Kingdom Books

283 East Village Rd

Waterford   VT 05819

Beth and Dave Kanell opened this reader’s 8 years ago. They were nice enough to answer a few questions.

Do you have a speciality?

We offer mysteries from classic to cutting edge, and our specialty   has become linking them together — showing how a genre grows, guiding   readers from one author’s work that pleases them to new adventures   where they can discover fresh approaches.

What are your own favorite mystery styles?

Dave’s favorite style is hard-boiled, with a soft spot for noir;   Beth likes character-driven mysteries where the protagonist has to   “grow and change” in the process of solving the crimes.

Do you have any pet peeves?

I know this sounds weird, but we often avoid books written in the   present tense!

What do you look for in a mystery?

Most of all, we look forward to mysteries where the author has   found her or his voice and plunges into the strangeness and difficulty  of life.

What bores you? What gets you excited?

If there are too many pages describing kitchens or decor, we put   the book down; on the other hand, we’re excited by the risks that  authors like Charles Todd and Stuart Neville are taking with the   quirks and longings of the stressed human mind. We’re okay with   violence if the characters have enough depth to make it worthwhile.   And we get really excited when authors come here to visit, to meet  with great gatherings of readers and fans.

Where would you like to see the publishing industry go?

Wouldn’t it be nice to have more publishers willing to take risks   with fresh voices? We’re encouraged by presses like Soho, with its  raft of foreign authors, and by Serpents Tail, with its open door for  hard-boiled and edgy books. And we see women writing with more freedom   and power, and can hardly wait to discover


what the next decade brings.  Keeping things fresh and reading in depth are our twin obsessions.

Kingdom Books has a review blog at: kingdombks.blogspot.com.