Remembering David Thompson

On September 13, we lost a good friend in David Thompson who suffered a heart attack at age 38. He was a bookstore manager, publisher, and a person to know in the mystery scene. All of these things were tied to the fact he was one of the best booksellers around.

He was synonymous with his store Murder By The Book in Houston, where he started as teenager with  a salesperson’s job and worked his way up to his assistant manager. He ran publicity, getting many of the world’s crime fiction authors to come to the store. It is were where he met a lovely coworker, McKenna Jordan, who married him not long after she bought the store. Talk about knowing how to get what you want.

It was his job at the store that lead to Busted Flush Publishing. David became frustrated with not being able to sell books he loved because they were out of print. All booksellers agonize over this. What most of us don’t do is create our own publishing company to take care of the problem. That, people, is a hand-seller.

Busted Flush republished many of the great authors that fell through the cracks. He took the DVD extras idea with many of the books, including forwards by prominent writers, afterward by the author, and sometimes a new short story. One of the biggest successes was Reed Farrel Coleman’s Moe Prager series, about a sometime private eye in Koch era New York with a poetic match of a writer’s style and character’s voice that created books of true emotion. David got the attention of NPR, making the books sell outs on Amazon and in bookstore’s around the country. Before the movie version Winter’s Bone was released, David was getting two Daniel Woodrell’s earlier works, Tomato Red and The Death Of Sweet Mister, ready for the public.

The imprint was also known for two great anthologies. The Duane Swiercynski edited Damn Near Dead, still one of my favorite collections, where writers had to tell a hard boiled tale with the over sixty set. He was also able to get the incredible Megan Abbott to oversee Hell Of A Woman, a dark beautiful look at the femme fatale. David had just finished work on the sequel to Damn Near Dead.

In all the tributes I’ve read about David, the word “enthusiasm” always comes up. I have a accumulated stack of books that David told me “This is the next thing you need to read!”, many in the same conversation. He was a tireless promoter of authors who weren’t getting he attention they deserved. Many of his deals were made at the bar next door after a book event, Kay’s, over little more than a handshake. The drinks and dinners we’d have with our colleagues and idols were something I always looked forward to, with David holding quiet (okay, semi-quiet) court, making sure everyone got to know each other.

When I came to BookPeople, he told authors and publishers I was there and the store should be an important stop for them. He was one of those rare people that truly invested himself in everyone’s success as well as his own. One of his mottos was “We’re all in this together, we got your back.”

Many of us in the mystery community have been struggling to deal with how such a great person who’s drive and ambition was about to pay off could be cut down so early in his life. The only comfort I can find is to think about all he accomplished in his life and how he shared it in ours.

A memorial will be held in Houston, at The Briar Club 2 to 5PM, Sunday the 26th. Murder By The Book asked for no tributes to be sent. One website suggested to buy a book from the store or a Busted Flush imprint. While I couldn’t agree more, I’d humbly suggest that you suggest a book you love to every single person you know. That’s the guy I remember.

–Scott Montgomery