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15
Jul 2023
Bookshop to be centre of murder mystery as crime festival arrives in Harrogate
As fictional crime is celebrated in Harrogate next weekend, one local business is getting in on the fun by staging its own murder mystery.
Imagined Things, the independent bookshop on Montpellier Hill, is inviting people to try to solve the murder of one of its bookseller.
After the crime is discovered in the basement, visitors will be asked to find clues around the shop and at other nearby shops to discover who committed the murder – and win a prize.
It's all part of the fun brought to town by the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, which runs from Thursday, July 20 to Sunday, July 23.
While Imagined Things isn't an official part of proceedings, owner Georgia Eckert said there is always an extra buzz around the shop during the festival:
As well as the murder mystery, Imagined Things is hosting five book signings during the festival, alongside a panel event at Harrogate Library with authors Michelle Frances, Ellery Lloyd and Ruth Kelly on Thursday evening.
The shop has also secured four books to sell before the official publication date in August.
Georgia said there are usually dozens of unexpected visitors through the doors too, with a total of 42 authors calling in to sign books during the festival in 2022.
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Imagined Things is among the local businesses benefitting from the thousands of visitors arriving in town for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, which this year marks its 20th anniversary.
It begins, as always, with the opening ceremony and announcement of the winner of the crime novel of the year and the outstanding contribution to crime fiction awards.
Over the following three days, workshops, panels and interviews will bring together some of the most established writers in the genre with up-and-coming names in one of the biggest events of its kind.
Its enthusiasts are not the only ones contributing to the success of the independent bookshop, which moved from its first home in the Westminster Arcade last June.
Georgia said:
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