Starla Wells lit a cigarette and slipped into the shadows. She pressed a spiked heel against the brick exterior of the building, and her bent knee revealed a slender thigh and a garter belt with a tiny dagger tucked underneath...
***
The Blurb
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.
My Review
I have heard it said that this book is similar to Veronica Mars. I am not familiar with this television series so can not compare. What I can tell you is that this is a very good book and I enjoyed it immensely.
Billie Levine is an excellent character and highly likable. She is 25, feisty and has attitude. She is a Jewish Private Investigator who has taken the business over from her retired grandfather. She lives with him, her brother, David and her mother. Between them they are sharing the care of her mother who has Alzheimers. However, they are struggling but cannot afford to have her cared for in a dedicated facility. This aspect of the story was sad but I suspect that it is a situation which many readers will be familiar.
There is a great plot to this book too with a mystery that Billie is trying to solve. She is trying to locate a missing young woman who is fascinated by true crime. In doing so, she also gets involved in investigating the murder of another young woman years before. The author brings both strands of this story together really well and I was completely gripped by it.
The story involves a Jewish gang and a skinhead Nazi mob. There was so much going on in this book that it made for fast paced and fascinating reading. It was definitely a book which made me play the 'just one more chapter' game which kept me up past my bedtime.
There were many secondary characters all of which were well portrayed. There were many but I did not get confused by them at any point as the author does a great job in bringing both characters and plot together.
I am thrilled that this is the first in a three book series. I am looking forward to spending more time with Billie.
If you like the sound of this book you might also enjoy The Redeemer and The Associate both of which are by Victoria Goldman. The title links will take you to my reviews.
Book Details
ISBN: 978 1915202420
Publisher: Datura Books
Formats: e-book, audio and paperback
No. of Pages: 344 (paperback)
Purchase Links
About the Author
Kimberly G. 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 Community College and a reviewer for BookPage. She is also 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.
You can also find Kimberley at:
(book and media courtesy of the publisher)
(all opinions are my own)
(bookshop.org affiliated)
No comments:
Post a Comment