Thriller novel launches with a punk show in Waterbury
September 29, 2026 | By Emily Rodin | Community News Service
Vermont author Ann Dávila Cardinal's eighth novel, a thriller titled “Hear the Dead," comes out on Oct. 6. A punk show launch party will be held at the Waterbury Grange Hall that night. Photo by Gordon Miller
MORRISVILLE — Award-winning author Ann Dávila Cardinal of Morrisville is set to release her eighth book, “Hear the Dead,” on Oct. 9 and celebrate the occasion with a punk rock show at the Grange Hall Cultural Center in Waterbury next week.
The genre-bending thriller follows the 66-year-old main character, Elena Altieri, as she works to uncover the murders of five women she knew back in her punk-rock days.
Cardinal writes from experience. Both she and Elena are in their 60s, have Puerto Rican roots, came of age in the New York City punk scene, and now live in Vermont.
“Though Elena in ‘Hear the Dead’ is not me, there are [similar] elements,” Cardinal said. “I think it lends an authenticity.”
Cardinal grew up in Manhattan and began going to punk clubs like CBGB and Hurrah when she was just 15 years old.
“I was fortunate to be around at that time when there was so much going on in music,” Cardinal said. “I was at clubs every night I could be.”
Today, Cardinal has tinnitus and hearing loss from those punk shows, as does Elena.
Cover art / courtesy image
“I used to sit in front of the speakers intentionally, and so the damage is there,” she said. “So sound has always been important to me; music has always been important to me. The sounds of Vermont and the sounds of Puerto Rico can evoke incredible emotion for me.”
The book includes a soundtrack, listed at the end as a playlist of 20 songs. Cardinal chose each song “because [it] fit the theme of a memory in the book, and so the song title is the title of that chapter,” she said.
Cardinal expanded the playlist on Spotify with more songs she loves.
“I’m really interested in sharing some of the lesser-known bands because the live music then was extraordinary; a lot of those people have sort of faded into obscurity, and some of it is available on Spotify, and so I wanted to share that,” Cardinal said.
While music is central to the novel, so too are themes like memory, trust, fame, friendship and justice. The book also draws on elements of the supernatural and magical realism, which Cardinal traces back to her Puerto Rican heritage.
Band logo/courtesy image
“You tell people in Vermont you believe in ghosts, and they think you're off your meds. You tell people in Puerto Rico you believe in ghosts, and they're like, ‘Seguro, my grandmother was at the end of my bed this morning.’ There’s no dismissal of magic,” she explained.
The public is invited to a launch party to celebrate the book’s release on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at the Grange Hall Cultural Center in Waterbury Center, from 7 to 9 p.m. Vermont punk group Violet Crimes is set to perform at this all-ages event. Punk attire is encouraged.
Community News Service is a University of Vermont journalism internship program reporting for Vermont news organizations, including Waterbury Roundabout.