Showing results by author "Vicki Hendricks" in All Categories

When Sunny Lytle is evicted for keeping her fur family of thirteen dogs, eight cats, two ferrets, and two rabbits in her apartment in Kentucky, she packs them into a converted school bus and returns to her hometown, DeLeon Springs, Florida. Her dream is to create a no-kill animal rescue, but survival soon takes top priority. Camping in the woods is no longer the peaceful haven of her teen years, and the brutal demands of nature and the threatening intervention of Rita, a well-meaning veterinarian, create an ongoing struggle.

Punch and Juliette make a pack to live a wild life in Key West for a year, creating scenes to use in his novel with the climax a legendary suicide during Fantasy Fest. But the money runs out early, and their escapades, such as the break-in at Hemingway House and robbing gourmet restaurants for carry-outs take a serious turn. Bohemian atmosphere, a sex-maniac Yorkie, and a Key West witch add magic to the romp as the young woman and her alcoholic African-American-Italian boyfriend try to outsmart fate.

In the expert hands of two of the mystery world's top storytellers, being a housewife takes on a whole new meaning. These original stories explore the dark side of the housewife psyche and are guaranteed to delight. But be cautioned: These stories—"GDMFSOB" by Nevada Barr (author of the Anna Pigeon series) and "Acid Test" by Sara Paretsky (author of the V.I. Warshawski novels)—are meant to be listened to alone while sipping a glass of wine.

Destiny - Desi for short - is a large animal vet in the sticks of central Florida who's about to give up on the rest of life to concentrate on her career. That is, until Tom Jenks walks in her door. Sexy and charming but clearly living life on the edge - he comes to her with a sickly lion cub he's keeping illegally - he brings with him a drug like none she's had before, and she's taken them all. It's called skydiving, and with one jump she's addicted before she can even think to say no. Even though her head is telling her no, she quickly begins an affair with Tom....

Ramona Romano isn't into drugs, but all the same, she has her addiction: adventure. Separated from her husband, she tries scuba diving to feed her addiction. Then bodybuilding. And along the way, there's one man who grows into more of a challenge than all her other endeavors: dark and smoldering Enzo. And he leads her into deeper waters than she's prepared to fathom....

Erotic, drug-ridden, and violent, the story of Renata and her male and female lovers takes the listener into the heart of South Beach, Miami, where no one is surprised to find a friendly python or a "torture box" in the line of work for a hooker. Her search for love is strewn with body parts, but not through evil intent.

The "modern noir masterpiece" is now back in print! Hot and scrappy Sherri Parlay gives up her life of depravity, and with best intentions, finds a respectable job as a dry cleaner in hopes for a decent future. But nature and nurture plot against her when she meets the beautiful, tortured, and rich young Payne, who tempts her with the love and life she never thought possible. Even Brenda, Payne's domineering mother, can't keep the lovers apart when Sherri's animal passions take control.

Florida Gothic Stories contains 11 of Vicki Hendricks’ best, some previously published and some new to this volume. Hendricks’ stories are riveting and unsettling - some offer surreal sojourns into the dark side of magical realism while others are pure Florida noir, with a full menu of characters twisted and damaged, yet with a gritty determination to survive.