Death of a Dancing Queen

Billie Levine #1

by Kimberly G. Giarratano

After her mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Billie Levine revamped her grandfather’s private investigation firm and set up shop in the corner booth of her favorite North Jersey deli hoping the free pickles and flexible hours would allow her to take care of her mom and pay the bills. So when Tommy Russo, a rich kid with a nasty drug habit, offers her a stack of cash to find his missing girlfriend, how can she refuse? At first, Billie thinks this will be easy earnings, but then her missing person's case turns into a murder investigation and Russo is the detective bureau’s number one suspect.

Suddenly Billie is embroiled in a deadly gang war that’s connected to the decades-old disappearance of a famous cabaret dancer with ties to both an infamous Jewish mob and a skinhead group. Toss in the reappearance of Billie’s hunky ex-boyfriend with his own rap sheet, and she is regretting every decision that got her to this point.

Becoming a P.I. was supposed to solve her problems. But if Billie doesn’t crack this case, the next body the police dredge out of the Hudson River will be hers.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Jewish, Adult, Audiobook

344 pages, Paperback

First published February 14, 2023

About the author

Kimberly Giarratano is an author of mysteries for teens and adults. Her debut novel, Grunge Gods and Graveyards, won the 2015 Silver Falchion Award for Best YA at Killer Nashville. A former librarian, she is currently an instructor at a SUNY Orange County and the chapter liaison for Sisters in Crime. Born in New York and raised in New Jersey, Kim and her husband moved to the Poconos to raise their three kids amid black bears and wild turkeys. While she doesn’t miss the Jersey traffic, she does miss a good bagel and lox.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Billie Levine is a 24-year-old unlicensed P.I. who's trying to take over her grandfather's firm. She's now been tasked with investigating the disappearance of a college student, a case that has eerie parallels to the murder of an exotic dancer thirty years earlier

There's an awful lot going on here: Billie's mother suffers from early onset Alzheimer's, and requires more care than Billie and her brother can offer, her grandfather is an unreliable alcoholic, her on-again-off-again boyfriend is connected to a crime family, not to mention the two mysteries set decades apart. All of the family drama takes away from the pacing of the crime-solving bits, and makes the book seem bloated, and a bit slow. I'm hoping that most of this is just exposition, and further entries will be a bit tighter.

I like the idea of such a young protagonist, and on the whole this is a good, solid whodunnit. My rating is 3.5 as the book lays the groundwork for a promising series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Angry Robot for sharing.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 Stars
Video Review: https://youtu.be/8aypeWnDz9I
This novel gave me serious Veronica Mars As one of my all time favourite TV shows, that was a wonderful treat. Yet despite being another story about precocious young female PI, Billie is not a copycat of Veronica. This book never felt like fanfiction or a ripoff. It completely holds it on.

For me, the main character of Billie was enough to make me love this novel. Yet, beyond her, this story provides a compelling mystery. I honestly wanted to know what happened to this missing woman. The book presents several plausible paths and I found myself guessing and second guessing right until the end.

Overall I really enjoyed this mystery thriller and would highly recommend it to any reader who shares my love for an amateur sleuth character. I sincerely hope we get more books in this series.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

I review books on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheShadesofOrange

[bookishcharli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want all the books that contain a strong, sassy, intelligent female MC please and thank you. When I started this one I knew it would be a quick read for me (because I didn’t want to put it down) but life got in my life so I kept having to stop and start it. The good news? I wanted to dive straight back into it every time I had to put it down, because that’s how dang good this book is. The characters were all really well developed and I found their different layers and complexities to be very intriguing, especially as I sometimes found it difficult to figure out if I could trust them.

If you’re looking for a great thriller then please please PLEASE pick this one up. I want to read every book from this author as soon as possible.

Thank you so much to Datura for sending me a proof of this incredible book.

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Death of a Dancing Queen.

Great title and premise had me hooked so I was excited when my request was approved.

** Minor non-dancing spoilers ahead **

Billie Levine is an unlicensed PI working under the auspices of her grandpa.

We soon learn life's not easy when she's hired to find out what happened to a missing college student, Jasmine, as well as dealing with a mother with early Alzheimer's, a brother with mental illness, and a highly functioning alcoholic grandfather.

And I haven't even included her on-again, off-again mobster boyfriend, Aaron, Nazis and feuding mob wars.

I found Bille relatable, even sympathetic, but the narrative didn't draw me in as much as I had hoped, mostly because there's so much going on.

Jasmine's death is linked to a 30 year-old cold case of a stripper named Starla Wells and when Billie digs her nose in that direction, she uncovers startlingly new information.

There's a ton of shady and supporting characters involved, most of them unlikable, and I couldn't care less about mob wars and the dirty dealings these reprobates had gotten themselves into.

You can also find the most popular of all book tropes here, namely how hot Billie's ex is.

Aaron is charismatic, handsome, and 'oozes sex,' Billie's exact words.

I found the narrative between Jasmine's case and Starla's cold case a bit confusing since there are so many characters involved, as well as clues and details being tossed around.

I did like how Billie ties up all the loose ends; she's smart, determined, and capable, though I could have done without the added drama of her on-off boyfriend, Aaron, I have to remind myself she's only 24.

Despite the anti-Semitism and white supremacist characters, there's POC and LGBTIQA+ representation in the story.

There's also a potentially triggering scene where a person self harms though the violence is off-screen.

Death of a Dancing Queen wasn't bad; it had a decent main character, but I wasn't a fan of the mystery and supporting characters.

[Katrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Billy Levine is my kind of PI - wicked smart, sassy, and resourceful as hell. Fast paced and full of twists, I could not put this one down. Please, God, let there be a sequel.

[Kate Moretti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Billie Levine is the best kind of MC -- smart, resourceful, tough, flawed, but with a strong moral compass and driven by the need to care for her mother with Alzheimer's. All the characters here are well-drawn and complicated, including the Bergen County, NJ setting. I love mystery stories where the good guys end up being bad and the bad guys sometimes worse and you never know who to trust. Dancing Queen had this in spades. I am anxiously waiting Book #2!

[Tessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the freshest, most fun PI novels I’ve ever read. Giarratano writes with humor and heart to deliver a one-of-a-kind investigator and a sophisticated mystery. A knockout series debut.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am always excited to start a new series and especially happy when I find a new favorite! Death of a Dancing Queen is definitely going to be a series that I continue because I loved it. We are following private investigator Billie who is having a rough time. Her mother has recently been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s, and Billiehas taken it upon herself to do everything that she can to ensure that her life does not end up the same way.

She is asked to look into the disappearance of Tommy Russo‘s girlfriend, Jasmine, who has not been seen for several days. Tommy, who is clearly a drug addict, insists that he had nothing to do with her disappearance, and that she never would have left without telling him. What follows is a high-octane mystery that takes us from crime bosses to strip clubs all the way back again. I loved Billie, I thought that she was a fantastic character and I was rooting for her the entire time. I really enjoyed her family and friends. I even liked Aaron who I’m not sure that we’re supposed to like him but I did. I look forward to reading more in the series and to get back with Billie and all of the crew.

I was gifted this copy by Kaye publicity for an honest review. All of these opinions on my own.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hi, I received an Arc of Death of a Dancing Queen from Netgalley. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.

Billie Levine is juggling the care of a mother, Shari, with early-onset Alzheimer and being a PI under the supervision of her grandfather. Her brother struggles with mental-health issues, but is in a good place at the moment. While the family is buckling under the strain of caring for Shari, they're also struggling financially.

Billie is hired to find a client's missing girlfriend, Jasmine Flores, and this becomes -- shocker -- a murder investigation. We're also introduced to a second mystery involving a case Jasmine, a true crime fan and podcaster, was obsessed with.

While investigating, Billie interacts with wealth, privilege, organized and unorganized crime, racism, bigotry, and an ex included in the organized crime category. Some trusted people turn out to be unworthy of the trust.

While I loved certain aspects of this story, and definitely want to check in with Billie Levine going forward, this didn't rise to the level of great or classic for me. If you're looking for a mystery with a strong sense of family and community that very well could to be a gateway to a series that promises to be amazing, I recommend this book.

I'm 16 books into another series where I had very similar feelings about the first book, and now I'm obsessed and it's my favorite series of all time, and I feel we're in similar territory here -- where the series needs time to expand of the world, characters, and themes.

Billie is a terrific character, and so relatable. Her mother's decline constantly preys on her in not just the slow losing of a beloved parent, but what it might mean for her own future. She's a clever, independent woman who feels those qualities might come with a not-t00-distant expiration date. There's a constant low hum of her making decisions based on what she thinks might help her avoid this fate. Billie and Meredith Grey would have a lot to say to each other.

I know there are other Jewish heroines in modern fiction, but I love this portion of her character, how it grounds her, and the dimension it adds to how she navigates the world. And how these characters respond to her. Needless to say, expect moments of overt antisemitism and microaggressions.

Dancing Queen also contains multiple examples of LGBTQIA+ representation, as well as POC rep. I support all of this, but want to mention that in the former category, there was a variation of a line repeated twice that wasn't ideal for me. HOWEVER, this was an advanced reader/reviewer copy, which means nothing was set in stone and it was still in the editing process. The line that bugged me, which wasn't intentionally harmful to begin with, very well might no longer exist. If it does, and if it's not me being nitpicky, is for future readers/reviewers to mention.

With all that I loved, I have to ask myself why I didn't love the entirety more. I think it was the actual mystery/mysteries, where I struggled to keep the characters straight. Billie would recall something that had happened earlier in the book, and I'd have to go back and verify the event had happened. A character would be mentioned by name once early on, and then again late in the story, and I'd have to do a Kindle search to tweak my memory. In a print version, I might have been lost. There was also a thing, that very well might be corrected in the final, where a character had only been known my initials, but then their name was used and everyone acted like they already knew it.

Both mysteries -- Jasmine, and Starla, whose case interested Jasmine -- improved for me toward the end. I particularly liked the revelations in the Starla case. There's a part of me that wishes the story had been more about Starla.

Billie goes through a lot in this book, both at home and one the case. She witnesses an act of self-harm involving a gun that's very tough to contemplate. While it's not graphic, the author definitely paints a picture for your mind to fill in some blanks. Please be careful if this is a tough area for you.

My goal in doing reviews is to (hopefully thoughtfully) discuss books. Reviewing is subjective, and my like of this book, might be love for the book when you read it, and if my review helps you find that beloved book, I'm thrilled. I'm definitely planning to follow this series, which I hope has a good, long run!

[Robert Intriago · Rating 3 out of 5]


A nice and procedurally simple mystery. Belinda Levine, Billie, is a recent college graduate that goes to work for her grandfather’s detective agency. She then is hired by a rich junky to find his girlfriend, Jasmine. The missing girl is from Honduras and goes to college during the day while working as a pole dancer in the evenings. A nice story that in some ways reminds me of the YA novels by Holly Jackson. The writing is good, the characters average and the plot entertaining.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death of a Dancing Queen Earns 5+/5 Diamond Jewelry… Compelling & Intense Gem!

It’s 1991, and Starla Wells fingered the jewel hanging from her neck. It was her ticket out of the strip joint in which she worked and into a place of her own. She had dreams. She wasn’t just a floozy with a manufactured figure. But, the shadow, the argument, and the knife brought nothing but darkness and an end to her dream.

“30ish years later …” Tommy Russo, a rehab failure, wants to hire “Call me Billie,” Levine to find his girlfriend. He’d been given Billie’s name by Nicole Mercier from Kentwell College, where he lives and may or may not regularly attend classes, and since Billie trusted her friend enough and the kid surprisingly had the upfront retainer, she started preliminary case notes: Jasmine Flores, Honduran, document status unknown, no obvious drug habit, partners in a true crime podcast, and employed as a stripper at the Malta’s Club. Billie hopes Jasmine is just ghosting Tommy, but she’s not discounting a possible ICE detention, an escape to visit family, or Tommy just setting up a defense in her disappearance. But, while having a quiet drink with her friend Detective Esteban Morales, she learns a body has been discovered. It’s Jasmine. It’s murder.

Billie had already discovered many curious connections that by themselves could be evidence of motive. Jasmine and her college roommate, dubbed The Murder Girls, research past and present murders presenting the details and their conclusions on a podcast. One murder of Jasmine’s interest is a thirty-year-old death of a stripper who had worked at the same joint as she: coincidence? The Malta’s Club is owned by a well known criminal organization who are well known by the Levine family. Jasmine tried to get Tommy into rehab, again, but his family was resistant, against their relationship, and suspicious she’s only out to capitalize on the Russo family’s fortune. Tommy’s addiction had him running afoul of a Neo-Nazi group whose base of operation just happens to be where Jasmine’s body was discovered. Random details or did any of this result in Jasmine’s murder?

PI Gem! Kimberly Giarratano grabbed my attention with the first chapter and didn’t let go as she weaves details of a murder in which Billie becomes deeply embroiled and one from long ago with direct and indirect connections to a Jewish crime family, the Torn Cross Neo-Nazi group, and a very wealthy family experienced in getting what they want. Setting the drama in New Jersey highlights the dynamic within communities that tend to be similar to that of small towns with their close knit perspectives where the criminal element often lives right down the street from those trying to protect and serve. Lives overlap through business and personal relationships which adds a fascinating and complicated element. The victim”s story creates its own questions that adds another layer to the investigation: her interests, her family, her passion, her involvement in many groups on campus. The intricacies of the details, the often “oh, my” revelations and connections, intense predicaments, and additional felonies uncovered made this a “couldn’t put down” experience, and a candidate for my top reads of 2023.

Giarratano’s writing has an entertaining style with descriptive language, a third-person narrative, and a no holes barred depiction of this community with its language and adult themes. Billie is a strong-willed, intelligent young woman with a reasonably solid moral compass; she, like many of us, lives with more gray areas than just black and white, and this dilemma is an engaging element. The family dynamic, too, is realistically portrayed with each family member struggling with their own lifestyle choices, addictions, disappointments, and desires, and including the devastating impact to the family when a loved one is shackled with Alzheimer’s adds a fascinating layer to the drama. I like a little romance or sexual tension in my mysteries, too, and in Billie’s life there are two, but obviously opposites with some factors that don’t fair well for a long-time connection: the “bad boy” may be too bad for a girl looking to champion right and the “good guy” has a good guy focus that may step on her toes and kill the mood. It’s totally compelling and highly recommended!

Disclosure: I received an ARC from Angry Robot thru NetGalley. My review is voluntary with honest insights and comments.

[Shannon Miz · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, I tend to shy away from PI/murder mystery books, mostly because I generally find them to be a bit formulaic. But I have loved the author's other books, so I knew I wanted to read this one, of course. And I am so happy to report that it not only met, but exceeded my expectations- not just as a murder mystery book, but as a book in general! Now, I will attempt to tell you why without spoilers. Because it's a mystery book guys, we need to keep it all unspoiled!

►BILLIE. Look this needs caps, because I freaking love Billie with my whole damn heart. She is curmudgeonly at times, sure. But if you ask me, that makes her all the more likable, because she feels so real. You know she has flaws, she knows she has flaws, but she's awesome anyway. She is a tough cookie, of that there is no doubt, but I love when she finds ways to be more vulnerable. She undergoes a ton of personal growth during the book too, which I loved.

►The family rep is incredible. Billie's family is like yours and mine, and by that I mean messed up but still there for each other. Billie and her brother have been sharing the increasingly heavy load of caring for their mom, who has early onset Alzheimer's. (I kind of want to make a whole bullet point about how heartwrenching the entire mom storyline is, but instead I am just going to write about it here and tell you it really gives the book an extra emotional "oomph" that I really enjoyed.) So, they bicker, as siblings do, because while they both love their mom and each other, they are also whole entire adults with jobs and lives and stuff, and that is hard. Caring for a parent is no joke. They do have some help from their grandfather, who is quite a character. I found him wildly entertaining, and even though he too has his flaws, you can tell he's one of the good ones.

►The mystery(ies) is very entertaining and exciting! I was super invested in Billie and her family, it's true, but I also absolutely wanted to know what happened in our murder(s)! There are some current crimes happening, and then while investigating these, Billie finds herself knee deep in some old, unsolved cases. OH! And some mobs are involved! I don't know much about those guys but they scare the bejeezus out of me. We're lucky Billie is brave, and also has grown up with them, and also still kiiiind of maybe harbors feelings for one of them.

►North Jersey is basically a whole character in the novel. While not from North Jersey myself, being a neighbor means that I have known loads of people who are from there. And it is certainly on point, from what I know of it! Not only that, the author does a fabulous job of really making you feel like you're there, no matter if you knew about it before reading or not.

►There is more Billie to come! I mean, don't take my word for it, you can read a short bit about the next in the series here! I cannot wait to be back with Billie, her fam, and her (quite literal, in some cases) partners in crime(fighting).

Bottom Line:  I love a badass but loveable main character. I love a good mystery. I love a heartfelt story. This has all three, in spades.

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

[Janet Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a huge fan of Laura Lippman’s series about a female PI working in Baltimore, I read the description of Death of a Dancing Queen with interest and decided to give it a try, hoping it might offer something similar.

Death of a Dancing Queen follows Billie Levine, a woman in her early twenties trying to balance caring for her mom (who has early onset Alzheimer’s) with taking over her grandfather’s PI business. But when a seemingly simple case - the disappearance of a local college student - starts to implicate those closest to her, Billie has some tough decisions to make.

Touching lightly on a range of contemporary issues, Death of a Dancing Queen was a compelling and well written mystery, with excellent characterisation and some great twists. I’ll certainly keep an eye out for what I hope will be further books in the series.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the chance to read and review.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun, fast paced read about Billie Levine, a young college grad who takes on her grandfather’s private detective business to keep her mother’s medical bills afloat. What starts as a missing person case snowballs in to much more, and soon murder and the mafia are involved. The mystery itself was just okay, but I loved the characters and family dynamics. Really hoping this becomes a series! Thank you to NetGalley for a chance to read and review this book.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you like black and white cookies? Turkey on rye? Fair-play mysteries that you can solve if you're smart and attentive to detail? Death of a Dancing Queen combines the trappings of a Golden Age mystery (yes, the detective gathers the suspects in a room to reveal the solution) with ultra-contemporary sensibilities: aspiring private investigator Billy Levine balances her work with caring for her mother, dipping into podcasts, and avoiding (or not) her ex. Finding the local ne'er-do-well's missing girlfriend might not seem like an exciting job, but when a connection emerges to a 1990s cold case - a stripper brutally murdered, her valuable diamond stolen - Billy's all in.

Set in Bergen County, NJ with plenty of local references, Jewish humor, and relatable characters, Giarratano's first adult mystery is also the debut title of Angry Robot's new crime fiction imprint Datura Books. Come for the clues and the leads; stay for the second chances.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun, fast paced PI novel! Billie is smart, funny and relatable. You won’t want to put this one down. Give me more Billie Levine!

[Lata · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good start to what I hope is an ongoing series.

Billie Levine is an unlicensed Private Investigator (P.I.) taking over for her retired PI grandfather. She's twenty-four years old, and trying to manage work with caring for her mother, who suffers from early onset Alzheimer's disease. Billie's older brother and nurse, David, works nights so he can watch their mother while Billie investigates during the day.

Her latest case comes from a drug addicted, wealthy young man, Tommy Russo, who wants Billie to find his missing girlfriend Jasmine Flores. She's a college student who has an incredibly busy life, including studying criminology, providing security escorts for campus students, working with a true crime obsessed group on campus, and researching and running her own true crime podcast.

Billie quickly discovers that Jasmine's latest research project is a case from many years earlier of a local unsolved murder of a burlesque dancer. When Billie digs further into Jasmine's life and the dead dancer's, she finds the cases are linked, as well as part of an ongoing conflict between two local crime families, one of which whose second son Aaron is Billie's former boyfriend.

There is a lot going on in this debut, from all of the Levine family drama (she and David argue frequently over their mother's care, their grandfather is an alcoholic whose care of his ailing daughter is unreliable, Aaron is back in town and distracting Billie, Tommy's drug dealers (and white supremacists) are getting increasingly adamant that they be paid back, the two crime families are still trying to get the better of each other, etc)

Billie makes a good protagonist, unwilling to surrender her increasingly erratic mother's care to strangers, and smart and tenacious after the truth. Her judgment is also compromised every time Aaron's near, and the cops don't want her looking into Jasmine's death, particularly as it has agitated the balance between the two crime families.

I liked that there were enough suspects and motives to keep me eagerly reading and I really hope there are more Billie Levine cases coming.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Datura for this ARC in exchange for my review.

[Barbara Hackel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific book that balances personal and family issues with a job that may literally be the death of Billie Levine, PI in training. This was a riveting book that opened in 1991 with a murder of an exotic dancer. Thirty years later, Billie is trying to solve another murder tied into that one. Many of the players in the first crime and investigation are still around, and Billie already has ties to several of them.
An intense plot was smoothly divided between past and present, Billie's family issues and the investigation, and people in her family and periphery. There was also a sharp angle of neo-Nazi skinheads and Jewish hatred and conflicts in her world.
To say I was riveted, mesmerized, or captivated is almost too simplistic and mild. This may have been a work of fiction, but the details and circumstances were carefully researched. I was invested in the theories and research that Billie completed, and nearly forgot that it was fictional. The author flawlessly evaded the line between fact and fiction to write a book that should receive acclaim and place it on the Best Seller List.
This book deserves more stars than I can give it. It was amazing.

I wish to thank Datura Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and voluntarily express my opinions.

[Kate Hergott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is absolutely one of my favorites of 2023. Think the darkness of Jessica Jones, some of the levity of Veronica Mars, with a constantly shifting murder mystery in the midst of multiple mobs. I absolutely devoured this one, and if you love sharp PIs, cold cases, shifting allegiances and sexy exes, this is a thriller you have to get!

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book hooked me. Right away I was intrigued and quickly I was sucked in and couldn't stop thinking about the story. Gritty, dangerous, and so so good! This mystery was actually entangled in a few other other complicated storylines and it always kept me guessing as Billie tugged on the threads and got in deeper and deeper. And Billie wow what a likable (even if she doesn't try to be) MC sleuth! I want to read more and more stories about her, her sleuthing AND her personal life. So many times with her family, this story really had me emotional because the writing was so vivid and so good. The ending was just perfectly done and I appreciated how it all came together.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was a page turner for sure and has some unexpected twists I didn't see coming. Not a typical writing style I would normally read, but found it quite enjoyable.

[Lynn G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the mystery, Death of a Dancing Queen , this Wyoming gal took her first trip to New Jersey, and it was a memorable one!

Giarratano’s writing put me right there, right in each gritty scene with newbie P.I. Billie Levine, as she navigates her complicated life. Great characterization was delivered in lively segments. Along with the investigative work, this story includes a poignant portrayal of a family trying to deal with a parent’s Alzheimer’s disease with lots of love but few resources.

Now I just need to find some place to try some half sours and knishes!

[Matilda Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who rarely reads mystery/P.I. books, I have to say that Death of a Dancing Queen may have made me a fan of this genre. This book was fantastic! The writing style was perfectly paced, the characters were fully formed, and the plot had me guessing right up to the end.

Billy Levine is a P.I. in New Jersey, working on a missing person's case when a decades-old murder somehow drops into her lap. She's not thrilled about her new workload, it seems (which I liked, it wasn't like she was looking for a massive case to break open. She just wanted to do her job and get paid, and I get that.) She was very pragmatic about her work, which made me instantly like her. With gangsters, skinheads, an ex-boyfriend, and a hilarious grandpa, Billy has to dig up the truth about a murder that occurred ages ago before she can figure out her current case.

Honestly, what did it for me was the authenticity of Billy's world, from the heartbreaking struggles with her home life and dodgy romantic history to the book's setting. There were a lot of characters in this story, and as much as I enjoyed the central mystery and how it was framed, I truly loved how all their stories interweaved. I'm even wondering what they're doing now. What came next? I hope there's another book in the works because I need to know more about this world.

Overall, I highly recommend it!

[Judefire33 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firstly kind thanks to Caroline at Datura Books for kindly sending me a copy of Death of a Dancing Queen.

From the very first chapter of Death of A Dancing Queen, I was hooked! The novel opens with a brutal murder in 1991, that sets the scene for a gritty, smart and dark thriller that had me absolutely gripped.

Billie Levine is a Private Investigator working for her grandfather’s Agency, she’s not qualified yet but that does not put her off. When she is hired by a local gangster to help find evidence to defend his son Tommy, whose girlfriend was found murdered in a garage where he works, Billie throws herself into the investigation.

I adored Billie, she is tough, smart and at times funny! Her powers of investigation are excellent and she comes across as a natural investigator, her mind just works that way. She gets herself into danger during the investigation and there are some hairy moments, and throughout all of this, we have the background of her and her Brother David trying to care for their Mum who has Early Onset Alzheimers. I loved that in Death Of A Dancing Queen we got to see Billie in her home life and the struggles of looking after someone with Alzheimer’s encounters, it is very well researched and really sat extremely well with the rest of the novel.

The cast of characters was superbly well written, Kim Giarratano is obviously someone who studies people as she has been able to bring a great cast to life within the pages. I did at times find it a little confusing, but I went back and actually write the characters down which helped me, this is not a criticism as it’s probably just me!

There are lots of references to the Jewish faith and culture, as Billie’s family are Jewish, and I found this very interesting, I learnt a lot, which I always find a bonus when reading a novel.

I loved Death Of A Dancing Queen, the way it’s written is almost like one of those old 1950s crime movies I used to watch on a Saturday Afternoon with my mum, but there are emotional scenes and humour thrown in as well. This was a totally refreshing read and a novel that stands out in the crime fiction genre.

A fabulous 5 stars from me, and I cannot wait for book 2!

[Red Ink Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death of a Dancing Queen – Kimberly G. Giarratano



I was given a copy of this book through Net Galley in order to provide an honest review.

Kimberly G. Giarratano is an American author who writes mysteries for teens and adults. She is a former librarian and is currently an instructor at SUNY Orange County Community College and reviews for BookPage.



Bill Levine works for her grandfather’s private investigation firm and does what she can to make ends meet and help her brother care for their mother suffering from Alzheimer's. Life is hard and stressful and most days everything is a constant battle and work is hard to find.

So, when a junkie college kid, Tommy Russo, seeks her out to help find his missing girlfriend, and with wads of cash, thanks to a wealthy family – who is she to pass this job up.

But this quickly turns into something much more than Billie could have bargained for. What should have been a simple case of a girlfriend hiding away until the junkie boyfriend gets the message turns into the cover up of a cold case – the death of a dancing queen.

Which consequently means Billie must deal with her criminal ex – heir to an empire that has become embroiled in her case and with ties to the cold case, the junkie’s girlfriend took upon herself to look into. Now Billie must find out the truth about the death of a dancing queen and why it ended in the murder of an innocent girl – all while keeping herself and her family afloat. Easier said than done when everyone has secrets they are trying to keep buried.



“Death of a Dancing Queen” is a riveting crime thriller that grabs a hold of you as soon as you turn the first page and won't let you go until you’ve turned the last one. This whole story from start to finish was a tragically beautiful tale. Billie is a relatable character that I really felt for, the struggles she was going through, how hard she was punishing and pushing herself. The case really seemed to bring up a lot of personal struggles, so it was good to see her work through it and uncover the truth. And the story of the dancer that was tragically murdered all those years ago was just absolutely heartbreaking – it was really something to see the truth come out the way it did after all the time that had passed.

[Jamedi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review originally published on Jamreads

Death of a Dancing Queen is a fast-paced thriller, written by Kimberly G. Giarratano, and published by Datura Books. In this novel, we are going to be following Billie Levine's adventures after rehabilitating her grandparent's PI firm, as she needs to find a job with flexible hours, due to the necessity of taking care of her mother with early Alzheimer's; a complete novice in the field, but she can't refuse when Tommy Russo, a rich kid, offers her a big pay for investigating her girlfriend's disappearance.

An easy task, she thought, without being aware that investigating this case will put her in the middle of a gang war, involving a Jewish mob and a group of skinheads. A case that will bring her to revolve around a case that happened decades ago, and that involved her own grandparent.

Billie (Belinda) herself is a great character, a person who has basically got into the investigation because she needs a job she can do while taking care of her mother; representing well what many familiars of that kind of patients, having to alternate their own lives with what becomes almost a full-time job itself. Billie is intelligent and brilliant enough to solve the case, but at the same time, she hasn't received the formation to deal with the problems of being a PI, especially when the case starts escalating.
The rest of the cast is pretty diverse, as Billie gets forced to enter into contact with both extremes of society, including a skinhead band she suspects might be related to Tommy Russo.

Pacing is frenetic, not having a single dull moment, becoming for moments a little bit to follow; but honestly, it works quite well in this genre. There are some themes that I feel could be benefited from a slower pace (such as the reasons behind the Dancing Queen's assassination), but overall, is a great novel.

Death of a Dancing Queen has been quite enjoyable to read, a perfect thriller that has made its work at researching some of the Jewish communities in the States. Hopefully, Billie Levine will return as a character at some point, because I grow quite fond of her.

[Book.ishJulie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read and loved Harriet The Spy while growing up, and Death Of A Dancing Queen by Kimberly G. Giarratano feels a bit like the grown-up version of that book, mixed with Nancy Drew!

Billie Levine is a Jewish private investigator in-training, taking over her grandfather’s firm. When a dancer goes missing, Billie's services are sought out to locate her, and of course, all fingers point to Jasmine's drug addicted boyfriend. You may be thinking that this is a typical mystery novel, but there is a lot more than what meets the eye here. This suspense is a novel that focuses on strip clubs, gangs, and the Jewish mob while handling early-onset Alzheimer’s and bi-polar disorder with grace and representing the LGBTQ+ community along the way.

I love the moxie that Billie has. She knows that sexism exists and that there is a double standard being a female, but at times, she uses it to her advantage. Although she is only twenty-four years old, she’s had to grow up much sooner than she should, because of the concerns of close family members; this also means her young self and voice didn’t annoy me due to immaturity.

I’m not sure I have ever read a book in which I am as invested in all the subplots as much as I am in the main plot. The characters are beyond fleshed out, with real-world problems – and I keep having to remind myself that they’re not real. Even still, I can't stop thinking about this family!

This mystery would make an incredible TV series, and I’m really hoping Giarratano creates a multi-book series for Billie, as I love her so much and want to read more ASAP!

For fans of Razorblade Tears, Agatha Christie mysteries, and the Finlay Donovan series.

Thank you Kaye publicity for the complimentary copy to read and review.

[Ranjini Shankar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good start to a new series. It has a strong, intelligent, competent female lead which is just such a win in my book. The author is still finding their ground with this first book because there’s so much work put into building Billie’s world and developing her as a character and that’s never the interesting part in a murder mystery.

The story follows Billie who is an unlicensed PI investigating the missing girlfriend of a drug addict, Tommy. However as she starts to unravel the mystery she realizes that there’s a lot more in play including the Jewish and Irish gangs, a dance club but even more interestingly, a cold case murder of a dancer 30 years ago.

I enjoyed being in Billie’s head but I had such a hard time keeping all the characters straight. You’ve got two big fangs, each with a large number of people then you have the dance club with its own group of dancers, add in the college amateur detective club, Billie’s friends and family and the list is well into the double digits. In the last chapter they mention someone named Calvin and I honestly had not a clue who that was. I had to really flip all the way back to remember that he was someone mentioned in passing. I think this series will get better with time so I’ll definitely give the next book a go!

[Marcy Sorenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

•♫•♬•𝘿𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝘿𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙚𝙣•♫•♬•

𝙗𝙮 𝙆𝙞𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙂. 𝙂𝙞𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙤

I received this from Datura, in exchange for my honest opinion.

💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻
4/5

This was a different kind of thriller than I’ve read before. I wasn’t too sure at first, but the more I read, the more I got sucked in.

Billie Levine, is 24 years old, and her mother had recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Billie remolded her grandfather’s private investigation firm recently and set up in the corner of her favorite deli, in hopes of making enough to pay her mother’s medical bills.

One day Tommy Russo walked in asking her to find his missing girlfriend. Tommy is a rich kid, and known drug user, but how can she turn down the stack of cash he offered to find his girlfriend?

This case brings Billie in the middle of a deadly gang war. The war had been connected to an old case of a missing dancer, who has ties to both the Jewish mob, as well as a skin head group. Billies ex boyfriend is also missing. There’s so many things happening at once. It did get a bit muddled at times, but overall, and gripping, and exciting read!

Includes
- Young, and strong fmc
- Mysterious
- Twisting and turning
- POC
- LGBT representation

[Kisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this and if you like any kind of detective show I think you would like it too. In Death of a Dancing Queen we follow Billie a rookie P.I hired to find a missing college student, but the case has some eerie similarities to a murder that took place in 1991. There’s a lot going on in Billies personal life and her case just keeps snowballing into something bigger. We have rival gang families, stolen diamonds, returning ex boyfriends and more. I liked Billie as a character and although she made some mistakes (why does she never have backup?!) she was pretty savvy. She’s described as being similar to Veronica Mars, which I haven’t seen but the comparison makes me want to watch it. The overall story did have a lot to it, and a lot of moving pieces but I thought it all wrapped up nicely. Nothing felt too extraneous and I’m excited for the next book now that we have all this groundwork out of the way.

Thanks to Datura Books, NetGalley and Kimberly G. Giarratano for this e-copy!