Before she bought Clues Unlimited mystery bookstore in Tucson five years ago, Christine Acevedo was a stockbroker who read mysteries to relieve the persistent dullness of her work. The two trades, according to Acevedo, are more similar than she'd expected. Both require that the product sold performs well for the buyer, and both involve an element of risk. The cornerstone of her store's success is making sure her customers get the book they will most enjoy. Clues Unlimited celebrated its fifth anniversary last month with a party featuring local mystery authors and book signings, as well as photo ops with the store's elegant mascot, Sophie, the potbellied pig.
While other independents have folded in the wake of area chain store openings, Clues Unlimited doubled its size last year, to 1,400 square feet, by expanding into an adjoining space. Although the store is only five years old, there has been a mystery bookstore at its location in the historic Broadway Village Shopping Center for the last 15 years. The first opened in 1986 under the name Footprints of a Gigantic Hound. Acevedo and partner Patricia Davis purchased the store in 1996 and changed the name, but kept the focus on mysteries. The store carries mysteries for adults and children, along with related bestsellers such as the Harry Potter series. Davis and Acevedo staff the store with the help of their porcine assistant, whose corral occupies a corner of the store.
"By specializing in mysteries, we really don't compete directly with the chain stores, which are not able to stock all the smaller or midsize mystery publishers we carry," said Acevedo. "We are finding that increasingly, good midlist mysteries are being overlooked by larger publishers and are being picked up by these smaller specialty houses, like Poison Pen Press. The other thing we do is focus on this community, where we have lived for over 30 years."
Beyond sponsoring a Sisters in Crime chapter of female mystery writers and hosting last year's Left Coast Crime and Mystery Writers convention, which raised over $10,000 for Literacy Volunteers, the store also hosts fund-raising events for the Humane Society, a local hospice and schools. A summer dinner series, Mysteries of History, raises money for a University of Arizona scholarship fund. Acevedo calls these activities "doing well by doing good." On March 17, the store will host a new mystery conference called Armed and Dangerous, which it hopes will be an annual fund-raiser.
