Murder by the Book

Murder by the Book Open Monday-Saturday, 10-6
Sunday 11-4
Also available for curbside, phone and mail orders. Houston's Mystery Bookstore since 1980!
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Winner of the 2004 Raven Award from the Mystery Writers of America. Murder By The Book is one of the nation's oldest and largest mystery specialty bookstores, established in 1980 by Martha Farrington, and purchased by McKenna Jordan in 2009. The store stocks over 25,000 books -- new & used, hardbacks & paperbacks, first editions, collectibles, gift items, mystery magazines, and more. In 2011, we hosted over 200 of the hottest mystery, crime, and fantasy authors for book signing events. We've had everyone from Dick Francis to P.D. James, Sue Grafton to Robert Crais, Michael Connelly to Patricia Cornwell, James Lee Burke to Daniel Silva).

October is here, and we are featuring Chesli, our resident horror fan, for today's . Keep reading to see what she has t...
10/03/2026

October is here, and we are featuring Chesli, our resident horror fan, for today's . Keep reading to see what she has to say.

"Spooky season is upon us! I love sharing my favorite thrilling and horrifying reads with y'all year-round, but we wanted to do a special highlight for the month of October. There's a little something for everyone in these stacks!

If you want to stay in the loop on all of my gruesome favs and any horror authors coming through, please subscribe to our quarterly Featured Frights newsletter!

Happy reading and stay spooky!" - Chesli

🌟Spooky Season Highlight🌟

The Sisters of Crimson House by Melissa Anderson Sweazy

Haunting in tone and heavy in emotion. Think The Craft meets The September House with even more family baggage. I loved learning about the Bryde family with all of their dark secrets, dysfunctional (yet loyal) relationships, and mystical powers. The Sisters of Crimson House is a heartfelt, eerie read that hooks you in as you slowly uncover the secrets that have been kept from Charley her whole life. The author created an entertaining, original story perfect for spooky season with its haunted house setting and gothic atmosphere. Crimson House will invite you in, but its story won't let you leave until you've turned the last page. - Chesli

Also highly recommended by Kaeleigh!

Melissa Anderson Sweazy is here tomorrow night (9/30), and she’ll be chatting with Natalie (aka Nerdalie) about The Sist...
09/29/2026

Melissa Anderson Sweazy is here tomorrow night (9/30), and she’ll be chatting with Natalie (aka Nerdalie) about The Sisters of Crimson House!

Dianne Freeman will sign A Christmas Guide to Family and Murder on November 7th, and she’ll be joined by Celeste Connally and Jess Armstrong

We’ve got signed copies of The Siren by Tomi Adeyemi and The Dying Light by Ann Cleeves.

Other new releases include books by John Grisham, David McCloskey, and Sherry Thomas!

09/26/2026

For today's , John is highlighting The House of Found Objects by Jo Beckett-King. We love having mysteries for readers of all ages, because everyone deserves to have a good mystery to solve! This series is perfect for sleuths 8 and up. Stop by the store for more early reader, middle grade, and young adult recs! 

Friendly reminder that we are celebrating mom-to-be Ashley Winstead with a bookish baby shower extravaganza hosted by Ma...
09/24/2026

Friendly reminder that we are celebrating mom-to-be Ashley Winstead with a bookish baby shower extravaganza hosted by May Cobb , Jeneva Rose , and Vanessa Lillie on Monday, November 2nd at 7:00 p.m. at Houston’s St. Martin’s Episcopal Church!

We’re planning a fun night of baby shower games and book talks followed by a photo line/meet & greet! (The authors will NOT be signing books in the photo line. Any books preordered for the event or purchased onsite will be pre-signed)

The ticket price includes a donation to Charity. If you were considering bringing a gift, please donate to this amazing organization instead!

If you're attending the event, please place your order for books when you buy your ticket so we know which signed books to bring to the venue. If you did not order books with your ticket but would like to do so now, please reference your order number so we’ll have your books at the venue to pick up.

✨We have limited seats, so get your tickets from murderbooks.com ASAP! ✨

The gorgeous invite on the second slide was made by Ashley’s talented sister, Mallory Winstead.

Vince Flynn’s Double Tap by Don Bentley is out today, and we’re excited to welcome Don back to the store tomorrow night ...
09/22/2026

Vince Flynn’s Double Tap by Don Bentley is out today, and we’re excited to welcome Don back to the store tomorrow night (9/22) at 6:30 to sign.

Agatha Christie’s Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel by Lucy Foley is also out today! Our resident Christie reader Liz has declared it, “a really enjoyable read!”

Other new releases include books from Michelle Chouinard, Jeffery Deaver (he’ll be visiting in November), Jeneva Rose (she’ll also be visiting in November), and Michael Korta!

Visit murderbooks.com for more info about our events and to see the rest of this week’s new releases!

09/22/2026

The Plot: One dead body. Seven mystery writers who all know how to get away with murder. In this wickedly clever whodunit from the bestselling author of Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, the only thing harder than writing the perfect plot twist . . . is surviving it.

If you want to write a murder, you have to set it in the right location—like an old, converted monastery with an ominous past, hidden deep in the mountains. Then, you have to invite the right people—like a group of authors attending a prestigious mystery-writing conference.

Of course, someone should show up uninvited—like a disgraced literary agent accused of stealing from his top client. Everyone in the story must be hiding something so they can all become suspects when someone ends up dead. That’s when they’ll turn on one another, digging into the past to uncover dark truths—like a book canceled on the eve of publication, two million dollars in missing royalties, and an obsessive fan with a hidden agenda.

But don’t forget to trap everyone there—a landslide should do the trick—so they can’t escape when more people turn up dead. . . .

Welcome to the perfect murder. Nothing will go wrong. Because if anyone can get away with murder, it's a writer.

The Praise: “Laugh-out-loud funny and featuring a sparkling cast of characters, How to Write a Murder is delightful. This cleverly constructed mystery delivers twist after surprising twist. Such fun!”—Amy Tintera, New York Times bestselling author of "Listen for the Lie."

As always, we'll give you the inside scoop the night before the book comes out and take your questions live!

09/19/2026

Today's features Mike who is going to tell us about Tear the City Down by Andre Hardy. This debut has cemented itself as one of Mike's top three for 2026. If you're a fan of noir thrillers and enjoy S.A. Cosby, Jordan Harper, and Walter Mosley, then this should definitely be your next read!

Everyone deserves to cuddle up with a good story! If you want to be as cozy as our two bear detectives here, grab these ...
09/17/2026

Everyone deserves to cuddle up with a good story! If you want to be as cozy as our two bear detectives here, grab these new books created in collaboration with the Roger Hargreaves and Agatha Christie estates. They are perfect for all readers, young and old!

More Little Miss Marples and Mr. Poirots will be released in the future. So keep an eye out for more titles or pre-order at murderbooks.com đź“š

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Address

2342 Bissonnet Street
Houston, TX
77005

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 6pm
Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 6pm
Saturday 10am - 6pm

Telephone

+17135248597

Website

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