Trouble in Queenstown starts at a simmer, but when Vandy’s investigation gets going, it reaches a full boil.” –The New York Times Book Review
“[Vandy Myrick] is a perfect fit for her new career as a private eye.” –The Washington Post
“The story flies. Pitts’s prose strikes a sophisticated balance between elegance and energy, with a description of Queenstown as a blend of “American Revolutionary severity and antebellum frippery” coming only pages after a cracking bar brawl.” –Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“[A] promising start of a series.” –Shelf Awareness
“Danger, thrills, and intrigue meld in this tale.” –Woman’s World
“Readers will fall in love with [Vandy Myrick] . . . I can't wait to read the next one!” –WYSO Radio
"A standout series launch . . . With an indelible lead and a richly rendered setting, Pitts sets this series up for success. Readers will be eager for the next installment." –Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A darkly atmospheric debut whose heroine just might want to reconsider her decision not to carry a gun next time." –Kirkus Reviews
"Vandy is a realistic, tough woman who refuses to quit, and her inner thoughts are fun to read. Although this is a mystery novel, it also deals with grief, race, classism, and family." –Booklist
“Intriguing.” –Library Journal
“Delia Pitts’s best work to date. . . a novel of dualities—on one hand, it feels like a lighter traditional mystery series, but buried in its depths is a pattern of social inequity that is anything but a laughing matter. This tonal divergence is challenging to handle, but Delia Pitts makes it look easy." –BOLO Books
“Offers everything that fans of detective fiction are looking for. . . Pitts has written a strong narrative that ricochets from Vandy’s tragic past to her gutsy present, keeping readers totally engaged to the very last page…and eager for more.” –First Clue
"Awesome." –CrimeReads
“A compelling mystery, full of sizzle and heart." —Steph Cha
“Delia Pitts’s writing is explosive, addictive, and downright beautiful, and her PI, Evander ‘Vandy’ Myrick, is perfection: fierce, sexy, self-aware, and as smart as a slap. Get this book now.” –Jess Lourey
"Vandy Myrick is officially my new favorite PI. A character-driven, furiously entertaining mystery from the first page to the last. A fantastic start to a sizzling new series." –Jennifer Hillier
“Practically leaps off the page to grab you by the throat. What a masterful writer. What a ride, what a PI, what a book. Welcome to Queenstown, folks. More, please!” —Tracy Clark
“Starts off with a bang and draws you in more and more with each passing chapter . . . I already can’t wait for Vandy’s next case.”—Kellye Garrett
“Evander ‘Vandy’ Myrick is the beating heart of this story–a bold, kick-ass private eye. I’m all in—I’d follow Vandy anywhere.” —Samantha Jayne Allen
04/01/2024
It's hard enough to be a Black woman cop, but then Vandy Myrick's world was shattered, spurring her to move back to her hometown of Queenstown, NJ, to become a private investigator. In one of her many divorce cases, Leo Hannah, the mayor's nephew, asks Vandy to spend a week following his wife, Ivy. He gives her several reasons: she might have a lover; he's thinking about a divorce; she has a stalker; no, maybe Leo is the one with the stalker. The morning Vandy is to turn in her report to Leo, she walks in on a tragedy at his house. There's a dead man on the floor, Ivy is dying, and Leo says he killed the stalker, a Latino taxi driver. The police quickly close the case because the mayor wants it resolved. But Vandy has two paying clients who want to know the truth behind the deaths. Her loved ones and her life are threatened, but she's determined to find the answers in a murder case that reeks of racism and political corruption. VERDICT The author of the "Ross Agency Mysteries" introduces another damaged character in an intriguing private eye story that examines family and roots.—Lesa Holstine
Narrator Bahni Turpin showcases her award-winning talent in the first installment of this series, breathing life into its diverse characters. Vandy Myrick, a newly minted private investigator, believes she's taken on a straightforward infidelity case. Instead, she becomes entangled in a complex web of crimes involving murder, betrayal, racism, and political corruption. Turpin expertly conveys Vandy's courage and the emotional struggles that drive her, capturing every nuance of her inner conflict. Turpin masterfully distinguishes among characters of different genders, ages, and ethnic backgrounds, ensuring that each voice is distinct and authentic. Thanks to Turpin's performance, those willing to suspend disbelief around some of the police procedures and coincidences that move the plot will experience an engaging listen from start to finish. E.Q. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
2024-05-04
Pitts launches a new series with an apparently routine case for a Black New Jersey private eye that morphs into another case, and then another and another, as she struggles to keep up with its twists and turns.
Leo Hannah, deputy head of research at ArcDev Pharmaceuticals and the unofficial prince of Queenstown, wants Evander Myrick to follow his wife because he’s convinced she’s in danger. Except she isn’t; he really wants Vandy to follow Ivy Mae Hannah because he thinks she’s cheating on him. His worries are soon ended by an episode at his home that leaves Ivy dead along with Hector Ramírez, the intruder who Leo says was beating her to death when Leo shot him. None of this smells right to Vandy, and the fact that Leo’s aunt, Josephine Hannah, has been the mayor of Queenstown forever just makes it smell worse. So she’s fine to take on a new client—Ivy’s father, Professor Samuel Decker—who hires her to prove that Leo killed his daughter, and still another client, Hector’s sister, 16-year-old Ingrid Ramírez, who hires her to clear her brother’s name. Unsurprisingly, there turns out to be trouble aplenty in Queenstown, and it reaches deep into the mayor’s office. The surprise is how closely it’s connected to Vandy’s own family, especially to her father and namesake, a former cop who’s now in a nursing home where you’d think he’d be entitled to a much quieter life than his author has planned for him.
A darkly atmospheric debut whose heroine just might want to reconsider her decision not to carry a gun next time.
