Bookstores
Sleuth of Baker Street
Entering the Sleuth of Baker Street, I feel as if I'm walking into someone's library. Someone's extremely well-appointed library, that is. The dark wood and reading nook in the back help create the cozy atmosphere, and there's even a rolling ladder.
As you might guess from the store name, the Sleuth of Baker Street specializes in crime and detective fiction. The bookstore has a reputation for excellent staff recommendations and carries new, used and out-of-print books. If they don't have the title you're looking for, then you can put in a special order.
Owners Marian Misters and JD Singh are the two full-time staff people at Sleuth, and have been reading mysteries for many years. Between the two of them, they can usually come up with the answer to most questions that customers ask. "Our very detailed knowledge of the genre is what keeps customers coming back to Sleuth. We love suggesting a new author to a customer who has finished reading his or her favourite author and now needs to try someone else. With more than 150 new titles arriving every month we get in a ton of new mysteries that can keep you reading for hours."
The Sleuth was started in 1979 by a woman named Judy who wanted to read as many mystery books as she could get her hands on but had trouble finding them in Canada, according to Marian. Since she felt that others must also love reading mysteries, Judy decided to open up a bookstore dedicated to only selling mysteries. "Three years later JD and I came along and bought the store. Judy is still a good customer."
Their newsletter, The Merchant Of Menace (which has my vote as the best name for a mystery/crime bookstore newsletter EVER) is published six times a year. "In each issue we list virtually all the new arrivals since the previous issue and annotate most of them. There are staff picks and suggestions, notices of signing, some chit chat, messages from Paddington, and the usual bumf to pad the whole thing out to twenty to twenty-four pages." You can read back issues online.
The store even has its own cat. "Mr. Paddington, our cat, was store security until recently. We had to move him upstairs as he is getting old and has a few issues re: his kitty box. He's quite angry about his retirement but he is still receiving gifts from his adoring fans."
The Web site has a ton useful info as well as news about upcoming author events. Plus you can even search and order online for the books you want.
Happy Sleuthing!
Hours: Mon-Sat 10am - 6pm, Sundays Noon - 4pm. Closed Mondays and holidays.
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(Big spender on a Zipcar & some new books to sink my teeth into...)