader couldn't possibly predict. However, all the clues leading to the reveal that [[spoiler:Spenser is the real book thief]] are right there for a perceptive reader to pick up. Agent Bay even has a FlashBack to the relevant panels as he puts the pieces together.
to:
* FairPlayWhodunnit: Played with. [[spoiler:Kettle Stitch]]'s identity is uncovered through real police work, and they're someone The initial mystery may be [[CluelessMystery impossible for the reader couldn't possibly predict. However, audience to solve beforehand]], but all the clues leading to the reveal that [[spoiler:Spenser [[spoiler:Spencer is the real book thief]] are right there for a perceptive reader to pick up. Agent Bay even has a FlashBack to the relevant panels as he puts the pieces together.together.
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: As Agents Bay and Finch search the women's restroom in the library for clues, Agent Walker stands awkwardly in the back, clearly uncomfortable with being in the women's restroom in the first place.
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: As Agents Bay and Finch search the women's restroom in the library for clues, Agent Walker stands awkwardly in the back, clearly uncomfortable with being in the women's restroom in the first place.
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* ImprovisedWeapon: You'd be surprised how many objects in a library can be weaponized.
to:
* ImprovisedWeapon: You'd be surprised how many objects in a library can be weaponized.The final fight scene happens inside Oakland Library. Card catalogue drawers, sliding bookshelves, and newspapers on big wooden sticks all get weaponized over the course of the fight.
* OwMyBodyPart: Jacob Leland's reaction to a shotgun blasting his lower torso: He moans "My bladder..." before he starts just screaming in pain.
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* PerpSweating: Even when the police ''know'' that Leslie Stair can't be their thief, they keep up the pressure on him, on the off-chance that he can tell them who the thief is.
to:
* PerpSweating: Even when the police ''know'' that Leslie Stair can't be their thief, they keep up the pressure on him, on the off-chance that he can tell them who the thief is.is someone he knows.
* SamusIsAGirl: The detectives initially assume that Kettle Stitch is a male, and overlook important clues because of that assumption. By chance, Bay notices telltale scratches on the women's restroom key (indicating someone made a duplicate) and realizes that Kettle Stich is a woman, which proves crucial to reconstructing her M.O.
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* SociopathicHero: Bay shoots a massive hole through a guy for threatening to burn some books on Sino-American relations, lets another suspect fall to their apparent death (she survived, barely) to save the rare Bible they were stealing and leaves yet another bleeding to death in a broken window display.
to:
* SociopathicHero: Bay shoots a massive hole through a guy for threatening to burn some books on Sino-American relations, lets another suspect fall to their her apparent death (she survived, barely) to save the rare Bible they were stealing she was stealing, and leaves yet even gives a flippant QuipToBlack as another suspect is bleeding to death out in a broken window display.display (he also survives, barely).
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* TreacherousAdvisor: [[spoiler:Chief Spenser turns out to be the real book thief.]]
to:
* TreacherousAdvisor: [[spoiler:Chief Spenser [[spoiler:The real book thief turns out to be Chief Herbert Spencer, Head of Security at the real Oakland Library.]]
* TheWallsAreClosingIn: Agent Bay tries to crush the fleeing bookthief.]]thief between a set of adjustable library shelves.
* TheWallsAreClosingIn: Agent Bay tries to crush the fleeing book
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* CowboyCop: Agent Bay takes the over-the-top approach to problem-solving that you would expect from a Cowboy Cop -- but, oddly enough, he doesn't get any grief from his partners or superiors for these shenanigans.
to:
* CowboyCop: Agent Bay takes the over-the-top approach to problem-solving that you would expect from a Cowboy Cop cowboy cop -- but, oddly enough, he doesn't get any grief from his partners or superiors for these shenanigans.
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* ExactlyWhatIAimedAt: Bay throws a library book at the thief and apparently misses--but the book triggers the library's alarm system, preventing the thief's escape.
to:
* ExactlyWhatIAimedAt: Bay throws a library book at the thief and apparently misses--but misses -- but the book triggers the library's alarm system, preventing the thief's escape.
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* SoftGlass: Inconsistently used. Apparently glass is harmless if you ''intentionally'' jump through it, but dangerous if you're ''unintentionally'' flung through it.
to:
* SoftGlass: Inconsistently used. Apparently glass is harmless if you ''intentionally'' jump through it, but dangerous if you're ''unintentionally'' flung through it.
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Deleted line(s) 19 (click to see context) :
* BlownAcrossTheRoom: Bay exploits the ridiculous recoil from a shotgun to propel himself across a room, very quickly.
* FairPlayWhodunnit: Played with. [[spoiler:Kettle Stitch]]'s identity is uncovered through real police work, and they're someone the reader couldn't possibly predict. However, all the clues leading to the reveal that [[spoiler:Spenser is the real book thief]] are right there for a perceptive reader to pick up. Agent Bay even has a FlashBack to the relevant panels as he puts the pieces together.
Changed line(s) 41 (click to see context) from:
* RaceAgainstTheClock: The library police have three days to retrieve the book, because that's when it's scheduled to be returned to the Library of Congress.
to:
* RaceAgainstTheClock: The library police have three days to retrieve the book, because that's when it's book is scheduled to be returned to the Library of Congress.Congress in three days. If the Library Police can't find the book before then, they'll have to report the theft to their superiors, and the Feds will take over the case.
* RecoilBoost: Bay exploits the ridiculous recoil from a shotgun to propel himself across a room, very quickly.
* RecoilBoost: Bay exploits the ridiculous recoil from a shotgun to propel himself across a room, very quickly.
Changed line(s) 43 (click to see context) from:
* SaveTheVillain: [[spoiler:{{Subverted}}. Agent Bay saves the book, and lets the thief fall.]]
to:
* SaveTheVillain: [[spoiler:{{Subverted}}. When Kettle Stitch drops from the roof, Agent Bay saves pulls off a BuildingSwing, and it looks like he's going to rescue her. But he just grabs the book, and lets the thief Kettle Stitch fall.]]
Changed line(s) 45,46 (click to see context) from:
* ShootOutTheLock: Surprisingly, realistically portrayed.
* SociopathicHero: Bay shoots a massive hole through a guy for threatening to burn some books on Sino-American relations, lets another suspect fall to their apparent death (she survived, barely) to save the rare bible they were stealing and leaves yet another bleeding to death in a broken window display.
* SociopathicHero: Bay shoots a massive hole through a guy for threatening to burn some books on Sino-American relations, lets another suspect fall to their apparent death (she survived, barely) to save the rare bible they were stealing and leaves yet another bleeding to death in a broken window display.
to:
* ShootOutTheLock: Surprisingly, realistically portrayed.
portrayed. The SWAT team uses a shotgun with shocklock rounds to blow out the door locks.
* SociopathicHero: Bay shoots a massive hole through a guy for threatening to burn some books on Sino-American relations, lets another suspect fall to their apparent death (she survived, barely) to save the rarebible Bible they were stealing and leaves yet another bleeding to death in a broken window display.
* SociopathicHero: Bay shoots a massive hole through a guy for threatening to burn some books on Sino-American relations, lets another suspect fall to their apparent death (she survived, barely) to save the rare
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Recreating page in properly capitalized namespace.
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[[quoteright:174:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bookhunter.jpg]]
->''"We guard no less than the sum of all human knowledge. We are the Library Police."''
-->-- '''Agent Bay'''
[[http://www.shigabooks.com/bookhunter.php Bookhunter]] is a comicbook by Creator/JasonShiga.
In 1973, a priceless book is stolen from the Oakland Public Library. Three agents from the Library Police are called in to investigate: Agent Bay (detective), Agent Walker (document analyst), and Agent Finch (fingerprint expert).
Their investigation manages to hit all the usual Police Action Film tropes: foot chases, PerpSweating, swarming the suspect's apartment with the SWAT team, and so on. The fact that it's the ''Library Police'' doing all this is played so straight that the entire thing ends up as a StealthParody of the genre.
The book can be purchased on Amazon, or read [[http://www.shigabooks.com/bookhunter.php here]] on Jason Shiga's website.
----
!!''Bookhunter'' provides examples of:
* BatmanColdOpen: The first chapter, in which Agent Bay leads a SWAT team to retrieve books from a "freelance censor".
* BloodyHilarious: The aforementioned scene ends with Bay shooting a hole in his torso with a shotgun so his blood and guts will extinguish the match he's trying to use to torch the place.
* BlownAcrossTheRoom: Bay exploits the ridiculous recoil from a shotgun to propel himself across a room, very quickly.
* BuildingSwing: Bay gets from one rooftop to another by shooting down a power line and using it to swing across the gap.
* ChekhovsGun: Bay observes the library during open hours. Many of the items he observes in this scene wind up being used as weapons in the final scene.
* ClimbingClimax: When the library police swarm the thief's apartment, the thief flees via the window fire escape. Bay follows them up, and a rooftop confrontation ensues.
* CollidingCriminalConspiracies: Major spoiler: [[spoiler:The real reason why Kettle Stitch never tried to fence the book after stealing it -- because someone else had stolen the real book before her. The copy she stole was just a replica left behind by the first thief.]]
%%* CopShow
* CowboyCop: Agent Bay takes the over-the-top approach to problem-solving that you would expect from a Cowboy Cop -- but, oddly enough, he doesn't get any grief from his partners or superiors for these shenanigans.
* TheCracker: It's the '70s, so the criminal hacks into a reel-to-reel computer over the phone line.
* DesperateObjectCatch: Library Police Detective Bay pursues the thief "Kettle Stitch" across rooftops as she tries to get away with a priceless (stolen) antique book. When Kettle Stitch misses a jump and falls, Bay improvises a BuildingSwing to save the book.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The opening chapter informs the reader just how much books are SeriousBusiness in this world, and just how far Agent Bay will go to get his perp.
* ExactlyWhatIAimedAt: Bay throws a library book at the thief and apparently misses--but the book triggers the library's alarm system, preventing the thief's escape.
* HollywoodPoliceDrivingAcademy: We only ever see the library police driving when they're in a legitimate hurry to get somewhere--thus, they're driving fast enough to go airborn on every incline, and barely maintaining control of the car as they screech through turns.
* InSeriesNickname: After Agent Walker points out that the replica left behind by the thief has a kettle stitch binding the leaflets (rather than the common catch stitch), the library police refer to the thief as "Kettle Stitch".
* ImprovisedWeapon: You'd be surprised how many objects in a library can be weaponized.
* LockedRoomMystery: As Bay himself points out, three concentric locked room mysteries: How did the perp enter the library without picking the lock on the only door? How did he retrieve the book from the safe without leaving any evidence that the safe had been cracked? And how did he leave the library with the book without triggering the anti-theft alarm?
* {{Metaphorgotten}}: Bay's motivational speech in the final chapter.
-->'''Agent Bay:''' It might seem to you that we're grasping at straws. But straws are all we've got left. There is one straw that is going to break this case wide open. Which is why I need each and every one of you to follow your own straw to the bitterest end.
* PerpAndWeapon: In the opening chapter, the perp threatens to immolate himself and his books when the cops come for him.
* PerpSweating: Even when the police ''know'' that Leslie Stair can't be their thief, they keep up the pressure on him, on the off-chance that he can tell them who the thief is.
* PhoneTraceRace: In this case, Agents Bay and Finch are physically racing towards the pay phone, attempting to catch the perp in the act of phone hacking.
* TheProfiler: "ALA's top profiler" concludes that Kettle Stitch is a loner, speaks with a lisp or stutter, and was a childhood bed-wetter.
* QuipToBlack: "Shhhhhhhh." "Read him his rights."
* RaceAgainstTheClock: The library police have three days to retrieve the book, because that's when it's scheduled to be returned to the Library of Congress.
* ReusedCharacterDesign: Several of the main characters are played by members of Shiga's "Star System". Most notably, Agent Finch is Sara from ''ComicBook/EmpireState''. All of them have European-sounding names in this, despite being Chinese (if their ethnicity is specified at all) in the other comics they appear in.
* SaveTheVillain: [[spoiler:{{Subverted}}. Agent Bay saves the book, and lets the thief fall.]]
* SayMyName: This is all Bay can do when the thief evades capture. "Damn you, Kettle Stitch!"
* ShootOutTheLock: Surprisingly, realistically portrayed.
* SociopathicHero: Bay shoots a massive hole through a guy for threatening to burn some books on Sino-American relations, lets another suspect fall to their apparent death (she survived, barely) to save the rare bible they were stealing and leaves yet another bleeding to death in a broken window display.
* SoftGlass: Inconsistently used. Apparently glass is harmless if you ''intentionally'' jump through it, but dangerous if you're ''unintentionally'' flung through it.
* SplashPanel: A two-page spread to show off the size of the Oakland Public Library.
* SmokingGunControl: Twice, Agent Bay thinks he's found a clear link to Kettle Stitch, first with a missing circulation card, then with the counterfeit library card. Both times, the evidence is inconclusive because Kettle Stitch is too good at covering their tracks.
* SuperWindowJump: Useful for SWAT home invasions, or for getting onto the fire escape in a hurry.
%%* StealthParody
* ToKnowHimIMustBecomeHim: "To catch a thief, you must think like a thief. You must live, eat, and dress like a thief."
* TreacherousAdvisor: [[spoiler:Chief Spenser turns out to be the real book thief.]]
----
->''"We guard no less than the sum of all human knowledge. We are the Library Police."''
-->-- '''Agent Bay'''
[[http://www.shigabooks.com/bookhunter.php Bookhunter]] is a comicbook by Creator/JasonShiga.
In 1973, a priceless book is stolen from the Oakland Public Library. Three agents from the Library Police are called in to investigate: Agent Bay (detective), Agent Walker (document analyst), and Agent Finch (fingerprint expert).
Their investigation manages to hit all the usual Police Action Film tropes: foot chases, PerpSweating, swarming the suspect's apartment with the SWAT team, and so on. The fact that it's the ''Library Police'' doing all this is played so straight that the entire thing ends up as a StealthParody of the genre.
The book can be purchased on Amazon, or read [[http://www.shigabooks.com/bookhunter.php here]] on Jason Shiga's website.
----
!!''Bookhunter'' provides examples of:
* BatmanColdOpen: The first chapter, in which Agent Bay leads a SWAT team to retrieve books from a "freelance censor".
* BloodyHilarious: The aforementioned scene ends with Bay shooting a hole in his torso with a shotgun so his blood and guts will extinguish the match he's trying to use to torch the place.
* BlownAcrossTheRoom: Bay exploits the ridiculous recoil from a shotgun to propel himself across a room, very quickly.
* BuildingSwing: Bay gets from one rooftop to another by shooting down a power line and using it to swing across the gap.
* ChekhovsGun: Bay observes the library during open hours. Many of the items he observes in this scene wind up being used as weapons in the final scene.
* ClimbingClimax: When the library police swarm the thief's apartment, the thief flees via the window fire escape. Bay follows them up, and a rooftop confrontation ensues.
* CollidingCriminalConspiracies: Major spoiler: [[spoiler:The real reason why Kettle Stitch never tried to fence the book after stealing it -- because someone else had stolen the real book before her. The copy she stole was just a replica left behind by the first thief.]]
%%* CopShow
* CowboyCop: Agent Bay takes the over-the-top approach to problem-solving that you would expect from a Cowboy Cop -- but, oddly enough, he doesn't get any grief from his partners or superiors for these shenanigans.
* TheCracker: It's the '70s, so the criminal hacks into a reel-to-reel computer over the phone line.
* DesperateObjectCatch: Library Police Detective Bay pursues the thief "Kettle Stitch" across rooftops as she tries to get away with a priceless (stolen) antique book. When Kettle Stitch misses a jump and falls, Bay improvises a BuildingSwing to save the book.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The opening chapter informs the reader just how much books are SeriousBusiness in this world, and just how far Agent Bay will go to get his perp.
* ExactlyWhatIAimedAt: Bay throws a library book at the thief and apparently misses--but the book triggers the library's alarm system, preventing the thief's escape.
* HollywoodPoliceDrivingAcademy: We only ever see the library police driving when they're in a legitimate hurry to get somewhere--thus, they're driving fast enough to go airborn on every incline, and barely maintaining control of the car as they screech through turns.
* InSeriesNickname: After Agent Walker points out that the replica left behind by the thief has a kettle stitch binding the leaflets (rather than the common catch stitch), the library police refer to the thief as "Kettle Stitch".
* ImprovisedWeapon: You'd be surprised how many objects in a library can be weaponized.
* LockedRoomMystery: As Bay himself points out, three concentric locked room mysteries: How did the perp enter the library without picking the lock on the only door? How did he retrieve the book from the safe without leaving any evidence that the safe had been cracked? And how did he leave the library with the book without triggering the anti-theft alarm?
* {{Metaphorgotten}}: Bay's motivational speech in the final chapter.
-->'''Agent Bay:''' It might seem to you that we're grasping at straws. But straws are all we've got left. There is one straw that is going to break this case wide open. Which is why I need each and every one of you to follow your own straw to the bitterest end.
* PerpAndWeapon: In the opening chapter, the perp threatens to immolate himself and his books when the cops come for him.
* PerpSweating: Even when the police ''know'' that Leslie Stair can't be their thief, they keep up the pressure on him, on the off-chance that he can tell them who the thief is.
* PhoneTraceRace: In this case, Agents Bay and Finch are physically racing towards the pay phone, attempting to catch the perp in the act of phone hacking.
* TheProfiler: "ALA's top profiler" concludes that Kettle Stitch is a loner, speaks with a lisp or stutter, and was a childhood bed-wetter.
* QuipToBlack: "Shhhhhhhh." "Read him his rights."
* RaceAgainstTheClock: The library police have three days to retrieve the book, because that's when it's scheduled to be returned to the Library of Congress.
* ReusedCharacterDesign: Several of the main characters are played by members of Shiga's "Star System". Most notably, Agent Finch is Sara from ''ComicBook/EmpireState''. All of them have European-sounding names in this, despite being Chinese (if their ethnicity is specified at all) in the other comics they appear in.
* SaveTheVillain: [[spoiler:{{Subverted}}. Agent Bay saves the book, and lets the thief fall.]]
* SayMyName: This is all Bay can do when the thief evades capture. "Damn you, Kettle Stitch!"
* ShootOutTheLock: Surprisingly, realistically portrayed.
* SociopathicHero: Bay shoots a massive hole through a guy for threatening to burn some books on Sino-American relations, lets another suspect fall to their apparent death (she survived, barely) to save the rare bible they were stealing and leaves yet another bleeding to death in a broken window display.
* SoftGlass: Inconsistently used. Apparently glass is harmless if you ''intentionally'' jump through it, but dangerous if you're ''unintentionally'' flung through it.
* SplashPanel: A two-page spread to show off the size of the Oakland Public Library.
* SmokingGunControl: Twice, Agent Bay thinks he's found a clear link to Kettle Stitch, first with a missing circulation card, then with the counterfeit library card. Both times, the evidence is inconclusive because Kettle Stitch is too good at covering their tracks.
* SuperWindowJump: Useful for SWAT home invasions, or for getting onto the fire escape in a hurry.
%%* StealthParody
* ToKnowHimIMustBecomeHim: "To catch a thief, you must think like a thief. You must live, eat, and dress like a thief."
* TreacherousAdvisor: [[spoiler:Chief Spenser turns out to be the real book thief.]]
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