Crime and mystery writers of the “hard-boiled” school have a lot of kings (James Cain, Jim Thompson, Charles Willeford…) but precious few queens. In fact, the genre of tough-talking PIs, femmes fatales and nihilistic criminals is pretty much a boy’s club. So when Vicki Hendricks’s debut novel Miami Purity came out in 1996, a reviewer from The New York Times did a background check to make sure the author was actually a woman. “I’ve often been in the small percentage of women among men,” says Hendricks. “And it makes me feel tough.” Purity’s tale of a topless dancer attempting to go “straight” — while still having lots of hot sex — has just been reissued by local publisher Busted Flush Press. “I’ve heard my books described as noir, noir-otica, neo-noir and other terms I can’t remember,” Hendricks says with a laugh. “I just start with the idea of obsession and it gets to crime because I write characters that go there in some screwy fashion. They’re basically doomed to a low-life existence.” Hendricks’s latest, Cruel Poetry, features a prostitute protagonist and is set in Miami Beach, a natural setting for steamy coupling and seamy deals. “I find sexual conflict to be the most interesting basis of everything,” she adds. It’s also a great way to keep readers turning pages. Hendricks and fellow crime author Megan Abbott stop by Murder by the Book today.

Wed., Sept. 12, 6:30 p.m.

This article appears in Jun 7-13, 2007.

Bob Ruggiero has been writing about music, books, visual arts and entertainment for the Houston Press since 1997, with an emphasis on Classic Rock. He used to have an incredible and luxurious mullet in...