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Monday, March 5, 2012

Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore


While on holiday in Florida two weeks ago Sharon and I visited the Murder on Beach Mystery Bookstore in Delray Beach between Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. It is tucked into a nice little strip mall downtown on Pineapple Grove Way in the arts district.

We visited on a sun drenched Florida February Sunday afternoon. If ever there was the perfect bookstore to visit before heading to the beach it is Murder on the Beach.

On walking in there are a series of bookshelves filled with Florida mysteries. Most of the time, I have to search bookstores for local mysteries. At Murder on the Beach the number of Florida mystery choices were overwhelming. On their website which is http://www.murderonthebeach.com/ they list and have connections to 65 Florida mystery authors!

Turning to the staff that Sunday, she recommended Off the Chart by James W. Hall and Sanibel Flats by Randy Wayne White. Not having read either author I bought both books.

In mystery bookstores I look for authors not easy to find in the big block bookstores.

I found a new print of what I believe is Helen Tursten’s initial book in the Irene Huss series, Night Rounds.

Having seen many bloggers write positive reviews of Andrea Camilleri’s series featuring Inspector Salvo Montalbano I was able to get The Shape of the Water.

In the middle of the bookstore are a pair of inviting armchairs Sharon confirmed were most comfortable while I browsed for books. I wished I could have had the time to sit down for an hour or two and look at books.

Almost next door is a café where a reader can start reading their new books while enjoying outside something to eat and drink.

As with every mystery bookstore I have visited make sure you give yourself enough time to go through the huge selection of mysteries. It was tough limiting myself to 4 books.

On their website they set out that they will arrange an audience interactive, Murder Mystery Party, from groups of 20 – 500. I did not have time to discuss the Mystery Nights. They sounded like fun.

Drop in to Murder on the Beach if you are in south Florida. You will not be disappointed.

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9 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 5, 2012 at 7:17 PM

    What a wonderful store!! If I get down that way I'm going to have to pay it a visit. :-). Thanks for sharing, Bill.

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  2. Bill SelnesMarch 5, 2012 at 11:13 PM

    Margot: Thanks for the comment. What could be better for mystery lovers? A bookstore filled with mysteries but a few minutes from the beach.

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  3. Maxine ClarkeMarch 6, 2012 at 2:33 AM

    Sounds like a great bookshop. I hope you enjoy your first encounter with Salvo Montalbano, I love Camilleri's series and the translations.
    Night Rounds is not out in the UK yet but I am looking forward to it. I think it is the second, not the first book in the series, according to Euro Crime's database: http://www.eurocrime.co.uk/books/books_by_helene_tursten.html

    But I think this is one of those series in which the reading order does not matter too much,

    By the way, I've started Crimes of Passion by William Deverall, and am enjoying it so far.

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  4. Bill SelnesMarch 6, 2012 at 10:27 AM

    Maxine: Thanks for the comment. I have moved my Camilleri book near the top of one of the TBR piles.

    I am never sure what is first when a series is translated. Thanks for the information.

    I look forward to your review of Crimes of Passion.

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  5. Prashant C. TrikannadMarch 10, 2012 at 1:36 AM

    Bill, interesting name for a bookstore. Wonder what made the owners choose it.

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  6. J F NorrisMarch 10, 2012 at 9:14 AM

    I've read two of Randy White's books. One was a genre blender with ghost story elements that I liked a lot (DARK LIGHT). The other -- DEAD OF NIGHT, an eco thriller -- was sort of a throwback to pulp weird menace books but it was utterly disgusting in White's graphic detail of the horrible deaths at the hands (or should I say mouths?) of a mutated worm-like parasite. As for Hall I only like his first two books when his protagonist is at his most original. The few later books I read were formulaic and suffer from all the things I dislike about contemporary fiction: too much back story, wardrobe updates, and graphically described violence usually involving cruel sadistic torture.

    I don't know the book shops in lower Florida as well as I do those in the northern part of the state. But I tend not to visit the mystery specialists who sell only new books. If they don't have at least a medium-sized section devoted to vintage and out of print books I usually leave within a few minutes.

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  7. Bill SelnesMarch 10, 2012 at 10:09 AM

    Prashant: Thanks for the comment. I expect the title takes into consideration the name of the town and that the store is but minutes from beautiful beaches on the Atlantic.

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  8. Bill SelnesMarch 10, 2012 at 10:12 AM

    John: Thanks for commenting. I will keep your thoughts in mind as I read both authors.

    From your comment I do not think you would spend much time in Murder on the Beach unless you were looking for Floriday mystery authors. I have never seen so many books devoted to a single state's authors.

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  9. UnknownApril 11, 2014 at 1:29 PM

    Canadians on a beach vacation might enjoy this: Murder in Mexico is my series of eleven mysteries set in and around the upscale expat colony of San Miguel de Allende. Artist Paul Zacher is drawn into crime investigation because ‘he might see things differently.’ Maybe it’s time for the rich humanity of Mexico to show through all the narco headlines! Ready for the real Mexico, beyond the phony news reports? Take a look at this suspenseful and often funny series, available in Print, Kindle, Nook, & Kobo. Start with ‘Twenty Centavos’ by trying a sample on my website.

    http://www.sanmiguelallendebooks.com/titles.html

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