Crime Fiction – Judefire33

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 favourite 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.

judefire33 rating

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!

Kimberly G. Giarratano lives in the woods of northeastern Pennsylvania with her husband and small children. She loves politics, podcasts, and British crime dramas.

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Kimberley Giarratano has her own website HERE

You can buy Death of a Dancing Queen HERE

REVENGE
DI Ben Kitto made many enemies in his time working as an undercover officer for the Met police, none more ruthless and calculating than gang leader Craig Travis.
IS WORTH
Travis has longed to make Kitto pay for his role in getting him convicted – and that day has finally arrived. Now, a dark and twisted killer is heading for the Scilly Isles, one who has waited a long time for revenge.
WAITING FOR . . .
With Kitto busy investigating the discovery of a body on the islands and distracted by the imminent arrival of his first child, his defences are down. He has so much to lose.

And Travis will stop at nothing to take it all from him.

I’m a huge fan of Kate Rhodes Isles of Scilly, DI Ben Kitto series and always wait eagerly for the next installment. So as soon as The brutal Tide was published it was in my basket!

Now if you’ve never read the Ben Kitto Locked Island Mysteries, then, where have you been!? Seriously they are simply tremendous. Kate Rhodes is an absolutely accomplished and fabulous writer. She has created a wonderful cast of characters that live on the small island of Bryher one of the Scilly Isles off the coast of Cornwall, UK. You really need to read the series in order as there is a back story with Ben Kitto that’s been running throughout the series and it impacts on The Brutal Tide.

Kate Rhodes says that the Isles of Scilly are one of her favorite places in the world, having spent many holidays there when she was a child. And the thing is that love comes out in the writing, the books are so visceral in their descriptions of the Islands and they come with a map! I’m a massive fan of maps in books, it always helps me to visualize where the story and action are taking place, please keep putting maps in your books authors!

I always find Kate’s books super easy to read, which means i whizz through them ( which is so annoying!) but having now read all 6 I can safely say that each one is different and each one has a brilliantly scripted plot. the brutal Tide kicks off with someone from the past and is told from two points of view, but it works extremely well, and with each page the tension starts to get bigger and bigger.

The plot is gripping, slick, and tense, and made me scream “Oh No” several times at the climactic ending sequences! But the ending of The Brutal Tide was fantastic and awesome but I’m not telling you why…Buy the book!!

As always another 5-star read from an author who seemingly cannot put a foot wrong!

Kate Rhodes is a crime novelist and award winning poet. Kate was born in south London but now lives in Cambridge with her family. She studied English at university and did a wide range of jobs including working in bars, being a theatre usherette, and teaching at a liberal arts college in Florida, before focusing on her writing.

Her latest crime novels are the acclaimed HELL BAY series set in the Isles of Scilly. Kate has been passionate about the islands since holidaying there as a child and still returns for regular visits. Books in the series include HELL BAY, RUIN BEACH, and BURNT ISLAND.

Kate’s bestselling ALICE QUENTIN series includes CROSSBONES YARD, A KILLING OF ANGELS, THE WINTER FOUNDLINGS, RIVER OF SOULS, BLOOD SYMMETRY, and FATAL HARMONY.