Deadline for a Critic

"Kienzle's ninth may be hailed as his most complex and finest mystery." —Publishers Weekly

"... good character analysis and a tantalizing story make this one of Kienzle's best." —Library Journal

"As Kienzle addresses serious modern issues, he stops to digress and tell his wonderful stories. He always plays fair with readers, though, providing a neat solution with a twist." —Chicago Tribune

It's curtains for Ridley Groendal. When the performing arts critic for the Detroit Suburban Reporter dies suddenly, insiders know he could have choked on his own rage. Having returned to Detroit from a vituperative career at the prestigious New York Herald, Groendal was known to have destroyed more than a few reputations with his vicious criticism. Was his death an act of revenge?

If so, at least four of his victims had ample motive. Was it Dave Palmer, whose concerts after Groendal's review would forever be heard in a minor key? Was it Carroll Mitchell, whose plays could never again get a serious reading? Was it Charlie Hogan, whose newspaper career was put out with the garbage? Was it Valerie Walsh, who must now look offstage for a dramatic role? Or was it long-time companion Peter Harrison, who may have had his own dark reasons to want Groendal dead?