BOOK CARNIVAL

A late-model foreign car races into the parking lot, manages a 180-degree turn and screeches to a halt in two parking spaces. The three occupants jump out of the car and head for the store. It is a perfect day for playing Sherlock Holmes and sleuthing through shelves for the latest great mystery.

And The Book Carnival is the favorite place for devotees of science fiction, fantasy, mystery and detective stories--that’s all the store carries. On its polished shelves, Edgar Allen Poe keeps company with Stephen King; Agatha Christie is on good terms with Erle Stanley Gardner; the Hardy Boys, the Star Trek crew and Mike Hammer are all present and accounted for.

The store stocks a wide assortment of new and used books, hardback and paperback, plus an impressive array of first editions--the most expensive of which, “The Big Sleep” by Raymond

Chandler, sold for $2,000.

Three years ago, owners Ed and Pat Thomas dumped their general bookstore format, with the usual variety of cookbooks and nonfiction, in favor of the science fiction/mystery-only genre. Since then, the store has been proving the old adage that less is more. “This store is one-third the size of the general book store but is making 50% more profit,” Ed says.

Aside from the financial benefits to its owners, the move has also been profitable for hundreds of avid readers. Because The Book Carnival is the only specialty store of its kind, it has developed into a haven for those buffs with whom Ed shares a passion. “I never feel cheated by a good mystery or science fiction book,” he says. Apparently there are a lot of county fans, including both readers and writers, who concur.

One of the store’s unique aspects is the frequent appearances by authors who come to the store for autograph parties--to the delight of the 800 loyal clients on the store’s mailing list. Last year the store had 34 signings. Heavyweights such as “ Coma” author Robin Cook; James Ellroy, who penned “The Big Nowhere” and “The Black Dahlia,” and entertainer Steve Allen all put in appearances at book-signing parties. Other notables who have personally inscribed their books for fans have been James Blaylock, Sue Grafton, Dean R. Koontz (a personal friend of the

Thomases who was featured at a signing session in January) and Ray Bradbury, whose autographed picture with Ed hangs prominently near the shop’s entry.

Memorabilia is strategically placed throughout the store to underscore its novel identity. But that’s only icing on the cake. For true enthusiasts, the Book Carnival still has a sure lock on the hearts of whodunit buffs.