It seems, from recent posts, that a lot of you have the idea
that
"hard-boiled" is an exclusively male province. Maybe my
definition of
hard-boiled is a little broad, but I think it would
encompass any
crime fiction that has a tough-minded and colloquial
attitude. That
would include stories featuring PIs, law enforcers,
journalists,
spies, or professional crooks. And a woman, writing from
a
tough-minded and colloquial viewpoint is as worthy of the
title of
"hard-boiled" as a man. Hence, Grafton, Paretsky, Cornwall,
Brackett,
and others that haven't been mentioned like Dolores Hitchens
(both on
her own and in collaboration with her cop-husband Bert),
Dorothy
Uhnak, Anne Wingate (under her many names), etc. Maybe
they're not as
tough as Mickey Spillane, but they still write from a
tough-minded
and colloquial viewpoint. To say they don't and then dismiss
them is
short-sighted - Jim Doherty
--UNS_gsauns2_2924932599--
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