For fans of Sharp Objects and The Last Thing He Told Me — a darkly funny psychological suspense novel set in 1990s Pittsburgh.
Everyone thinks Jessica Greer poisoned her rival. Including, in her worst moments, Jessica Greer.
Pittsburgh, 1995. The Steel City's most notorious theater critic collapses at his new desk. Ricin. Hidden in a brownie. Delivered by mail. Jessica — the columnist he replaced — has motive, means, and an unsettling working knowledge of crime TV plots she really should have kept to herself.
She has a psychiatric history. A sharp mouth. A memory she can't entirely trust. The press has already dubbed her the Mail Murderess.
Meanwhile, the case against her keeps unraveling. Artistic rivalries. Buried family histories. Clues hiding in library card catalogs and microfiche reels. And a city that knows how to keep a secret. Jessica isn't sure whether she's investigating the crime — or building one against herself.
A 1990s psychological suspense novel for readers who love:
— Unreliable narrators with sharp mouths and shakier memories
— Period-perfect newsrooms, dial-up modems, and pay-phone investigations
— Female amateur sleuths who solve the crime and the mystery of themselves
— Dark humor running through page-turning suspense
— Pittsburgh as a character: gritty, smart, secret-keeping
The Critic is Book 1 of the Steel City Mysteries — a series of standalone psychological suspense novels set in 1990s Pittsburgh. If you've finished Gone Girl, devoured Sharp Objects, and miss Megan Abbott between releases, start here.
Genre: Mystery
Everyone thinks Jessica Greer poisoned her rival. Including, in her worst moments, Jessica Greer.
Pittsburgh, 1995. The Steel City's most notorious theater critic collapses at his new desk. Ricin. Hidden in a brownie. Delivered by mail. Jessica — the columnist he replaced — has motive, means, and an unsettling working knowledge of crime TV plots she really should have kept to herself.
She has a psychiatric history. A sharp mouth. A memory she can't entirely trust. The press has already dubbed her the Mail Murderess.
Meanwhile, the case against her keeps unraveling. Artistic rivalries. Buried family histories. Clues hiding in library card catalogs and microfiche reels. And a city that knows how to keep a secret. Jessica isn't sure whether she's investigating the crime — or building one against herself.
A 1990s psychological suspense novel for readers who love:
— Unreliable narrators with sharp mouths and shakier memories
— Period-perfect newsrooms, dial-up modems, and pay-phone investigations
— Female amateur sleuths who solve the crime and the mystery of themselves
— Dark humor running through page-turning suspense
— Pittsburgh as a character: gritty, smart, secret-keeping
The Critic is Book 1 of the Steel City Mysteries — a series of standalone psychological suspense novels set in 1990s Pittsburgh. If you've finished Gone Girl, devoured Sharp Objects, and miss Megan Abbott between releases, start here.
Genre: Mystery
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