The Charing Cross Road-based crime and mystery bookstore, Murder One, is set to close for good today, with the knife-wielding assassin none other than that perfidious, inscrutable villain known only as 'consumer apathy'.
After spending the past few years trying to find a buyer, owner Maxim Jakubowski has admitted defeat, beaten not by some solitary Marlowe but instead scuppered by a perfect storm of Amazon-ian proportions and the economic maelstrom. He has decided, wisely, that after 21 years of operation without recourse to overdraft or bank borrowing, the current financial climate isn't the best one in which to duck into the red. The store's mail order service, however, is set to continue under the auspices of two senior members of staff.
Murder One's demise may be viewed retrospectively as the bookselling industry's canary in the coal mine, particularly for the multitude of shops that congregate on Charing Cross Road. This fact has been recognised by some Flash wizards at the Guardian, who've knocked up an excellent, interactive homage to the area, featuring interviews with key figures and examining the changes between now and the 1940s. It's a wistful, historical look at a part of the capital which is getting accustomed to losing much-loved friends.
