I loved Death of a Dancing Queen, love Kimbely Giarratano's style of writing, and had a lot of fun in reading this follow up.
Well plotted, entertaining, and gripping. Another novel featuring a solid mystery and the right level of irony.
Loved it
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley.

This is the second book in a crime series about a young private investigator who has taken over her grandfather’s firm. I enjoyed the second book more than the first book, the mystery seemed more cohesive and our characters more established.

This story centres around stolen art. Our main character Billie finds herself embroiled in a murder case and the desire of the deceased’s daughter to find the creator of a piece of art her father had left to her.

This was quite an interesting case and stems over many years. The more Billie uncovers the more mysteries jump up that need to be solved. At the same time she’s dealing with family issues and a threat to her boyfriend.

A good addition to this series and an easy to read crime novel.

Excellent novel with a well developed main character who is tough and gritty and relatable and real. The death of a man tied to Nazi Germany with valuable, ill-gotten art hoarded away in a storage unit is a great hook and the immersive writing pulled me in quick. The plot is intriguing and intricate with multiple storylines that tie back and link to future books in the series. This is the second novel in the series, and I didn't realize that when I started reading. I could still follow everything without having read the first novel, but I will be picking up the author's other novels for sure.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the mystery and the uncertainty of everything. It gripped me and once I'd gotten into it, I finished the book in only a couple of days.
~
"Billie wanted to comfort her, but she found she wasn't good at relating to people without making it about herself." I really relate to this quote. I find myself in the same situation regularly, and it's a little frustrating sometimes when people think you're self-centred because of it when truthfully it's just the only way I know how to relate to people.
~
One thing I found to be a challenge with this book was keeping all the characters straight. Maybe this wouldn't have been a problem if I'd have also read the first book where the characters are properly introduced, I don't know. But getting tripped up over the characters didn't lessen my enjoyment of the story.
•
Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC copy of this book.

Devil in Profile, the second book in the Billie Levine mystery series, continues to follow and explore how Billie Levine (the series titular protagonist) handles her complex and complicated personal and professional lives. Although the author does not specify the timeline, that is how much time passed from the events of Death of a Dancing Queen to Devil in Profile, the reader is led to believe that the events of the sequel are not far apart from the 1st book.

This is an interesting situation, especially as the book focuses on how Billie, a woman in her mid-twenties, deals with her recent traumas, her mother's worsening condition, the shaky relationship with her boyfriend and how that relationship affects the rest of the family dynamics while trying to juggle her professional responsibilities. I particularly enjoyed that the author showed how Billie was struggling with stress and anxiety as part of the consequences of her previous case. I was glad the author decided to portray those things on the page, instead of ignoring them or resolving everything off screen.

Compared to the previous book, the plot/case of Devil in Profile is grander in scale, with quite a few big players entering the scene. Although it was intriguing to follow and watch Billie navigate the larger web of crime and deceit, I preferred the smaller scale of Death of a Dancing Queen. It was somehow intimate and fitting to the character. Nonetheless, despite its occasional predictability, the sequel is a gripping and suspenseful mystery. If you enjoyed the first book, the sequel will be an entertaining read..

This book wasn’t for me. I just couldn’t relate to the main character much.
I thought he premise of the plot was promising but when I dove into the book my interest quickly waned.

It's always so much fun to be in Billie Levine's world, and I hope this series continues with a long string of crime-riddled adventures. The sleuthing is fun (and at times intense) as you tag along with Billie, trying to figure out who the killer is before our moxie sleuth. But besides the twists and turns and 'whodunnit' as you follow the trail of clues, Billie's family is my favorite. They aren't perfect, and at times the relationships are messy, but there's still love between them, which makes Billie and her family feel utterly real.

Billie Levine is back! She’s trying to slow things down but taking a break from running her own investigation practice and working under someone else. She’s working small cases, including delivering subpoenas but this lands her in the middle of a murder investigation after she discovers a body. The murder investigation ties into the complex black market art world and her boyfriend winds up being the top suspect.

I thought this was a great follow up to Death of a Dancing Queen. There were a ton of twist and turns in this story, and I liked that we got more insight into Billie. I thought the new characters were interesting but I would have liked to see a bit more from the characters we already knew. I didn’t guess a single thing that unfolded in this story, each reveal was a complete shock to me. I also enjoyed the representation of anxiety and panic attacks, I thought it was very well done. I wasn’t as invested in the crime as I was in the first book but I still liked it. I’m really hoping there will be a third book coming soon

Thanks to NetGalley, Datura Books and Kimberly G Giarratano for this e-ARC

The book was mind blowing, action packed, mysterious and suspenseful. There was a deep mystery and twists and turns were unpredictable. There was

Billie Levine is an investigator and she has a poignant past. She is investigating about the case linked with art and a man who is an art collector is found dead recently and Billie stumbled upon his body. But that’s not it, as soon as she finds the dead body, the mystery gets deeper and messy. Secrets are found in the basement as well and the mystery of stolen art pieces comes in light with revelation of people who were involved in a messy business. Investigating the case not only brought Billie’s life at stake but her boyfriend’s life too. Aaron and Fathima’s characters were mysterious. But the people who were around Billie were even more mysterious than them. The plot twists and unexpected happenings kept me on toes. I liked the author’s writing and I am able to finish this book in one sitting. There were so many secrets, revenge, plot twists and mystery.

This is a crime mystery with historical elements, deceiving characters and murder investigation.

Many Thanks to the Author and Publisher.

Billie Levine is back! The wise-cracking, resourceful and loyal-to-a-fault, unlicensed PI Billie Levine was looking for low-risk, bread and butter work, serving divorce papers and lawsuits so she could support her family, both financially and emotionally. When she stumbles on a dead body trying to serve a litigant in a civil case, she becomes enmeshed in a nasty art theft ring with a Nazi past and dangerous international criminals.
DEVIL IN PROFILE is the sequel to Giarratano’s DEATH OF A DANCING QUEEN, and this book is every bit as twisty, dark and nuanced as the first book. Billie is a heroine you will root for from the first pages until the perfectly-plotted ending. You don’t need to read the first in the series before DEVIL IN PROFILE, but when you finish this book, you’ll find you probably want to go back to it, just so you can hang out longer with Billie.
Thank you to NetGalley and Datura Books for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

Thank you to Datura Books @daturabooks and Netgalley @netgalley for this e-book. All thoughts are my own.

Billie is trying to make some extra cash, so she picks up some hours at another investigative firm. It’s there that she finds a dead body, an art collector who just so happens to have ties to Nazi Germany.

When the cops start to focus on Billie’s boyfriend, as a potential suspect due to his ties to art, Billie starts to dig. Turns out that his stint in Israel left him with more than just a scar…the woman he screwed over wants revenge.

With the detectives focused on her boyfriend, Billie is determined to stop the killer before all the loose ends are tied up, including her.

What a fun book! I read the blurb for this book and hoped that it was okay if I didn’t read the first. Would it have been amazing if I had? Yes, but also, was it amazing even though I didn’t? Also, yes! But now I am going to go back and read the first book in this series. I think that it did take me a little longer to get into because I had some catching up to do, but once I was brought up to speed, boy was it a wild ride! This book had some many great things going for it, and it kept me guessing until the last minute. Literally because it ended on a note that made me want to read the next book in the series, and I don’t know if it has a release date, and I’m not a series reader usually! The writing was very immersive and drew me into the story. Once I was hooked, I didn’t want to put this book down, I even delayed eating dinner for everyone because I was so immersed. I loved everything about this book!

I've been waiting for the chance to revisit Billie Levine, and this follow-up to the excellent DEATH OF A DANCING QUEEN was every bit as clever, witty, and emotionally nuanced as the book that introduced us to the plucky New Jersey P.I. Kimberly G. Giarratano excels at exploring real-world issues with respect and heart, making Billie at once relatable and a character you admire. When faced with a case involving art of dubious origins that bleeds into her personal life, Billie throws herself into the task of righting terrible past wrongs -- danger be damned. This is must-read crime fiction for those who love mysteries that deliver a perfect balance darkness and light.

DEVIL IN PROFILE is a delightful, twisty read featuring a clever heroine with heart that absolutely refuses to quit! Billie Levine--like so many of us--faces challenges in her professional, family, and social life. Unlike the rest of us, she has to deal with an international art heist and mobsters. Although the pacing is flawless, Giarratano truly shines with her characters, writing them so well that you'll finish this book believing you know each of these characters and would recognize them if you passed by on the street...right down to the grumpy detectives. She sensitively handles discussions of mental health, terminal illness, and the impacts both can have on families. There are also some incredibly memorable quotes that feature beautiful writing at the line level. This is easily one of my favorite mysteries so far this year