YA mystery writer Kimberly G. Giarratano (Mean Streaks) enters the adult thriller arena with Death of a Dancing Queen, in which she deftly twists her plot, nonchalantly drops corpses and shrewdly discloses secrets like a pro. Giarratano introduces Billie Levine, a 24-year-old New Jersey private investigator, who doesn't yet have the lauded reputation that her namesake grandfather Billy earned before retiring from investigating. Of course, that's about to change when she's hired by a wealthy college kid to find his missing girlfriend.
Doing her job, though, is no easy feat. Billie has more pressing challenges waiting for her at home: her mother's Alzheimer's is getting worse, she's regularly fighting with her recovering addict brother about their mother's care, and she can't stop her own fears that she's "on a potential crash course to lose her mind at a young age." Her dreams of moving to Barcelona--never mind that she's broke--to write novels must wait. Now she's going to have to face the Jewish mafia; (at least pretend to) appease the entitled rich; and confront drug gangs, skinheads and murder-podcasting groupies. Oh, and maybe solve a 30-year-old homicide, too.
Giarratano inaugurates Datura Books, Angry Robot's crime imprint, with a tenacious rule-breaker surely on the verge of getting her own series. Like her hero, Giarratano takes a straightforward, no-nonsense approach to getting her mysteries solved, though readers shouldn't expect any easy answers. With such success, Billie--and her audiences--should have plenty more chances to take on intriguing new cases. --Terry Hong, BookDragon