The flash of a kitchen knife. A shrill scream and thump to the cold, tile floor. Blood splattered on the wall, a coppery incense burning the nose and a plea for mercy that never comes. An apathetic spray of snow outside, dusting an otherwise pitch-black sky. For Abby Endler, this is little more than a day that ends in “y.”

Don’t worry, readers. We’re not here to weave a twisty, turny tale of a murder most foul and the woman who got away with it. Endler’s weapon of choice is her passionate bookworming, and the victims never existed as flesh-and-blood entities, constructed instead of paper and ink. As the host of the Penguin Random House podcast Criminal Types, and creator of the Crime by the Book blog and 158,000-follower Instagram account, she dedicates her career to the joys of crime fiction.

“Even when they are these dark stories, I find they have that quality of a comfort read, because typically, when you pick up a new crime book, you know you’re going to be faced with this awesome puzzle that you can dig into,” Endler says. “By the end of the book, you’re going to have the satisfaction of getting those answers. And that’s something that I think makes the genre just endlessly entertaining.”

This Houstonian never gets bored with crime fiction, reading it both professionally and in her personal time. Having amassed such a wealth of knowledge that she gleefully and freely shares with other bibliophiles, she’s become something of an icon among her fellow connoisseurs of Christie, simps for Sager, lauders of Larsson.

Endler’s father read her The Boxcar Children series as a kid, and from there she picked up her mother’s old Nancy Drew novels. Patricia Cornwell, Agatha Christie, and James Patterson followed; by then she was fully immersed in crime fiction. When she began studying at Rice University, she initially majored in history and envisioned a lawyerly life. After graduation, she worked at O’Connor’s, a law book publisher, and decided to chart her own course toward the literature side of things. Her history degree came with some skills that mapped nicely onto her love of crime fiction.

“Being a history student, you learn to be a close reader, and you learn to be someone who analyzes what you’re reading and thinks deeply about what you’re reading, and you learn how to communicate what you’re picking up on,” Endler says. “I was always so curious about whatever time period it was, whatever moment in time, [or] person I was learning about. There’s just so much curiosity that I think made me love studying history. And I almost think it’s a similar curiosity that makes me love reading crime fiction.”

In 2015, she launched the Crime by the Book Instagram account and accompanying blog, posting reviews and commentary covering her favorite genre, as well as interviews, curated reading lists, and news on her event appearances.

Such infectious enthusiasm led to a publishing job at Penguin Random House and a relocation to New York in 2016. She’s now a marketing manager at the company’s Alfred A. Knopf imprint and returned home to Houston last year. Now in its second season, Criminal Types launched in spring 2023 with a list of literary heavyweight guests like John Grisham, Riley Sager (a frequent collaborator), and Jo Nesbø, among others.

Nesbø is an ideal guest for Endler’s informed and inquisitive podcast discussion style. The Norwegian author is best known for his Harry Hole series of detective novels, which have been adapted into two films and an upcoming television show. Endler specializes in Scandinavian crime fiction, with an entire landing page on her website dedicated to helping people find the perfect read based on geography, subgenres, authors, and other factors. For anyone hoping to learn more about Nordic Noir and similar crime fiction books, she’s the go-to gal.

“It’s like this real-life fairy-tale that my love of this genre has ended up opening so many doors. I went to this crime festival in Denmark that takes place at an abandoned prison,” Endler says. “I go to Iceland every fall for a crime festival there. I’ve been to Norway, to Sweden, all over. It’s been just amazing.”

The late Swedish author Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series ignited her fascination with Scandinavian crime stories, which proved to be everything she was looking for in a novel. Endler’s favorite aspects of the subgenre involve deep diving into the human mind, as well as the opportunity to do some “armchair travel” to places she’d either like to explore or has already been to and wishes to explore further.

“Sometimes the Nordic books are a little more understated and a little bit slower paced, and they really dig into the psychology of their characters. And that’s something that really appeals to me,” Endler says.

Yet despite her globetrotting lifestyle, she remains a load-bearing fixture among crime fiction enthusiasts at home in Houston. After learning of Murder By The Book, the mystery-themed bookshop in Rice Village, as a Rice student, Endler quickly christened it her favorite indie bookstore in Houston—and cites it as one of the reasons she moved back to the city. Collaborating with owner McKenna Jordan was an obvious decision, and in August 2023, they launched Crime by the Box together.

The subscription service, which currently reaches around 100 people, delivers a hardback crime fiction novel signed by the author to participants’ homes every month. Endler and Jordan throw in a few surprises along the way, too, like exclusive insights from the writers, additional reading recommendations, and details on why the books were chosen. Subscribers can attend events at Murder By The Book to meet the featured authors and enjoy a cocktail hour together. It’s also a chance for the organizers to get the word out about local authors like Ashley Winstead, who was Crime By The Box’s first featured writer, as well as emerging voices in the crime fiction scene.

“We’ve really been wanting to make the focus of this subscription service to identify those hidden gem books that you might not otherwise hear about,” Endler says. “So the goal is really to find books that are amazing quality, maybe new authors, underrepresented authors, and shine a light on their work.”

Authors from marginalized, politically targeted demographics add a poignancy to the crime fiction genre. Endler points out that many readers flock to these stories because they often provide a cathartic sense of justice in an unjust world. These narratives believe victims, catch murderers, and hold abusers accountable. There’s a sense of comfort in that. And it may be contributing to the continued growth and rising popularity of crime fiction and thrillers, particularly among social media savvy teens and young adults.

“I feel like in this Instagram/TikTok age, there’s just more excitement than ever for fiction, and I think for genre fiction, too. I know romance has completely blown up in recent years,” she says. “And I think the thriller genre has become super popular as well. You look at the New York Times bestseller list…every week, there are so many thrillers.”

Endler expresses excitement with where she sees crime fiction headed in the future, one with more stories that resonate with more audiences who realize that literature should be—and increasingly is becoming—for everyone. With her work in Crime by the Book and Criminal Types, she has established herself as a major part of that push forward.