The Mysterious Bookshop

What do you look for in a bookshop? Lots of books? A cozy atmosphere? A comfortable green couch to sit on while you check out the selection? Wall-​to-​wall bookshelves with the best mysteries written in English? Plenty of signed editions that will make great gifts?
Mysterious Bookshop has everything and more. Such a great space, it’s like stepping inside someone’s private library – you’ll find everything you need here if you love mysteries and thrillers (I spied a GREAT Nancy Drew collection last night, just sayin’).
The events here are great too. They provide wine and cheese and the conversations are always fun. I highly recommend stopping by this shop to take a break from the city. Top notch!

So much fun and knowledge. Otto is a living legend and really it is worth visiting to get a signature from him alone. Staff know their stuff and if you like mysteries then go take a look at the classics.

If you’re a Sherlock Holmes fan, or just looking to sink into a comfy leather couch with a quirky mystery novel, the Mysterious Bookshop is your place.
This niche bookstore is quiet, home-​y and welcoming. And while I’m not sure how it (or any bookstore) stays afloat nowadays, I’m just glad it does.
There’s a 2 dollar book rack but otherwise the prices range (I paid 26 bucks for a hardcover).
Thank you for the midday quiet time, Mysterious Bookshop!

This is a 500 Star book store! If you are crazy about detective stories like Sherlock Holmes and Agatha’s Poirot then this is the place to go! Looks like cute old bookstore with shelves to the roof! The staff are very nice and answer your questions. I have a new item on my bucket list: STAYING OVER NIGHT IN THIS BOOKSTORE AND READ BOOKS WITH A TORCH :)

Cool bookshop, but I was disappointed that there are literally only ‘mystery’ genre-​books in the shop. Yes, I know, that is the theme of the bookstore, and that is the name, so what else should I expect, right? But, as a business, I think it’d be better to appeal to more of a variety. And, in such a prime location– near City Hall Park– it’d be better for the community as a whole if you offered other types of books! Just an outsider’s point of view. I don’t have any complaints about the service or merchandise– there is a ton to look at and I applaud local businesses like these that stay open despite the popular mainstream commercial-​y takeover in Manhattan! I also saw flyers at the front that they hold events, in which authors come, so props on great use of space too.

The concept of the Mysterious Bookshop is cool, but my experience there was anything but cool. One employee, lets call him Brad, was helpful and nice at first, but quickly grew angry and nasty in a matter of seconds. I will never return to this book store due to B’s condescending attitude and attempts to embarrass me. If all employees are like B I would recommend any other book store on the planet. Maybe better management would prevent problems like this?

This 34-​year-​old (–ish) bookshop «makes it a priority to stock rare editions, signed copies, and Sherlockiana. It also has seven book clubs you can join.» The cool space was empty aside from the 2 staffers on my visit; if you’re into it, certainly a nice selection and ambiance.

Great place and knowledgeable staff. Turned me on to some new authors whom I likely wouldn’t have discovered otherwise, and that’s exactly what an indie store is supposed to do. Seriously well-​curated. Look forward to supporting it for as long as I’m around.

Any time I travel out of my area (SoCal) I make it a point to visit as many used bookstores as possible. So, when I found out I was going to NY, I got pretty excited because I figured that there would be a lot of great used bookstores I could go to. By the end of this trip I visited a total of seven bookstores; TMB was easily the most fun and the best one (to me).
I had no idea that this place was in any way famous. I found this bookshop via a friend who lives in NY. He sent me a pic of the storefront when he knew I would be coming out there. It turns out that this book store is somewhat famous and there is even a book of short stories edited by Otto Penzler which all involve The Mysterious Bookshop. Pretty neat.
Anyway, all of that aside (since I didn’t even know about it until after I was almost done in the shop), this place was GREAT! It’s a neatly organized, comfy used bookstore that specifically carries mysteries. They also have quite a few new books as well. I found all kinds of good stuff and had to stop myself and leave before my spending got too crazy. :) The prices range from cheap to kind of expensive, but the pricey items were not «overpriced,» they were about right for the particular editions in question. I wound up spending nearly a hundred bucks and, like I said, I had to forcibly make myself leave before I got too crazy. I got a couple of neat used books, one new book, a Mysterious Bookshop tote bag – they also have t-​shirts – and some of the postcards with vintage book covers on them. And I could have bought a lot more if I had more money.
In addition to a clean, well-​organized and comfortable store the employees are very nice and helpful, which was a nice surprise after some of the other less-​than-​great NY shopping experiences I had had up to that point.
Anyway, I highly recommend this store for book lovers, especially those who like mysteries!

Had no idea this (wall-​to-​wall, and floor-​to-​ceiling) book shop existed so close to home! Hubby and I came here for a book launch party («The Preservationist» by Justin Kramon — a GREAT read). It was a lot of fun to hear the author read an excerpt and to get a signed copies of our book afterwards. The complimentary wine and snacks didn’t hurt either!

What a neat little place. A bookshop dedicated to mysteries and related genres. A lot of the books they have are signed by authors, and they have a small case of vintage and limited-​edition type books. They also hold a full schedule of events – readings, Q+A’s, that sort of thing. I came here to see Lisa Lutz, one of my faves (her mystery series in a sentence: imagine the family from Arrested Development if they were all private detectives who spent more time investigating one another than any actual case.) It was a very small crowd and really funny.

A nice sized bookstore for all our mysterious needs. If you straightforward needs, like a cookbook for your mother-​in-​law, you’re not going to find it here.
Wall-​to-​wall books, knowledgeable and very friendly staff (a surprising number of staff for such a small bookstore), entire sections dedicated to Holmes and Doyle. There is also a small section of children’s mystery books (favorite) in the middle of the store, by the seating (feel free to loiter, the staff is that nice).

What a find!!! A must go!!! The staff is professional and extremely knowledgeable. It is so nice to speak to a person and not wander aimlessly through a web site! I will be returning!!!

Like many bibliophiles, I fantasize about the library from Beauty and the Beast. When I become an internationally famous writer, I plan on replicating those shelves in my mansion (with a well-​stocked bar near the entrance — I’ve thought about this a lot). The Mysterious Bookshop gave me a sense of what that might look like in non-​cartoon form.
This little bookstore is filled with books from floor to ceiling, and the ceiling is pretty high. There are ladders to help you reach the higher shelves, which are just in browsing range from the floor. The shelves are made of dark wood, and they comprise most of the store’s décor — there is no wall space for anything else. The resulting atmosphere is rich, moody, and literary. In a word, I guess, perfect.
The Mysterious Bookshop specializes in mystery, and it is very well stocked in this genre. You want murder? There must be a million corpses between these walls. I scanned the store for every mystery I could think of, and all of them were accounted for on those vast shelves. The general fiction selection was less obsessively comprehensive, but I’d say as good as you’d get at most other small bookstores. I walked away with copies of This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz and A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki — both, incidentally, signed first editions. A large percentage of the wall space here is devoted to hardcover fiction, and all the signed copies are marked by pink slips. Some crazy percentage of the hardcovers on display are labeled in pink. The Mysterious Bookshop is a dream for collectors.
In addition to being a compulsive Unilocaler, I am also a mystery novelist. I came to The Mysterious Bookshop to sign stock, and met with bookseller Ian to do so. Ian is a friendly, knowledgeable guy, the exact kind of person you want to talk to when visiting a bookstore. We chatted about book collecting and the surprising awfulness of The Dain Curse, and he made me feel very welcome. As crime novelists go, I’m not a big deal at all — I’m a debut, and unless you pay particular attention to book reviews, you haven’t heard of me. I may be biased here, but I think it’s nice that The Mysterious Bookshop fosters relationships with a wide range of authors. They have to know a lot about the publishing scene, and the resulting knowledge makes them good booksellers. After all, customers don’t need help discovering Stephen King.
I don’t live in New York, but I expect to visit The Mysterious Bookshop from time to time, to buy books and fraternize and soak in the atmosphere. As for you New Yorkers, if you want a signed copy of a novel called Follow Her Home, I happen to know where you can find one.

This bookshop is so cool! I’m big on mysteries, crime, murder, and espionage-​type stories. The floor to ceiling books in dark shelves remind me of a creepy murder mansion library. That’s probably what they were going for. There are books on tables and books in piles on the floor, books stacked on the checkout desk, I love it! They don’t have much of a true crime section, which is what I’m most interested in. Sensing my disappointment, one of the staff members recommended a couple of titles from the two rows they did have, so I took a chance on one of them. Now I’m in the middle of one of the most awesome, well-​written stories I’ve ever read. And it’s all true! I plan to come back and ask for more recommendations, true stories or not. Great place, definitely check it out if you like books and/​or mysteries!

Walking into this warm and cozy, quiet bookshop is a calm escape from the busy streets of Manhattan. The shop is full of interesting detective stories and the friendly staff is more than happy to provide suggestions.

Superb. For TRUE book lovers – not you phony drones who skim through ‘e-​books’ on your handheld device and then claim you’re ‘avid’ readers. My god I loathe you scum.
Not that it is any kind of ‘chore’ to frequent this wonderful little emporium of mystery books. How great is it to browse these long, tall shelves with rows and rows of awesome paperbacks; feeling the carpet under your tread; running your hand along the spines; breathing in the awesome smell of PRINT!
But if you think its inconvenient to leave the digital world? You can download from Amazon in 13.7 seconds? Bah!
Let me remind you of the importance of supporting printed books; as well as the independent bookseller? You know – the entities who have kept western culture vibrant the past 700 years? How about keeping faith with the printed word and the printed page? How about making sure your descendants HAVE books and bookstores –like this one – to rely on and enjoy?

Great selection of mystery books, along with signed and limited editions. My mom came here in search of a signed Lawrence Block copy. The place is very cozy and the setup is conducive to browsing and targeted looking. The staff seemed very knowledgeable and it is always encouraging to see an independent, niche bookstore thriving in these days of mass market retailers and e-​books. Be sure to check out the collection of noir-​ish, vintage postcards by the register if you’re in search of a souvenir or conversation piece.

The thing I loved most about this place was not the literally floor-​to-​ceiling books on packed shelves, the smell of old paper or the «mystery only!» selection.
No, what I loved the most about this place were the pulp fiction postcards that rested near the cash register. With racy looking women and leering men in fedora’s — I bought a lot of these and am planning on making a collage of sorts with them.
Next time, I’ll be swayed by the books as well.
I’m a fan!

Great store if you are really into mystery and detective novels. I could definitely spend hours in there.
The staff is very knowledgeable– I mentioned a couple of characters I liked from books I previously read and they had some great suggestions. They have all the authors your typical Barnes & Noble offers plus more.
Throughout the store, they have signed copies of books from a variety of authors which surprisingly are not marked up. They only charge a cover price which I think is a pretty good deal in order to get a signed copy of a Michael Connelly or Jo Nesbo book. A sizeable portion of the back wall is dedicated to Sherlock Holmes– I got a 1^st edition in great condition for $ 35.
I joined the weekly newsletter which gives you updates on titles they have in the store as well as upcoming visits from authors.
I was very impressed with the store and it is definitely one of a kind for those who love detective novels as much as I do!