A Great 25 Years for Murder By the Book

When Martha Farrington first opened Houston's Murder By the Book in August 1980, she was a pioneer in the field, which then included only a handful of mystery bookshops around the country. She had to figure out things for herself and "made every mistake in the world," she said. But she learned quickly, and the result is one of the oldest and largest mystery bookstores in the world. This year, Farrington won the 2005 Mystery Writers of America Raven Award, and this month Murder By the Book celebrated its 25th anniversary with six authors and 250 "wonderful customers" at a champagne dinner.

"The party was fabulous," said Farrington. "I had the best time. The authors were wonderful, the customers were wonderful, the employees were wonderful." A highlight, she said, was the talks by guest authors who've been giving readings at the store for years. "It was a very happy occasion."

The dinner, which was held at a private club, featured authors Jeff Abbott, Michael Connelly, Charlaine Harris, Carolyn Hart, Randy Wayne White, and Jacqueline Winspear. "Each author spoke for about 10 minutes about their connection with the store and the part it played in their career," said Dean James, Murder By the Book's manager for 21 years. "Carolyn [Hart] talked about how the bookstore in her Death on Demand series was based on Murder By the Book. All of the authors attested to the fact that independent bookstores are very important. There were several toasts. Everybody toasted Martha and the store. We toasted the authors... It was a night of celebrating bookselling and independent bookstores."

Murder By the Book started out in an 800-square-foot-space stocking mostly American and British mysteries and holding one or two author signings a year. Now at 3,200-square-feet with 15,000 new and used titles, the bookstore is one of the largest mystery bookstores in the U.S. and hosts two or three author readings a week. James Patterson, Alexander McCall Smith, and Janet Evanovich are among those who have appeared. Inventory has expanded to include Children's Mysteries, Historical Mysteries, True Crime, and more foreign titles.

James noted the genre's increased popularity. "There are many, many more mysteries available now. There was a real flourishing of mysteries in the '80s and '90s, so that brought in many more readers." He added, "When Murder By the Book started years ago, readers were on the cozy side, but tastes changed. People like much harder boiled stuff now, but staff members all read different things and can recommend all the way across the genre. We sell across the board." Favorite current handsells include After the Armistice Ball (Catriona McPherson, Carroll & Graf) and The Rogues' Game (Milton Burton, St. Martin's Minotaur).

Murder By the Book joined the Book Sense program at its beginning in '99 and always notes the mystery titles on the Picks fliers, which they display in the store. When a customer is interested in a general title that the bookstore doesn't carry, staff sends them to the nearby independent Brazos Bookstore. "They're a great store and have been around for 30 years," said James. "They send us customers, too."

"There are three factors that have contributed to our longevity," James explained. "First of all, we have the very strong leadership of the owner, Martha. Second, we have terrific customers who are very loyal and who stick with us. We're on to our second and third generation of readers now, which makes what we do more than business, it creates a special connection. Third, everyone who works here was a customer first. We all read and love mysteries, and we're able to convey that to our customers. It's that personal recommendation that makes the difference." --Karen Schechner

The Murder By the Book staff.