Serving downtown Lawrence for 18 years, the Raven Bookstore specializes in mystery and suspense titles. A recent visit turned up 20 different books by Jim Thompson, the hard-boiled writer of The Grifters. The store also devotes significant space to books of regional interest. Abolitionist John Brown and pro-Confederate guerrilla fighter William Quantrill make nice on the shelves, along with more soothing titles such as Medicinal Wild Plants of the Prairie. In a small amount of space, co-owners Pat Kehde and Mary Lou Wright manage to find room for the latest in fiction and nonfiction as well. With a Borders Books and Music just a half-block away, the Raven's continued existence is no accident.
