Queenstown, New Jersey, is a close-knit community where Vandy Myrick, the town's only Black woman private investigator, grapples with both her local fame and grieving the death of her daughter. When her cheating ex-husband Phil Bolden walks back into her life with promises of change and is suddenly murdered, Vandy can’t help jumping in to investigate his death to uncover the truth.

When I picked up this book, I had no idea it was part of a series, and I’m beyond thrilled it is. I enjoyed it so much that I bought a copy of the first book upon finishing. I adore Vandy, she’s intelligent, tough, street smart and fearless, yet also genuine, and vulnerable. As the investigation unfolded, I was hooked and unable to put the book down. Every time I thought I’d figured things out, more twists were thrown into the mix. It’s a very well written thriller novel!

Thank you, Minotaur books, and netgalley for a copy of this ARC.

Vandy continues to deal with the loss of her daughter when she unexpectedly meets the son of her ex-husband after he suddenly reappears. When tragedy strikes, Vandy takes it upon herself to find out what happened and who was involved in this tragedy. She must be careful of who she trusts because not everything is as it seems. Will she make it out alive?

Thanks to the Publisher and NetGalley for the eGalley

Death of an Ex offers a compelling blend of personal grief and investigative drama, brought to life through Vandy Myrick, a layered and introspective private investigator navigating her hometown’s undercurrents. The setting of Queenstown, New Jersey feels authentic and richly drawn, and Pitts does a respectful job exploring themes of race, class, and healing.

However, the pacing sometimes dips. Vandy’s emotional journey, while earnest and nuanced, can feel repetitive, particularly in how she revisits the same suspects and emotional beats. The cozy-feel mystery occasionally treads into meandering territory, which makes the investigation feel less dynamic than it could have been.

That said, the novel’s strengths lie in character depth and atmosphere. The emotional stakes, especially Vandy’s weight of grief and personal history, ground the mystery in something more heartfelt than just "whodunit." If you appreciate a character-driven mystery that leans into emotional nuance, this might be a solid pick. If you are after a fast-paced, plot-first detective story, it may not fully satisfy.

I would say this was a little above 3 stars for me, but not quite there for a 4 star.
It was entertaining and kept me wanting to flip to the next page in order to find out what was going to happen next with her EX and how everything was going to play out now that he was back around. Seeing him dig a hole for himself that night at the event was an interesting play and made you think who could have truly done it and why was everyone holding back so many secrets.
It was sad how Vandy's daughter had passed away and you can see why she gravitated towards the younger 2 within this story because of that tragedy.
How Vandy was able to uncover other things going on while trying to figure out her ex's killer was a good aspect to the book.

Death of an Ex by Delia Pitts is a sharp and engaging mystery with great twists. The writing is smooth, the characters feel real, and it keeps you guessing until the end. A quick, satisfying read for mystery lovers.

The first book in the Vandy Myrick series set the stage for a well developed mystery series. In volume two, Vandy is briefly reacquainted with her daughter's father before he ends up murdered. Vandy becomes embroiled in her ex's life and puts herself at risk. Who was threatened enough to commit such an awful crime? Vandy uncovers a series of secrets that might just cost her her own life.

Vandy Myrick is a private detective and finds herself in the middle of personal mystery - the murder of her ex-husband. Vandy is a strong leading character, and the mystery is engaging.

This is the second in the Vandy Myrick Mystery series. I think you can jump in here without reading the first one, but I do recommend starting with Trouble in Queenstown, it was a great mystery and gives you more background on Vandy and the other characters.

With this novel, Delia Pitts has private investigator Vandy Myrick in a powerful mystery that blends grief class race, and family with thrilling results.

I enjoyed this as much as the first novel. Great read

I really love this second book. I can see how this is going to turn into an incredible series.

I didn’t read book one in this series, and I don’t feel like this book was hard to follow. I obviously missed the first book’s plot, but this one felt enough like a stand alone, that I think it was fine.

I enjoyed the narration, and the mystery kept my attention to find out what happened. The ending felt a bit predictable, and made me mad for a variety of reasons, but I do think it was well written. I’d recommend this for anyone who likes a private investigator story with a troubled past.

3.5 stars

Death Of An Ex is the second book in a 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.

You can definitely read this one without having read book one, Trouble in Queenstown. While people from the first book definitely crop up in this one, this story is completely different and separate. The mystery here is complex and had me guessing. There’s an elite private school in town, called the Rome School. A young woman, now a senior in high school, Ingrid Ramirez, who figured in the previous book, is being honored for her academic achievements at a gala dinner at the school. Since her mother works nights, she asks Vandy to be her plus-one. Which is how Vandy winds up at the dinner, not realizing her ex-husband Phil will also be there, as he’s the chair of the school’s trustees.

They renew their “relationship” a bit, both mourning the not-too-distant death of their only daughter. When Phil is found murdered, Vandy wants to help the local police. There are a lot of possible suspects, once the investigation gets going - people who were either jealous of Phil or hated him. There’s talk of money laundering, revitalizing a down-at-the-heels neighborhood in Trenton, church business, college admission scams, and more.

I really liked Vandy. She’s a street-smart woman who won’t take any crap from anyone anymore. She’s definitely a morally gray character! In the author’s note at the end of the book, Pitt writes this: “Vandy is messy in so many ways, which makes following her choices both challenging and, I hope, rewarding. I love writing about this tough, flawed, and vulnerable buzz saw of a character.” I could not have described her better!

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’m looking forward to reading more of Vandy’s adventures.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book and to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to a review copy of this audiobook. As always, Bahni Turpin does a fantastic job with the narration.

All opinions are my own.

Death of an Ex is the second book in this series, although you could read it as a stand alone. (I did read the first.) The protagonist is Vandy Myrick, private investigator in New Jersey, who is a smart and capable Black woman, with some personal demons. Before the series starts, her young daughter died tragically and she has not gotten over it. At the beginning of this book, Vandy reunites with her daughter's father, and based on the book's title, you can guess that he is murdered. Vandy's investigation leads to finding out a lot of secrets about a wealthy private school, where everyone has something to hide. Vandy is not perfect, but that is part of what makes the books enjoyable.

Vandy is a PI who comes back to herr hometown. She is still grieving the loss of her daughter and suddenly her ex Phil comes back into her life. After a rendezvous with Phil, police come knocking as Phil has been murdered. Vandy puts her PI skills to good use to find his killer. Along the way, Vandy uncovers a network of people who aren't what they seem.

Evander "Vandy" Myrick encounters her ex-husband Phil Bolden at an event, and finds old memories of their lives and her feelings for the man return to her. So much so that she contemplates rekindling a romance with him, even though he's married, and she knows that he's a man prone to lying and cheating.

When he turns up shot to death later, Vandy decides that he's her new client, but she is also asked by the police to assist with their investigation. Vandy gets to know Phil's current family and feels an unexpected warmth for Phil's unhappy teenaged son.

Vandy also discovers that Phil had multiple plans on the go, or rather, cons, to do with the church, real estate development, and colleges, and that his home life was also quite complicated. The whole time Vandy is investigating, she's still dealing with her deep grief for her deceased daughter, and her emotions over her marriage to Phil.

This all makes for a complex portrait of Vandy and Phil, and brings to light not just Phil's dealings, and which one got him killed, but also why he stayed out of her and their daughter's lives after Vandy kicked him out for cheating on her.

I love that no matter how messed up Vandy feels, she just keeps going towards the truth. Even when it exposes all manner of bad behaviour around her, and even a little in herself. I found this to be a thoroughly enjoyable entry in this series, and love Vandy Myrick so much. She's a mess, but she's also beginning to move towards dealing with it, especially after all she learns about her former husband, and the relationship they had.

The case is full of suspects, and kept me wondering till near the end. The way this book ends left me full of hope for Vandy and her future endeavours.

The wonderful voice talents of Bahni Turpin graced the audiobook, which was a pleasure to listen to (I both read and listened to this story). I'm very familiar with Turpin's work, and love the way she brings characters to life, particularly Vandy and her former teenaged client Ingrid.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and to Macmillan Audio for these ARCs in exchange for my review.

Death of an Ex is the second in the Vandy Myrick series. Vandy is a private investigator back in her home town, still dealing with the trauma of her daughter's death. Vandy is working on renewing relationships and finding her own footing. As stated in the title, she finds herself investigating the death of an ex, and while unearthing the mystery she is also unearthing her own past. The unique and, in my opinion, best aspect of this book and series is that Vandy is sloppy, and that makes her real and relatable. This is a great follow up to the first book in the series and I look forward to the next installment.

Interesting read! One of the “pillars” of the community is murdered as he is walking back to his car in the early morning hours after a discreet meeting with his ex-wife. There are plenty of twists and turns that follow the investigation of his murder and lots of other information comes to light about this gentleman and other members of the community including his current wife.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

This one was interesting. I enjoyed how the past and present blended together, I found Vandy to be really interesting. This book had a bunch of different layers and twists. Overall this was enjoyable.

I didn't read the first book in the series but I don't feel like I really missed anything.

Vandy Myrick unexpectedly runs into her ex-husband. They had been divorced for 20 years and had no contact including at the funeral of their daughter. When he is murdered after spending time with her she decides she has to find his killer. I found I really didn't care. I didn't like Vandy. She divorced Phil because he cheated on her but she didn't seem to have a problem sleeping with married men. Phil was a horrible person so his dying was probably a good thing. I didn't feel the characters were fleshed out, maybe that was in the first book. Then there was something about the writing I didn't care for. Kind of reminded me of Dragnet. I don't think I will continue with the series mostly because I just didn't like Vandy.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital copy.

I found Death of an Ex by Delia Pitts to be an okay read. I didn’t think there was much suspense in the book. The MC is Vandy Myrik, who is dealing with her grief over the death of her daughter. Her ex, Phil, comes back into her life unexpectedly. There was good character development of Vandy, but I just was kept engaged with the book.

Published July 15, 2025

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and Delia Pitts for the E-ARC of Death of an Ex. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#Netgalley #Stmartinspress #minotaurbooks #deliapitts #deathofanex #ARC

Queenstown, New Jersey, feels big when you need help and tiny when you want privacy. For Vandy Myrick, that’s both a blessing and a curse. Now that Vandy’s back in “Q-Town,” her services as her hometown’s only Black woman private investigator have earned her more celebrity—or notoriety—than she figured.

I love Vandy. She is very matter of fact and I enjoyed this about her. She is also super intelligent…well, that is until she “taken in” again by her ex, Phil, and his charms.

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Phil is a piece of work. But he knows how to use his charisma to his advantage. Unfortunately, this does not save him from being murdered! But, Vandy will not rest until she finds out exactly what happened. She discovers more than she bargained for.

I enjoyed this puzzling murder. It just keeps twisting around until the truth comes out!!

I read the first one in the series, Trouble in Queenstown. It is not necessary that you read them in order.

I love this narrator Bahni Turpin. She is great as Vandy!!

Need a good murder mystery…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

I just found this interesting enough to actually get thru it. The characters were a bit flat to me but the storyline was pretty interesting. Maybe because I didn’t realize it was the second book in a series and the first one is needed to understand the characters better? The writing was good also. Not a bad read whatsoever but not one I’d recommend unless you were a fan of the first one.