Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book
Rate this book
Ainsley Holloway had come to Gooseberry Bay to find answers about her past. She’d come to find an explanation for the dreams that haunted her after the death of the cop who’d both rescued and raised her. And she’d come to identify the family she couldn’t remember but knew in her heart she’d once belonged to.

Ainsley hoped that by finding these answers, she’d also find healing. She hoped that once she’d resurrected the memories buried deep in her mind, she’d find peace.

Ainsley is approached by several representatives from The Secret Society of Teenage Losers who are hoping to hire her to find a missing physicist who they believe has met with foul play. The missing scientist is brilliant yet eccentric so when the group approached the police about the missing physicist they were assure that the man had simply forgotten about the symposium he'd signed up to participate in and had gone off on one of his research trips. After an initial investigation Ainsley has reason to believe that either explanation could be true but she doesn't want to take the chance that the man could actually be in trouble, so she agrees to help the teens track down the elderly scientist in exchange for their help with the annual haunted house for which she'd been recruited to line up volunteers.

Meanwhile, Parker, Josie, and Jemma, are all involved in the annual Halloween festivities, Ainsley continues to look for Avery, and Adam begins making plans for changes in his own routine.

163 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 28, 2021

249 people are currently reading
199 people want to read

About the author

Kathi Daley

321 books1,791 followers
Kathi lives with her husband, kids, grandkids, and dogs in beautiful Lake Tahoe. When she isn't writing, Kathi likes to read (preferably at the beach or by the fire), cook (preferably something with chocolate or cheese,) and garden (planting and planning not weeding). She also enjoys spending time on the water when she's not hiking, biking, or snowshoeing, the miles of desolate trails surrounding her home.
Kathi uses the mountain setting in which she lives, along with the animals (wild and domestic) that share her home, as inspiration for her cozy mysteries.

Join me on Facebook at Kathi Daley Books (www.facebook.com/kathidaleybooks) for updates on my books, photos of life in Lake Tahoe, recipes, contests, and giveaways. For weekly updates and contests sign up for The Daley Weekly Newsletter (http://eepurl.com/NRPDf).



Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
1,230 (68%)
4 stars
403 (22%)
3 stars
132 (7%)
2 stars
18 (1%)
1 star
5 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
Profile Image for Lynne Moody.
452 reviews152 followers
October 10, 2021
Loved all the great characters with all the twists and turns. The storyline has alot of things going on to keep you reading to the very end with enjoyment
Profile Image for Taryn.
1,114 reviews32 followers
October 7, 2021
Ainsley is getting ready to leave having given up on a client to show up when a young man walks in. He says he's part of The Geek Squad and they would like to hire her to find a missing physicist who is also a part of the group. There is little to no evidence which has kept the police from investigating and the group is desperate to find some answers. Ainsley agrees to step in and do her best to figure out what happened to the physicist. Meanwhile she has also agreed to help with the towns Halloween festivities along with several of her friends. She is also spending what time she can looking for her sister. Follow along and see if she can solve either mystery, what happened to the physicist and where is her long lost sister?
Profile Image for RO G'ma.
1,061 reviews43 followers
September 28, 2021
A Geek Thing is the seventh book in Kathi Daley’s Cottage on Gooseberry Bay series. This book is an entertaining and clean read, with a strong emphasis on family, friends, community, and caring. The well-developed characters are three-dimensional, and the setting is charming. Ms. Daley’s descriptive writing draws the reader in, making them feel like they’re taking part in the action. The intriguing mysteries, twists, and red herrings will keep readers engaged and guessing. The complex mysteries in this installment encompass the disappearance of a reclusive retired professor, the murder of a man who arrived in the area on a large yacht, and the principal character’s quest to discover her past. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading well-crafted cozies.

After Ainsley Holloway’s adoptive father passed away, she found a photograph of a woman with two young children, and, for reasons Ainsley couldn’t explain, she felt a connection to the people and started doubting her past. In her search for the truth about her past, Ansley and her two Bernese Mountain Dogs, Kai and Kallie, moved from Georgia to Washington State and rented a cozy cottage in Gooseberry Bay. Ainsley, who originally planned to stay for only a month or two, quickly made friends, settled into the community, and opened Ainsley Holloway Investigations.

In this installment, Skeet and Ape, two intellectually gifted yet socially challenged teens, are concerned that Ivan Beklund, their friend and retired professor, might be in trouble approach Ainsley. Ansley isn’t sure if the reclusive and paranoid professor is in danger or if he had simply forgotten to tell anyone about his plans and agrees to look into Professor Beklund’s disappearance. The teens are without funds, and Ainsley needs zombie volunteers for the haunted house, so they barter a deal. Meanwhile, Parker Peterson, Ainsley’s friend and local newspaper reporter, isn’t sure why, but she gets a bad feeling as she watches a nicely dressed man ferry from the yacht in a dinghy and walk through town as if he had a specific goal in mind.
Profile Image for Thereadingbell.
1,433 reviews41 followers
May 1, 2022
A Geek Thing by Kathi Daley

Ainsley a PI is sitting in her office she is getting ready to leave when two young boys come in they say they are from the Geek Squad. The story takes off from their the boys are looking for a professor friend who is eccentric. The characters in the book are rich and the flow of the story is really good. The characters are well developed it made me want to be part of the town.

Ainsley seems to have her hands full with so much happening around town and even working on a private family matter for herself. This cozy mystery was very good and well worth the read. I will try to go back and read the other books in the series. Gooseberry Bay is a great place to be to raise a family and so much is always going on around town.

If you like cozy mysteries then I would recommend this book.
Profile Image for Jane Firebaugh.
Author 7 books99 followers
September 28, 2021
Ainsley Holloway is living in Gooseberry Bay, where she is trying to unravel the mystery of her past. Having grown up with a cop as her father, she is well versed in the law and even worked with him in his private investigation business after he left the force due to on the job injury.

Ainsley has now opened her own PI agency in Gooseberry Bay and has managed to help several people find missing persons.

Recruited by a group of geeky teens to help locate a missing professor, as well as by her new friends to help solve a murder to free an innocent woman, Ainsley is up to her ears in mystery and danger.

I loved this book, as well as the whole series so far. Can't wait for the next one!
Profile Image for JoAn.
2,463 reviews1 follower
September 30, 2021
Ainsley has a new case when she is hired by five high school students who are concerned about a Professor who has gone missing. There is also the continuing mystery of Ainsley's sister and a murder occurs which puts the spotlight on a new resident of Gooseberry Bay. Plenty of twists kept me turning the pages.
Profile Image for Jane Firebaugh.
Author 7 books99 followers
September 28, 2021
Ainsley Holloway is living in Gooseberry Bay, where she is trying to unravel the mystery of her past. Having grown up with a cop as her father, she is well versed in the law and even worked with him in his private investigation business after he left the force due to on the job injury.

Ainsley has now opened her own PI agency in Gooseberry Bay and has managed to help several people find missing persons.

Recruited by a group of geeky teens to help locate a missing professor, as well as by her new friends to help solve a murder to free an innocent woman, Ainsley is up to her ears in mystery and danger.

I loved this book, as well as the whole series so far. Can't wait for the next one!
Profile Image for Elizabeth.
1,189 reviews
October 1, 2021
A Geek Thing ( Cottage on Gooseberry Bay #7 )
By: Kathi Daley
A Geek Thing is the seventh book in the series Cottage On Gooseberry Bay. Ms. Daley weaves another cozy mystery that will have you turning the pages. Love the story and the characters were well developed. A missing eccentric professor, a murder, and Ainsley still searching for answers to her past. Halloween season and all is busy with the festival. Ainsley is pretty busy with all that is going on. Can she be of any help to these mysteries?
Profile Image for Darla Taylor.
1,858 reviews
September 28, 2021
Ainsley Holloway has settled in Gooseberry Bay after coming there searching for answers to her past. Now she has a family of friends and has opened her private investigator's office. In this book, she's approached by a group of teens who are worried about their friend, an eccentric professor who seems to be missing. Ainsley also helps her friends investigate a murder so they can prove a woman who needs help innocent.

I love Kathi Daley's books and this one is no exception. This book is well-written with wonderful characters and the relationships between the various characters are well-developed and believable. I really like the theme and how Ainsley is looking for clues to her past while still living in the present and planning for the future. I was drawn into this story from the start and kept hooked until the end. The mystery will certainly keep you on your toes and guessing. I'm eagerly looking forward to the next book. I highly recommend both book and series which I suggest you read in order to get the most enjoyment and benefit out of each book.
6 reviews
October 3, 2021
A Geek Thing is the seventh book in the fantastic Cottage on Gooseberry Bay cozy mystery series by Kathi Daley. Like all of her books, this book is filled with elements of a cozy mystery including suspense, love, friendship, family, and a sense of community. This story takes place before Halloween in the charming, tourist town of Gooseberry Bay, Washington. The town is filled with the sights of fall and Halloween decorations. Residents are excited about the upcoming Halloween events such as the haunted maze and the haunted house. Ainsley, a private investigator, and her friends with special knowledge, skills, and abilities (including five teenagers in a secret society called the Geek Squad) work to find answers to several mysteries: the disappearance of Professor Ivan Beklund, a brilliant physicist and reclusive former college professor living in a cabin in the woods; the murder of a wife-beating lawyer; and uncovering more answers to the mystery of Ainsley’s past. I love the way Ms. Daley writes in a continuing saga fashion with hints and clues to stories in the future. I love that not all questions are resolved in each book. As always, Mrs. Daley’s writing flows smoothly, and her setting and relatable characters make for an extremely enjoyable and quick read.
Profile Image for Tarri.
627 reviews6 followers
October 19, 2021
A Geek Thing

It is my hope that Ainsley finds more information that leads to her missing sister soon, because this is book eight in the series and I'm getting impatient for the rest of the story.

In A Geek Thing a group of five self described high school aged geeks come to Ainsley to get help locating their friend a retired professor/AI enthusiast. The geeks are worried their hermit-like friend had met with foul play.

While Ainsley, her friends, and the geeks are trying to find the professor, a stranger comes to town and turns up dead. One of the suspects is, of course, the missing professor. After the sheriff arrests someone that Ainsley and her friends think is innocent, the group also sets out to solve that murder.

There is a lot more than usual going on in this book than the rest of the series and all of it was enjoyable. I love the addition of the the Geeks and hope they start showing up in more books. I like the idea of some romances among the group and I really want the missing sister identified.

#GooseberryBay #KathiDaley #Ainsley #KindleUnlimited #CozyMystery
2,009 reviews
October 4, 2021
Another great book in this series. Kathi Daley always has a unique twist to her murder mysteries - no cliched or hackneyed devices for her! However, there was very little in this book about the original reason Ainsley Holloway had come to Gooseberry Bay - to find answers about her past and to identify the family she couldn’t remember. Can't wait for the next one in the series!


Amazon synopsis:

In book 7 in the series, Ainsley is approached by representatives from The Geek Squad who hope to hire her to find a missing physicist who they believe has met with foul play although they have no evidence to support this assumption. The cops won't help given the lack of evidence so Ainsley agrees to look into things in exchange for their help with the annual haunted house for which she'd been recruited to line up volunteers.

Meanwhile, Parker, Josie, and Jemma, are all involved in the annual Halloween festivities, Ainsley continues to look for Avery, and Adam begins making plans for changes in his own routine.
Profile Image for Loretta TheMoodyRedhead.
1,055 reviews4 followers
December 10, 2021
Not that I doubted everything would work out in the end, but sometimes it doesn’t. In this book, happily it did. Adam even has a new roommate that will keep him company for now. This roommate (Skeet) may even help Adam with his future endeavor involving intelligent outcast teens.

And for Ainsley’s PI cases and help from the Peninsula Gang:
1. Missing Physicist Professor
2. Suspicious Yacht at the harbor.
a. Man from yacht found shot to death.
3. New waitress at local diner who may be in trouble and may be using an alias.
b. Arrested for death of man at harbor.

There are 2 more books in this series, however, “Santa Who?” won’t be released until next week and Book 9 “Sister Spy” won’t be released until April 2022 (as stated in my last review of book 6).

The next book I will read until “Santa Who?” is released is “Miss Janie’s Girls” by Carolyn Brown.
Profile Image for Laura.
3,205 reviews348 followers
September 28, 2021
This has become a favorite series and is an automatic buy when a new book comes out.
Especially around my favorite time of year - Halloween season!
The series centers on family and finding out where you belong, how you fit in.
Ainsley has found wonderful friends as she searches for information on her real family and continues to look for her missing sister. Her business is still finding its way and somehow she has become known for finding lost persons.
When several geeky but genius young men come to Ainsley for help, without means to pay for her services, she can not turn them away. Instead she recruits them to help with the community haunted house. It is a Win~Win combination.

As is this series a true WIN. You will find yourself wishing you could live in this community.
Profile Image for Sandra.
278 reviews3 followers
October 31, 2021
Family forevermore

Any series written by this author is a favorite series of mine. The mysteries are intricate and involving. The characters and their communities interact beautifully with a sense of family. Each story introduces new characters and new relationships. In this case you have a missing professor and five awkward teenagers that are looking for him as well as a murdered man. His battered wife in jail for the crime. Can Ainsley solve these two mysteries? And how is that going to help with her haunted house problems? After all it is Halloween. I’m already looking forward to the next installment.
Profile Image for Amy.
389 reviews1 follower
December 1, 2022
Halloween cozy

Still cute and cozy and clean!
It's Ainsley and her friends again, preparing for the fall and Halloween festival. This time, they are trying to help a group of teens and a young woman who works with Josie.
They have formed such a good support group of each other, solving mysteries and helping those who are struggling in life.
They are blessed to live in a charming community and with all of the events through the year, it's definitely a place I want to visit, or even live.
The mysteries are interesting and captivating, continuing to draw me along and stay up reading later than I should...
Profile Image for Marissa.
3,585 reviews47 followers
September 28, 2021
Kindle copy for Review

It is Halloween season which means everyone is busy with activities for the festival.

Ainsley finds herself helping a group of teenagers search for a missing physicist who they believe has met with foul play. He is a bit of an eccentric as the police think he just forgot about the symposium and went on a research trip.

She decides to help out the kids for help with the annual haunted house as she wants to make sure that he is not in trouble. Once again she will get more than she bargain for.

It is another delightful read in the series for Halloween.
377 reviews4 followers
October 4, 2021
Cottages in gooseberry bay - a geek thing

A wonderful mystery and adventure by Kathi Daley. Ainsley is searching for her missing sister after finding out she was found by the man who raised her and that her sister is still missing. In the meantime since her pretend dads death she is earning her living as a private investigator and solving mysteries with n her new hometown of gooseberry bay. This book involves a runaway wife, a dead husband, and a missing scientist. Excellently written as always. Wonderful author.
Profile Image for Cindy.
787 reviews1 follower
September 28, 2021
This is #7 in the Gooseberry Bay series. Ainsley discovers another clue to her own past while she continues to enjoy her new friends and home. She has her own PI agency and some high school geniuses contact her because their friend, sort of an absent-minded professor, has disappeared. A very reserved co-worker of Josie, one of Ainsley’s friends, is charged with the murder of the abusive husband she ran from. Are these things related? Read the book to find out the whole story.
Profile Image for Janelle Davis.
16 reviews
September 30, 2021
Just a good book that is fun to read

I live in Arizona and I love to sit outside under my pergola and read. Especially this time of year. I happened to download this book and knew after just a couple pages I was going to enjoy it! Took me a day and a half to read it. Eating breaks between sessions. Book was fun and easy to read! No idea of who done it till the very end. Will continue with reading this authors series!
Profile Image for JoAnne.
1,845 reviews98 followers
October 3, 2021
Excellently woven that I became totally intrigued in the story with all its twists and herrings. Loved the mystery within a mystery. Also was happy to find out more on the search Ainsley is pursuing to find about her past and whereabouts of her sister (this search starts in the first book of this series and is ongoing throughout the series). One of my favorite series and definitely would recommend to all you mystery readers.
128 reviews
April 11, 2023
My favorite so far!!

These geeks are the exact opposite of me, and my twin is the exact opposite of me!
I love, love, love these books!!
Kathi, you are a real sweetheart and I wish we were friends.
Of course, my twin is outgoing and I can't speak like a moron.
But, once we all got to be friends, I know I'd love it.
Keep it up dear!!
People like me need you badly!!
Stay safe!! ❤👭❤🐣
Profile Image for Judith.
699 reviews
June 9, 2023
Cottage on Gooseberry Bay: A Geek Thing

This was an okay read. Someone is murdered and someone is missing. The ladies gang all pitch in to help find the killer and Ainsley hunts down the missing person. Poor Adam is relegated to helping her when she needs it. This is a really slow build up to a romance (I hope). Anyway, it's a clean read, no cursing or sex which is a relief in this day and age.
667 reviews7 followers
September 29, 2021
Cottage on Gooseberry Bay :A Greek Thing

This was another winner I just love this Author, as she writes wonderful mysteries. I highly recommend all her different series. I have read about 100 of her books and all her different series. She writes wonderful characters in each series. Diana Romano
Profile Image for Neena Christianson Martin.
1,185 reviews11 followers
September 30, 2021
Dead and missing.

Ainsley and crew are working three cases while still helping at the Halloween haunted house. The first as always is to find Avery, then they have a missing eccentric "mad" scientist, and thirdly trying to clear a local waitress of murder. We meet some cool new friends.
269 reviews5 followers
October 1, 2021
Really enjoyed!

It does leave you hang though…. Am looking forward to the next in the series to get answers to the many questions I have being unanswered! Great stories (the entire series), great characters, which you learn a little more about in each book. Fast-reading, no off-color language or scenes, just great stories!
51 reviews1 follower
October 1, 2021
Cottage on Gooseberry Bay: A Geek Thing

Another intriguing Kathi Daley book. Just when I think I have figured out who committed the murder, I find out that it isn't how I thought it was. The main characters are really nice people that truly care about people.
I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series.
Profile Image for Donna Roberts.
27 reviews1 follower
October 2, 2021
Fun read

There were many new, interesting characters in this book, a group of brainy, awkward teens that I hope to see again, as well as characters that have carried over from previous books. There are a couple of mystery plot lines that get resolved, as well as a continuing plot line that makes me look forward to the next book in the series. Can't wait!
Profile Image for Christie Marks.
172 reviews4 followers
October 7, 2021
Geek Squad

Ainsley has to juggle lots of balls as she tackles several mysteries - a missing professor, a murder, and her own missing sister. Along with her friends and the self-proclaimed Geek Squad (not the Best Buy guys), she manages to tie up all the loose ends in one package.
169 reviews30 followers
October 11, 2021
Geek= socially ackward?

I enjoyed this book. A reclusive brilliant professor can't be found by his Geek Squad teen followers. Hired in trading services Ainsly discovers hidden cameras, but no clues to his disappearance. Add a body on shore with a runaway wife Zombies and a Haunted House. Good reading.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.