Lamenting Aunt Agatha's.

RHYS BOWEN: This year seems to have been full of bad news. Sue Grafton died. My brilliant audio reader, Katherine Kellgren died. And that's steering clear of political horrors! But the latest came this week when Aunt Agatha's Bookstore in Ann Arbor Michigan announced it was closing its doors.

This was one of my favorite stores: Jamie and Robin were always so welcoming and over the years we developed a relationship that extended beyond just professional. Robin's family owns the fabulous hotel on Mackinaw Island and two years ago they invited me to do an event at the library there, staying at the hotel. What heaven.

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But I always enjoyed just as much the funky little bookstore in the heart of Ann Arbor. The first time I visited I had a crowd of exactly one (plus Robin who sat with us). The last time they had to  move the event to the library because there wasn't enough room at the store. And that was largely because booksellers like Robin and Jamie hand sold my books and introduced them to customers.

(Here we are several years ago at a big author event they hosted. Note that Julia and I seem to be having fun while Steve Hamilton looks bemused and Vicki Delaney looks as if she wished she wasn't sharing a table with us!)

When my first mystery came out in 1997 (with a print run of 2500) there was zero publisher backing. I was on the last page of the catalog--actually only half the last page. No ads. Nothing. I was clueless about where to start. But I joined MWA and Sisters in Crime and fellow members suggested bookstores to me. Try Bruce at San Francisco Mystery Bookstore, they said. And Ed Kaufman at M is for Mystery wrote to invite me. As did Crown books. And Maurice Redbourn. Then Janet Dawson and Penny Warner invited me to join them on a tour of Southern California. We visited 7 mystery bookstores in the LA area. And I sold through that first printing!

For my next book my husband and I drove all the way across the country, visiting any bookstore that would have me. And do you know what? There was a mystery bookstore within driving distance every day! And they all made me welcome even though my audiences were pathetic at that time.

I consider myself really lucky that I had that opportunity. Alas I can count the mystery bookstores in the US on my fingers these days. I know online shopping is partly to blame but the first onslaught came from the big chain stores, and from greedy landlords who kept raising the rent. How I miss them: I miss the quirky pets--lots of cats, but dogs, birds even a pig.

Some still flourish: Otto's Mysterious Bookshop in New York, Barbara Peter's Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, Murder by the Book in Houston, Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego and a few more beloved stores. But so many have gone: 3 in New York City, Kates from Cambridge, 2 from Denver, 6 from LA.

I miss them all. Robin and Jamie, thank you for everything you have done for me and other mystery writers  . We are forever in your debt. I hope you'll have a lovely retirement looking at the sailboats from Mackinaw Island.

So, dear friends, do share your bookstore memories. Which stores do you miss the most?