Criminally Good Books opens this week in Colliergate, York

Isla Coole is the force behind Criminally Good Books, an independent book store specialising in crime writing, that opened its doors for the first time this week in Colliergate.

The book store has opened in what was once the Village Gallery which closed in 2023 after five years in the street.

Following a career spent in charity fundraising, Isla decided to take the plunge and start a new chapter in her life by opening a book store.

She told The Press: "I like talking to people and I like books!" Also, as a fan of crime writing she decided the shop would specialise in that genre - and added that specialist crime bookstores were rare.

"I think there may be only one other crime bookshop and that is in Wales," she said.

Isla Coole of Criminally Good Books in Colliergate

She added that crime books were big sellers and had a growing audience which had an appetite for a wide range of sub-genres, from thrillers and true crime to 'cosy crime' where amateur protagonists turn detective.

Isla said her taste in crime writing was wide-ranging. "I go between thrillers to police procedural to cosy crime - such as Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club series. My entry into crime writing was Agatha Christie."

Indeed, Isla has a whole bookshelf dedicated to the works of Christie, as well as an A-Z of crime fiction, with a mix of best-selling authors and less well-known writers.

Upstairs at the store, customers will find the true crime section.

Also for sale are a range of book-themed games and tote bags. Cloth book sleeves and book marks are also available, with a percentage of each sale going towards the local domestic violence charity IDAS.

Isla said she hoped to promote the best of the genre but also help publicise great books which perhaps did not benefit from a publisher's marketing budget and so might fall under the radar of readers.

She is also keen to support local authors - indeed, during The Press's visit, York writer Christine Went popped in just as a delivery of her first published novel, supernatural murder mystery Llantathan arrived.

Christine said it was "amazing" to finally be published and was excited to see her book in a local book store. "This shop is brilliant," she said, and scanning the rows of crime fiction like a child in a sweet shop joked: "If I am not careful, it will be my financial ruin!"

Book sleeves and book marks on sale inside Criminally Good Books with a percentage of each sale going to IDAS

Opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm, and 10am to 4pm on Sundays - and customers can enjoy 10 per cent discount this opening week

Isla said she hoped the shop would become a real community hub for customers and lovers of all sorts of crime writing.

A range of events are already planned for the store, with more in the pipeline, she added. For all the latest news, she urged people to follow her Instagram account at: criminallygoodbooksyork.

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 on March 14, and local author JM Hall who will be signing copies of his third book A Clock Stopped Dead at the book shop on its publication date of April 11.

Also, former Metropolitan Police murder squad detective Colin Sutton will be taking part in an event at the shop in May following his date at York Theatre Royal.