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Death knell for Murder One books
Bo Wilson06.01.09
ONE of the most famous bookshops in Charing Cross Road is closing after its owner failed to find a buyer.
Murder One, which specialises in crime books, is being placed into voluntary liquidation and will close its doors at the end of this month.
It has been one of the staples of the book district for nearly 21 years and is the only UK bookshop where The Firm author John Grisham has done a signing.
The owner, Maxim Jakubowski, had planned to retire at the end of this year but the credit crunch had forced him out of running the store until then.
He said: "I was hoping to sell but I've given up. In the current economic climate, no one took the jump."
He added that all outstanding bills would be paid by the time the store closed. He said: "We have never had an overdraft. I'd rather [close] now and not prolong the agony."
Charing Cross Road attracts book lovers from all over the world, but Mr Jakubowski said that the only bookshops that are surviving are larger stores and chains - Foyles, Borders and Blackwell's.
Murder One is the second bookshop to close in the store in a week. On New Year's Eve art bookshop Shipley also shut.
The entire UK book sector is suffering with sales down 0.4 per cent between 2007 and 2008.
Reader views (4)
I too have spent some very conteneted browsing hours and not a few pounds in the past few years. Agreat stock and even greater service.
- Morley, Kentville Canada
Heartfelt tributes. Unfortunately no shop can survive on customers who only visit it once every ten years or so!
- Robin Surtees, Cambridge, England
Also sorry to hear this. It's been years since I went bookhunting and scrounging for bibliographic information, but Murder One was always a "must stop" in London, where I usually reaped a harvest of bibliodate for my crime fiction bibliography (and probably bought more books than I could reasonably carry off).
Allen J. Hubin
- Allen J. Hubin, White Bear Lake, Minnesota, USA
Very sorry to hear this - it is my favourite bookshop and although I have only been in London twice in the last 20 years I always spent far more than I could afford.
- Anne, Durban, South Africa
