Celebrating 20 Years, Clues Unlimited Owner Plans a Full Calendar of Festivities

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Christine Burke has been at the helm of the Tucson, Arizona, mystery bookstore Clues Unlimited since 1996 and she is celebrating her 20th anniversary with an entire year of events, promotions, specials, and cupcakes.

“I think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Burke. “We just got through Christmas, but that’s one day when you open your presents and then it’s over. I’m not going to do that …. I’m going to celebrate all year.”

The bookstore, which Elaine and Joseph Livermore opened in 1986, was named Footprints of a Gigantic Hound, a nod to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles, when Burke, a former stockbroker, bought the business with two partners.

“I was a customer since it first started,” said Burke. “I loved this store, and the idea of owning a bookstore just seemed wonderful.”

Now the store’s sole owner, Burke offers the community of Tucson a well-curated selection of mystery titles for both adults and children in a 600-square-foot space. Clues Unlimited is also a destination for bimonthly events with mystery authors, as well as regular book club meetings.

This year, the store is participating in the community’s Big Read Connects Tucson program, which is celebrating the works of Edgar Allen Poe, by hosting a panel discussion on Poe featuring Arizona mystery writers.

When the Livermores owned the bookstore, customers became accustomed to the company of a large black Labrador retriever and later an Irish wolfhound as they browsed the shelves of mysteries, and Burke is carrying on that tradition.

“The store has a legacy of always having an animal,” said Burke, who, in her time, has provided a home to guinea pigs, a potbellied pig, and now a rescued greyhound named Bosco. “One of the things I always thought about when I was a stockbroker was how I’d like to have a job where I could bring my pet with me.”

The owner’s love for animals is evidenced in the bookstore’s offerings, which go beyond classic mysteries and solve-it-yourself mystery books in the children’s section to feature Charlotte’s Web, My Friend Flicka, and Black Beauty.

Many of the store’s regular events often include a benefit for an organization relating to the wellbeing of local animals, and Burke intends to continue that tradition with several upcoming anniversary events benefitting organizations such as Pawsitively Cats and Southern Arizona Greyhound Adoption.

Plans currently in the works for Clues Unlimited’s yearlong celebration include a mid-February kickoff of author signings, featuring many writers who have autographed over the years at both iterations of the bookstore. “I’m trying to keep the continuity, to make people aware that this is a part of Tucson and has been for quite a while,” said Burke.

Burke also plans to serve cupcakes at every event to engage customers in the festivities.

While Burke marks her 20 years in business, she does acknowledge that Clues Unlimited has felt the competition from online outlets, chains, and other local stores over the years, but the business has weathered these times by staying true to its niche. “What happens even now is Barnes & Noble will send people here because they don’t have the kind of stock I have,” she said.

Considering the future of the bookstore, Burke said that she is open to the possibility of selling the store at some point, but for now she will continue in her role as the owner — and animal keeper — at Clues Unlimited. “It’s really an ideal job,” Burke said. “Every time I think of the hassles, it’s still just too much fun not to do.”

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