Steel City Mysteries · Book One
The Critic
She didn’t do it.
Right?
About the Book
Pittsburgh, 1995. Ricin in the mail. A stolen byline. The FBI at her door. A blackout she can’t explain.
Jessica Greer, PR executive by day and alt-newsweekly critic by night, just lost her column and she wants it back. Instead she gets a poisoned rival, a federal case, and a headline she never asked for: The Mail Murderess.
For readers of Gillian Flynn, Shari Lapena, and Megan Abbott.
Book Details
- Author
- L.L. Kirchner
- Series
- Steel City Mysteries, Book One
- Genre
- Psychological suspense, mystery
- Setting
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Time Period
- 1995
- First Published
- June 18, 2026
- Publisher
- LILA Books
- Reads As
- Standalone mystery with a resolved ending
| Format | ISBN / ASIN | Released |
|---|---|---|
| Ebook | ASIN B0DFSJZFHC | June 18, 2026 |
| Paperback | 9798992250732 | June 18, 2026 |
Get Your Copy
Ebook and paperback, plus signed copies.
Signed Reader’s Edition from L.L.’s shop · Book club discussion guide
Praise for The Critic
“While investigating a murder to keep the heat off herself, you’ll be tossed into Jessica’s world of chaos and action in THE CRITIC. Kirchner blends Pittsburgh’s gritty theater backdrop, red herrings galore, nonstop 90s nostalgia in this entertaining and clever thriller. The first in a series spotlighting different characters from the scene, you’ll be waiting for the next with bated breath. A bonafide win.”
—Jaime Lynn Hendricks, bestselling author of Their Double Lives
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