York is about to have another fantastic independent bookshop – as Criminally Good Books prepares to open.
YorkMix revealed last year that the building on Colliergate, previously home to the Village Gallery, was going to become a bookshop – and now it’s finally here.
It will specialise in all things crime – with crime fiction, true crime, police procedurals, cosy thrillers, psychological thrillers, gift editions, signed copies and more.
Criminally Good Books will open tomorrow (Tuesday 5 March) at 10am.
The bookshop will run over two floors, with mainly fiction downstairs and non-fiction upstairs.
For owner Isla Coole, opening a bookshop has been a life-long dream. Isla has loved books and reading since she was a child, and first started working in bookstores when she was 17 – and previously worked at Waterstones on Coney Street.
It was her friend Diana, co-host of crime podcast Switchblade Sisters Social Club, and Isla’s husband who encouraged her to go for her dream.
Now that Isla’s on the precipice of her dream it’s “really scary. I could spend another week just getting things ready – but I think we just need to open and tell people things aren’t going to be perfect.”
The opening had already been extended due to a few setbacks such as a leaky roof and no heating, and a break-in attempt last week – but fortunately nothing was taken.
Inside, the bookshop is inviting and cosy and a delight for any literary lover. There are whole shelves dedicated to iconic crime writer Agatha Christie (which features every title she’s published), as well as bookish gifts such as jigsaws, book sleeves, and bookmarks.
A percentage of the book sleeve and bookmark sales will go to Criminally Good Books’ charity partner IDAS, who support people affected by domestic abuse and sexual violence.
The beautiful outside design and, currently in-progress, mural inside are by artist Leah Pendleton.
“People can expect a nice, welcoming, cosy atmosphere and booksellers that are knowledgable about crime fiction and true crime that can make recommendations,” said Isla.
“We won’t have everything ready on day one, but we will have really nice editions and signed editions and we’ve got a lot of events planed and booked in the diary.”
Some of the upcoming events include bestselling author of Death and Croissants and Death and Fromage Ian Moore at York Explore Library as part of York Literature Festival (14 March), local author J.M. Hall who will be signing copies of his third book A Clock Stopped Dead at Criminally Good Books on its publication date (11 April), and former head of a Metropolitan Police murder squad Colin Sutton at York Theatre Royal (17 May).
The reaction so far has been “really lovely. It’s been a real sense of community, and we can’t believe how excited people are. We’ve had crime authors contact us independently who want to come and do a signing event.”
Burlesque dance show
There’s also a forthcoming events space on the top floor of Criminally Good Books which has already received a lot of interest to hold book club meetings – and even a burlesque dance show!
The bookshop will constantly have new stock coming in, and there will also be a comments box set up for customers to suggest their own ideas of what books could be brought into the shop.
Criminally Good Books will be open Tuesday to Sunday. From Tuesday to Saturday it will be open 10am to 6pm, and 10am to 4pm on Sundays.
“I just want to talk to people about crime books,” said Isla. “York has got some amazing book shops and we want to add to that.
“We just want people to continue to love books, promote books and support local authors – that’s the ambition really.”
The bookshop are also offering 10% off everything for their opening week – so don’t miss your chance to browse this beautiful new bookshop and support an independent York business, while also saving yourself a few pennies.
To find out more and to keep up to date with Criminally Good Books, visit their website or Instagram page.
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