Criminally Good Books
WHERE
York
What it’s like
A bookshop given over entirely to crime and mystery, a proper browse for anyone in the family hooked on a good whodunnit.
This is a shop with one focus: crime, mystery and thrillers, shelf after shelf of them. There's nothing here built specifically for children, no age range given on the shopfront and no separate kids' section mentioned, so go in expecting a specialist bookshop rather than a soft play with books bolted on. If you've got an older child working through detective series, ghost stories or anything with a twist in the plot, this is the sort of place where they hunt out the next one properly, not a quick scan of a shelf in a supermarket.
It suits a browse rather than an activity. There's no stated programme of storytime or events, so the day out here is the shop itself: reading spines, asking the people behind the counter for a recommendation, coming out with something to get stuck into. That makes it a better fit for a child who already reads for pleasure than for a toddler who needs something to climb on or press.
Opening hours are generous. Monday to Saturday it's open from 10 until 6, and on Sundays from 11 until 5, so there's room to fit a visit around most of a day without rushing. There's no booking involved, you just turn up in the hours it's open.
Need to know
- Best for
- Older children and teens who already read for pleasure
- Everything on the shelves is crime, mystery or thriller, so it suits a reader with a genre in mind rather than a general browse
- No age range is listed, so it works best for a child who already reads independently
- Sunday hours are shorter than the rest of the week, 11 to 5 rather than 10 to 6
Plan your visit
What age is this suitable for?
There's no age range given, so it reads less like a dedicated children's venue and more like a specialist shop that suits a reader old enough to pick a genre and stick with it.
What do kids actually do there?
Browse the shelves, ask for recommendations, and find their next book. There's no listed activity or event beyond the shop itself.
Do we need to book?
No booking is mentioned, so you can just turn up during opening hours.
What are the opening hours?
Monday to Saturday it's 10am to 6pm, and Sunday it's 11am to 5pm.
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