Queenpin Chronicles

A troupe of swimsuit models on a war bond tour take on the Florida mafia. St. Petersburg, Florida, 1944. Thelma Miles cant stomach injustice. Broke and orphaned near the close of WWII, the 18-year-old joins a troupe of touring swimsuit models hoping for a fresh start, only to discover she's stepped into the mafia's lair. Kathleen Young, desperate to save her business and ailing husband, organizes the tour. But her single-minded focus blinds her to the dangers lurking beneath the surface. L.L. Kirchner's twisty debut novel Florida Girls weaves a rich tapestry of: • Real-life characters and meticulous historical detail • Resilient women fighting to reclaim their place in post-war America • A gripping blend of glamor, crime, and unexpected alliances NYT-bestselling author Jane Heller raves: "Florida Girls is a rollicking debut novel brimming with colorful characters, twists and turns and, at its heart, women who overcome different backgrounds to form an unbreakable bond." With its strong female characters, suspenseful plot, and meticulously researched historical setting, Florida Girls will appeal to fans of Beatriz Williamss immersive historical worlds, Kate Quinns complex heroines, and Elizabeth Gilberts vivid narratives. Perfect for fans of: • Complex, multi-layered narratives • Coming-of-age stories set against historical backdrops • Vivid period details that transport you to 1940s Florida Florida Girls is the first explosive entry in The Queenpin Chronicles series. Follow Thelma and Kathleen as they navigate a rapidly changing world, discovering untapped reserves of strength, brutality, and love. Dive into this world of crime and glamour. Buy Florida Girls today and start your journey with The Queenpin Chronicles!

She wanted a quiet life, something mafia-free. But that was never going to be Thelma Miles's story. St. Petersburg, Florida, 1944. Thelma Miles can't stand injustice. Broke and orphaned near the close of WWII, when the 18-year-old lands a coveted spot on the Florida Girls war bond tour, she believes she's escaped her criminal past. Until she discovers she's stepped into the mafia's lair. Her new boss Kathleen Young is obsessed with climbing the social ladder and only too happy to push Thelma into the oncoming train that is the Florida underworld. Until the former debutante gets caught in the headlamps. The tour is the first in a series of increasingly drastic missteps. They hotfoot it out of town for the national tour, but Tampa's notorious crime boss soon surfaces. When he makes Thelma an offer she can't refuse, the pair forms an unlikely alliance to prove that women can have it all. Between Thelma's intermittent psychic premonitions and Kathleen's terrifying determination, all they have to do is make it to the end of the tour without murdering anyone. Else. Without murdering anyone else. With its strong female characters, suspenseful plot, and meticulously researched historical setting, Florida Girls delivers a historic thriller brimming with moral ambiguity, class mobility, and chosen family themes, making for a satisfying, emotionally-resonant read. NYT-bestselling author Jane Heller says it's, a rollicking debut novel brimming with colorful characters, twists and turns and, at its heart, women who overcome different backgrounds form an unbreakable bond. If you love the immersive worlds of Beatriz Williams, the complex heroines of Kate Quinn, and the dark humor of Gillian Flynn's psychological dramas, you will love the entire Queenpin Chronicles series.

Dangerous secrets unite two women across generations in this immersive historical thriller. Like the gripping intrigue of The Nightingale and the dual-timeline suspense of The Forgotten Garden, L.L. Kirchner's novel reveals a shadow world where determined women outmaneuver the mobsters and g-men who never saw them coming. Havana, 1950. Thelma Miles has carved out a precarious independence running a Havana nightclub and raising her niece when she learns her reporter friend's car has gone over the cliffs off the Pacific Coast Highway. The woman had been on the verge of publishing a groundbreaking exposé. Only Thelma knows the deadly secrets she took with her-secrets powerful men would kill to keep buried. Miami, 1978. Sam Fontana is still reeling from divorce when her father's death leads her to a mysterious envelope left by her mother-investigative reporter Imogene Fuchs-who died in a suspicious "accident" nearly thirty years earlier. What begins as a personal quest to understand her mother's past soon plunges Sam into a shadowy world where the glittering nightclubs of pre-revolution Cuba collide with the corrupt underbelly of 1970s Miami. As their timelines merge, Sam and Thelma find themselves battling the same sinister forces-a lethal mix of organized crime, government conspiracy, and family betrayal. But can they trust each other? Should they? With the stakes escalating, these two fiercely independent women must find a way to work together and expose the truth before the same powerful forces that silenced Imogene Fuchs return to finish the job. Perfect for readers who love their heroines formidable and flawed.

Florida Girls, Vegas Girls, Havana Girls: The Complete Series When a beauty contest becomes a fight for survival, three extraordinary women discover that sisterhood is the deadliest weapon... In 1940s Tampa, a beauty contest becomes a deadly game of survival when three extraordinary women infiltrate the criminal underworld that threatens to destroy them. After setting off on a war bond tour, Thelma Miles and her fellow contestants discover the mob's grip runs deeper than they imagined. These unlikely allies realize their real strength isn't in their looks, but in their cunning, determination, and unbreakable bond as they outmaneuver the dangerous men who underestimate them. From the sun-scorched streets of Tampa to the neon-lit casinos of Las Vegas, the women evolve from pageant contestants into formidable players in a deadly criminal empire. With fearless reporter Imogene Fuchs documenting their rise, they infiltrate high-stakes operations, navigate lethal betrayals, and weaponize the very system designed to exploit them. The saga reaches its explosive climax in revolutionary Cuba, where Thelma orchestrates her most dangerous scheme yet. But when the next generation enters the game and Sam Fuchs investigates her mother Imogene's suspicious death, long-buried secrets spanning three decades threaten to destroy everything these remarkable women have built. This complete collection includes: • Florida Girls • Vegas Girls • Havana Girls Get all three books in this noir crime saga where beauty is the perfect disguise in a world that dismisses women. You can download the prequel here. For more by L.L. Kirchner, check out: • Blissful Thinking: A Memoir of Overcoming the Wellness Revolution

Sometimes what happens in Vegas stays with you Las Vegas, 1945. Reeling from her husband's death, Thelma Miles sets out to tear down a mafia empire. As federal agents circle, rival gangs plot, and her father's empire grows more powerful by the day, Thelma masterminds an elaborate ruse. To pull off the con, she assembles an unlikely crew: a Hollywood starlet who is more than she appears; a relentless reporter on a crusade to root out corruption, and her former boss who may or may not be undermining the whole operation. From smoke-filled backrooms to glittering casino floors, L.L. Kirchner's Vegas Girls is a razor-sharp, meticulously-researched historical thriller with plot twists you won't see coming. Vegas Girls is the suspenseful second book in The Queenpin Chronicles historical fiction series but works as a standalone. If you love the immersive worlds of Beatriz Williams, the complex heroines of Kate Quinn, and crave the intrigue of Hillary Mantel, then you'll love Kirchner's dark exploration of almost-postwar Sin City. Banger ending! Secrets and suspense keep you on the edge of your seat in this drama about power, revenge, and the price we pay for reinvention. Buy Vegas Girls to gamble on grit today.