This coming Saturday Mystery One Books in Milwaukee will open its doors for business one last time. And while the store will live on doing on line sales and occasional events it’s the end of an era. If you love mystery this is a good chance to stop in and pick up some books cheap. There is a whole wall of paperbacks for $1 each and more great bargains.
It’s also a chance to wish Richard well and to say thanks.
For me it’s going to be really weird not having the store around anymore. When I went in the first time with my mother in 1994 I was still drinking. Over the years Richard and Mystery One were there for a lot of changes in my life.
When I quit drinking in 1996 I hung out at Mystery One instead of going to bars. Richard saw me go from someone who didn’t drink to someone who is sober.
Richard talked me into going to Bouchercon 1999, where I met my wife Ruth. Richard was one of the first people we put on our invitation list.
Ruth and I had our first date at a Steve Hamilton signing at the store.
Richard was with us when we saw AC/DC and Queen and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Richard helped me deal with the loss of my parents. He was also there to cheer us on when great stuff happened.
Because of Mystery One I started doing author interviews which eventually led to Crimespree Magazine.
Because of Mystery One I met a lot of folks who will be my friends forever, including but not limited to: Penny Halle and her family, Tim Hennessey, Erica Neubauer, Gregg Hurwitz, Robert Crais and more.
In it’s 22 ½ years Mystery One sold more than 6,000 copies of books by Robert Crais. 6,000! He also sold thousands of books by other authors but Crais was by far his best seller.
Mystery One hosted hundreds of signing events and really was a gathering point for fans and authors. I can’t even guess at the amount of time I spent in the store listening to authors or talking with other readers.
