I really enjoyed this book. It did take me a little bit to get into but the mystery very quickly took off.

I liked that there were different cases and how they all were connected.

I also really liked the main character! She was very relatable and she could kick some butt. I really hope this will be a series because I would love to experience more cases.

This was my first time reading this author and I look forward to reading more of her work. This story is filled with lies, dirty politics, obviously murder, and corruption. Racial disparity plays a significant part also. I really liked the depiction of the ups and downs of dementia. I read this book as well as listened to the audiobook. Thanks NetGalley for the eArc of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this title. This was a fun whodunit story that also tackles hot topics such as race and classism. I enjoyed it.

PI, Vandy, finds herself way more involved in an investigation when the woman she's supposed to be tailing ends up bludgeoned by a supposed stalker.
Of course, she's able to decipher clues that law enforcement can't to solve the murder.
Not gonna lie, things got a little far-fetched towards the end. But Vandy was likable enough and the writing was amusing.
Thanks to #netgalley and #minotaurbooks for this #arc in exchange for an honest review.

“I was horny. After a week-long dry spell, the itch was nagging again.” Not a typical starting point for a private investigator story!

Trouble in Queenstown is a very enjoyable start to a new mystery series featuring a middle-aged Black female private investigator in Central New Jersey. “Vandy” Myrick has had more than her share of troubles; she has recently moved back to her hometown, the fictional Queenstown, to go into business as a PI. She was formerly a police officer in nearby New Brunswick and at Rutgers University. Tragedy has Vandy trying to make a new start in the town where her dad (a former police chief and for whom she’s named - her full name is Evander) is in memory care.

Vandy takes on what seems to be a fairly simple divorce-style case and agrees to follow the wife of a prominent citizen (his aunt is the town’s long-term mayor). But things take a violent turn and that’s when Vandy really has to use her smarts.

I really liked Vandy. She’s a street-smart woman who won’t take any crap from anyone anymore. She’s relationship-averse and prefers very short-term physical relationships over more meaningful ones. All of this impacts how she faces life and investigations. The town itself is sort of a character. Its past includes KKK activity and there’s plenty of remaining racism to go around, including anti-immigrant sentiment that affects the local Latino population.

Being a resident of Central NJ, I particularly loved all the local color. While the town of Queenstown itself is fictional, the general area is not, and I appreciated all the realistic references to nearby locations and roads. I just hate it when I read something that takes place in a location I’m familiar with and the author gets obvious things wrong. That does not happen here.

Another thing I really liked was her depiction of the ups and downs of dementia.

The ending leaves open the possibility of at least a second book featuring Vandy and if that happens, I will be sure to read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book. In addition to reading, I also listened to the audiobook and Bahni Turpin did a great job with the narration. All opinions are my own.

Trouble in Queenstown is the debut mystery by Delia Pitts featuring private investigator Vandy Myrick and is “a powerful mystery that blends grief, class, race, and family with thrilling results.” This was a page-turning, suspenseful mystery that kept me turning the pages. The storytelling is strong and intense and the characters flawed and determined. It is so well done.

Let's talk about Trouble in Queenstown by Delia Pitts! Warning: Once you meet characters like Evander "Vandy" Myrick and the men in her investigations and life, you WILL get attached!

When Vandy takes on client Leo Hannah, the Mayor's nephew for a simple divorce case, it turns into so much more. Two deaths, four investigations, one case. Oh yea, and one badass woman determined to uncover it all.

Mystery and thriller lovers will devour Trouble in Queenstown and be eager for more from Delia Pitts and her cast of characters.

This book is about a woman named Vandy Myrick. She has faced a personal tragedy and her whole world is falling apart. Her daughter has passed, her father is ill and she has returned to her hometown. She is working as a private investigator (after several years in law enforcement) and is hired by a client named Leo to follow his wife and find out if she is cheating on him. But soon after his wife ends up dead. Vandy is thrown into a high speed chase of who did it? Vandy is searching for the truth no matter how much dirt she kicks up.

I absolutely loved the character of Vandy. Her past and present experiences have shaped her life and you can tell. She is determined, has grit and is looking for truth no matter what. This book has your typical twists, lies and deceit but we are throwing in some small town dynamics, abuse of power and racial prejudice. The story is told in first person perspective.

This is my first book by this author and I enjoyed it. Can we also talk about the cover, I absolutely loved it, it is a classic NJ diner! I absolutely love being a rep for the Macmillan Audio Program and this was an excellent audio. The story just seemed to unfold naturally. The narrator did an excellent job at grabbing and holding my attention. Thank you to Mac NetGalley, Minotaur and the author for the opportunity to read this book. My opinions are honest and my own!

3.5 stars. This is 3/4 of a solid mystery novel. Deleting half a star because the end seems especially far fetched.

Special thanks to the author & @minotaurbooks for my advanced copy‼️

This was not a fav the pacing was entirely too slow for me. It was giving grandma 1940’s mystery like nothing about it was really exciting. The writing wasn’t completely bad but at the same time I could’ve DNF’d. Then Evander starting off the book saying she was horny was so stank cause ma’am why lol. Then she was working one case that somehow turned into three yet they were all somehow connected. 

This was just all over the place for me I think the best part of the book was the cover!!! Idk what I was expecting this to be but the author didn’t really deliver like I hoped. I even had the audio and it still didn’t hit maybe I should’ve read it without it. Overall, this was low-grade mid in my opinion but you might like it!!!

Vandy Myrick moved back home to Queenstown, NJ, hoping to heal after the death of a loved one. Encouraged by friends, she took her cop skills and became a private investigator. What started out as a ordinary adultery case, became much more when the subject of her investigation is murdered. The story cleverly moves from client to client while the focus is always the same. Vandy is smart, feisty and doggedly committed to finding the truth. As a black investigator we see her deal with racism and how it impacts power, justice and her own safety. It's an entertaining read that keeps you guessing and always rooting for Vandy's success.

loved this mystery and keeping secrets and the different point of views. Also loved trying to figure out who did it . I enjoyed the mystery behind it.

A fun PI mystery with plenty of atmosphere. Cop stories--even ex-cops--aren't my favorite, but this one was engaging and smart.

DNF at 25%. Unfortunately I couldn't get invested in this mystery novel. I don't mind slower paced mysteries, but this one felt like pulling teeth to continue reading for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur for a copy in exchange for review consideration.

I finished Trouble in Queenstown by Delia Pitts and here are my musings.


Vandy Myrick gave up being a cop to take on the world as a PI. Now she's back in her hometown, as a black woman and a business owner, she knows she has an uphill battle.

That is until Leo Hanna, the nephew of the Mayor, requests her services to tail his wife. Should be pretty easy and routine but when his wife is murdered in their home and the murderer shot by Leo, something doesn’t make sense and Vandy can’t keep her nose out of it.

YAHOOO this book was phenomenal! I read and listened to the audio and the narrator was BRILLIANT! I loved the sass of Vandy and her no nonsense way of conducting herself. Please tell me this is going to be a series! I loved the characters. Except Leo… Slippery MF.

I thought the plot was clever and the pace worked really well. There were a couple of slower spots but I felt like it was a little rest for the reader before you got the full POW again! The twists were excellent and the dialogue was really intelligent and realistic.

There wasn’t really anything I didn’t like, it was a really entertaining book. I really think if you like thrillers with a bad @ss MC.. This has to be your next read!

4.5 stars!

Thank you to @minotaurbooks and @netgalley for my gifted ALC and ARC.

I really wanted to like this book, but I struggled to stay interested. I tried the audiobook too and I realized right away it is narrated by a voice actor who I am not fond of her voice. The voice always seems to make me dislike the book, which I feel terrible about, but it is an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. I don’t read a ton of mysteries but the plot of this book sounded interesting so I decided to give it a try. For going in with no real expectations. I was pleasantly surprised. Trouble in Queenstown follows Evander “Vandy” Myrick, a former cop turned private investigator who has come back to her hometown to set up shop after a family tragedy.

This book was intriguing and fast paced and I was pulled in fairly quickly. I think it did a good job of commenting on the racial implications of a black female investigator in a small and conservative town. The last twist before the finale was maybe just a tad far fetched for me (specifically how she figured it out) but it was a very solid 3.5- 4 star read.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the book #TroubleInQueenstown by #DeliaPitts. Vandy is a private investigator who has been hired to follow the mayors nephews wife. When things get tragically worse, Vandy is caught in the middle of a twisted web of secrets. Who is actually guilty and what is the truth. Can she handle the truth and buried secrets?

Vandy is a private detective who has returned to her hometown of Queenstown. She takes a case from the mayor's nephew but then his wife winds up dead. Vandy finds that there are people who do not appreciate her investigating and potentially uncovering secrets they would rather keep buried.

I had no idea what was going to happen as the story progressed. In addition to solving the muder of Ivy, Vandy also finds many long buried secrets from her small town. I loved following the trail of secrets and trying to piece them together myself, although found I had absolutely no idea where this would end up.

I think this would be a favorite for anyone who liked Long Bright River.

Meet Evander Myrick – better known as Vandy – once cop, now private eye associated with her friends law practice in Queenstown, New Jersey. Still dealing with the loss of her daughter, and the steady decline of her father’s memory.
A boring, run of the mill, assignment – husband suspects his wife of cheating, follow her for a week and see what turns up. When the time comes to give a report, she is asked to deliver it to the house, and then all comes to an interesting start …
Great first installment in a new series, looking forward to more of Vandy.