San Francisco Mystery Book Store Is Closing

Google Maps Street View

San Francisco Mystery Book Store

​Here's some news that unfortunately isn't very much of a mystery: At the end of the month the city will lose the San Francisco Mystery Book Store, the second independent bookseller to announce its closure in as many months.

The blog Noe Valley SF reposted a message from bookstore owner Diane Kudisch. In it, she states that the store will close May 31. In April, the city's last LGBT bookseller, A Different Light, announced that it would close.

"My landlords will be renovating the building and thus, I would need to find a new location," Kudisch writes in the message. "Since my current landlords have been SO very generous over the years, I know finding a place which has such a low rent would be next to impossible."

According to a post from November 2009 from author Simon Wood on Redroom.com, San Francisco Mystery Bookstore has been open for more than 30 years, and Kudisch has owned it for about a decade.

A call to the store Thursday afternoon went unanswered and to voice mail. The store's Facebook page does not mention its closing; the most recent post on its Wall is April 26, and the one before that is dated Jan. 9. A bookstore URL listed on that page is automatically redirected to site selling condos in Japan.

In the reposted message, Kudisch reports that although she's giving up her storefront, she'll maintain her seller's permit and will continue to sell via the Internet. She says she has a connection with a person in Great Britain who will supply her with "amazing novels by amazing authors who are not available here in the U.S."

Beginning Saturday, all books in the store at 4175 - 24th St. will be half-price, including first editions.

"Please stop in and say hello, or goodbye and perhaps even purchase a few books," Kudisch writes.