This slow-moving mystery captivates the reader from the very first page. Vandy is an intriguing and clever character, and the writing evokes a similar vibe to Sue Grafton’s works. While I did anticipate some of the plot, it was still an enjoyable mystery overall.

My review is voluntary and all comments and opinions are my own.

The second in this mystery series was just as good as the first. It is filled with characters who are smart, sassy, and not afraid to get their hands dirty.

Vandy reconnects with her ex-husband, the father of her deceased daughter. There are still sparks, but he is married to someone else. That doesn't stop him, because he is a player, and he doesn't care who he hurts, especially not his wife or son. When he is killed after leaving her, she vows to uncover his killer.

There are many moving pieces to this mystery. Multiple potential suspects and uncovering true motives. While I didn't guess the killer until near the end, I was correct, but that didn't mean I didn't suspect other characters!

I found it interesting that no one has hired Vandy to find Phil's killer. Perhaps that was her choice as the ex-wife, and what her daughter would probably want her to do. She also learns some truths about why he wasn't around while their daughter was growing up.

I liked the interactions between Vandy and the other characters, especially Ingrid and Tariq. I think she gravitated towards them since they reminded her of her daughter.

This book brought back memories for Vandy, both good and bad. She learned a few things that helped put a little closure on some events.

We give this book 4 paws up.

I don’t even know where to start with this one. I really appreciated the very end of the book. Thought it ended on the best possible note.

That said, everything else bugged me about it. I picked this up thinking it would be a small town murder mystery. And it kind of was. But the MC, a private investigator, was the most unethical person in the whole book—and with this cast of characters, that’s hard to do. She is both a serial cause of adultery in marriages around town, and a liar who sees nothing wrong with lying if it benefits herself. She needs therapy, and is so wrapped up in herself, it blinds her to how her actions hurt others constantly.

The writing was repetitive (so repetitive!!), and I’m not sure if it was done intentionally to give the MC her own unique voice, but it also read as uneducated. I cannot believe how often the reader was just told information over and over again. But yet somehow, there were zero clues about the actual motive until it was discovered? So that came out of left field…but only after every single other character had been explored as a suspect (and most not in a credible way).

I would not read another book by this author if it were in this series.

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart


Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Vandy Myrick series continues with her private investigator work in an office with lawyers and visiting her father in the nursing home. She still chooses not to carry a gun or drink alcohol. I still think she needs to take some self defense classes or get a K9 because she is on her own too much without backup.

She goes to an homecoming event at a local high school and runs into her ex-husband, Phil. The friend who invited her is dating his son who is getting athletic awards. Vandy is caught up in a swirl of emotions seeing him again. She eventually goes with him to their daughter's grave, and invites him home to look at photos and they end up in bed.

Phil leaves and ends up dead. Vandy hides the fact he was there but works with the cops to solve his murder. There are plenty of candidates from family, business associates and other affairs with women. Phil had been in to many illegal business schemes and cheated often with women. There were plenty of unlikable characters.

I wasn't very comfortable with many things Vandy did. I do understand when she protected herself and others when their actions weren't illegal though, just distasteful. She did keep a lot of information from the police which was dangerous for her in several ways. She did manage to make a connection with his Phil's son, Tariq and help him. I can only wonder what Vandy will get up to next.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

🕵️‍♀️ Delia Pitts doesn’t just write mysteries—she excavates emotional fault lines. In Death of an Ex, the second installment of the Vandy Myrick series, Pitts delivers a taut, character-driven whodunit that pulses with grief, grit, and the ghosts of unfinished love.

📖 The plot

Vandy Myrick, Queenstown’s only Black woman private investigator, is no stranger to loss. Still reeling from her daughter’s death, she’s blindsided when her ex-husband, Phil Bolden, reappears—only to be murdered hours after rekindling their connection. Vandy takes on the case, not just as a PI, but as someone who knew Phil intimately... or thought she did. As she peels back layers of his life—his family, his philanthropy, his secrets—she’s forced to confront the blurry line between memory and reality.

🔍 What Sets It Apart

- Emotional Sleuthing: Pitts weaves Vandy’s personal grief into the investigation, making the mystery feel like a form of therapy as much as detection.

- Social Texture: Queenstown isn’t just a backdrop—it’s a microcosm of race, class, and community tension. Pitts explores these dynamics with nuance, never sacrificing plot for politics, but never ignoring them either.

- Complex Relationships: From Phil’s son at a prestigious prep school to his enigmatic wife, every character is layered, flawed, and compelling.

- Narrative Voice: Vandy’s first-person narration is sharp, introspective, and occasionally sardonic—a blend that makes her relatable and riveting.

🧠 Themes

- Grief as Catalyst: Vandy’s pain isn’t sidelined—it’s the engine of her pursuit.

- Truth vs. Perception: The Phil she loved may not be the Phil who died, and Pitts plays with this ambiguity masterfully.

- Justice with Heart: Vandy isn’t just solving a crime—she’s stitching together the torn fabric of her own life.

🗝️ The Death of an Ex is more than a mystery—it’s a meditation on memory, identity, and the messy aftermath of love. Pitts proves that the best detectives aren’t just clever—they’re courageous enough to face the truths they’d rather forget. If you’re drawn to mysteries that balance emotional resonance with social insight, this one’s a must-read.

Delia Pitts is back with her razor-sharp mystery series starring the lively, witty, intelligent, challenging, and sassy PI Vandy Myrick after the introduction of (#1) Trouble in Queenstown (5 stars) with (#2) DEATH OF AN EX.

Vandy is engrossed in another murder mystery, and this time it hits close to home, involving her ex-husband and the father of her deceased daughter.

Exploring grief, class, race, and family within a murder mystery—from small-town suspense, lies, family secrets, and corruption infused with humor and a tenacious, relatable, kick-ass black female PI.

About...

From the last book, set in the fictional town of Queenstown, New Jersey, Vandy Myrick is a former Philadelphia cop who has returned to her hometown to be near her father, Evander, also a retired police officer. He is in a nursing home suffering from advanced Alzheimer's.

Vandy grew up in Q-Town, married and had a daughter, Monica, whom she raised alone after her cheating husband left. Her daughter died of an overdose at a college party, and she has experienced a great deal of loss.

She has opened a detective agency, Evander Myrick Investigations, with the help of her attorney friend, who is located above the pharmacy.

Picking up with this installment, it had been three years since her daughter's death, and now there is the settlement check (blood money) that she will use to make her daughter proud, and she also visits her daughter and her mother (gone for seven years) at the cemetery.

Vandy attends a homecoming gala at the Rome School, an expensive, elite academy ranked among the best private boarding schools.

Before the night ends, she will come face to face with her ex-husband, Philip Bolden, his current wife, his son, plus many more, including a woman who is the treasurer of the Bethel AMC church.

Vandy and Phil get to spend some quality time together when he comes to her for help, and she discovers some things she didn't know about her ex and his involvement with her daughter. They bond and have a nice romantic evening.

However, the next morning, he is murdered. Phil was a cheater, and he was also involved in other questionable activities. His son was not happy with him, nor was his wife, plus more...and now she is involved. He had made enemies. But who would want to murder him?

She must put aside her feelings to try and investigate his murder to bring justice for her daughter's father and the man she fell in love with many years ago, while also trying to help his son.

But the closer she gets to the truth, the more danger she is in.

My thoughts...

I loved TROUBLE IN QUEENSTOWN and was delighted when I found there would be more books in the series.

DEATH OF AN EX is gritty, twisty, edgy, emotional, and heartfelt. I love PI Vandy Myrick's character, which is flawed, sarcastic, resilient, fearless, tough, intuitive, thoughtful, funny, and highly relatable.

Twisty and absorbing, this novel delves into the complexities of racial politics, bribery, infidelity, corruption, power, greed, and more, keeping you hooked as you turn the pages to the explosive ending. We also explore grief, family, guilt, and more from a personal emotional perspective written with compassion and sensitivity.

The author cleverly sets up a fascinating new series, and I look forward to the long haul! I cannot wait for the next one in the series and adventures to see what is in store for PI Vandy Myrick next!

Audiobook...

As in the first book in the series, I had the pleasure of reading the e-book and listening to the audiobook, both of which were outstanding! I love Bahni Turpin, the narrator, and she delivered a stellar performance, making the characters come alive-a perfect voice for the novel. I highly recommend the audiobook!

Recs...

DEATH OF AN EX is not just a cozy mystery. PI Vandy Myrick is immersed in a compelling, well-written who-and-why-dunit crime thriller with heart. It is for fans of strong female leads, brilliant cop procedurals, and a blending of family dynamics and humor.

Also for fans of authors Terry McMillan, Aime Austin (Casey Cort & Nicole Long legal crime series), social justice thrillers, Sounds Like a Plan, a new PI series by Pamela Samuels Young, and Dwayne Alexander Smith (a favorite), as well as smart detective mysteries.

Thanks to Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for gifted advanced reading and listening copies via NetGalley for my honest thoughts, #MacAudio2025

My Review:
Trouble in Queenstown (#1)

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: July 15, 2025
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Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Death of an Ex us the second book in the Vandy Myrick series. Vandy works in her hometown as the only Black woman private investigator. While investigating, she has to process many difficult events in her private life. Her ex husband shows up in her life once again, only to end up being killed. She decides to investigate his murder, but it appears that his life was complex and not that easy to investigate.

Death of an Ex is a great follow-up to the first book of the series, Trouble in Queenstown. I absolutely love Vandy as a main character. She is not perfect and squeaky clean, but rather has an edge. There are moments when she is a little less likeable, but that's what makes her such a great character. I like the fact that Death of Ex is more anchored in reality, instead of being an overly cheerful and saccharine cozy mystery. The tone is a bit darker, which makes it stand out. While this may not be for everyone, readers who are looking for a series that is a little less conventional will enjoy reading the Vandy Myrick mysteries.

Evander "Vandy" Myrick is a law officer who has become a private investigator, the first black female PI in Queenstown, N.J. She works from the office of a lawyer who hires her for certain assignments. Vandy has befriended a scholarship student, Ingrid Ramirez, who attends a highly prestigious school. When attending a special awards ceremony at the school Vandy is surprised to see her ex-husband who she hasn't seen in years. Philip Bolden accepts an award while making a speech that shocks and distresses the audience. Minutes after a late-night reunion with her ex, Vandy has a knock on the door and learns that he is dead. She takes it upon herself to make the decision to investigate Phil's death to learn of who had reason to murder him.
I want to thank Minotaur Books and NetGalley for my advanced reader's copy of this book. This is my first time reading a Delia C. Pitts novel and this is my unsolicited opinion. I must say I like the author's descriptive writing style with its touches of humor. Vandy is the snarky narrator. She is such a character. Pitts made her feel 'real' to me. I was invested enough to feel disappointed in a decision she makes. I wanted her to be better than that. As I read, I realized she is a character meant to be human and prone to weakness as we all are.
This is a good mystery with several suspects. I really liked it and would easily pick up another book from this writer. (The only negative for me is foul language.)

Vandy Myrick is back! This is out now!

I liked Vandy's character in book one: Trouble in Queenstown and all my favorite aspects of that story are present here as well:
-cozy-ish mystery
-PI as the detective
-family dynamics
-small town politics (more aimed at a prestigious private school politics in this story)

The main mystery is who killed Vandy's ex-husband, Phil. The suspects are plenty as he isn't a very 'clean' character. The secrets come out and we see that he wasn't behaving the best. I liked that Vandy still didn't take sh*t from anyone, and aimed to figure out what happened to Phil, even as she realizes the shady things he's involved with. The ending of this one was so sweet for the characters!

Death of an Ex by Delia Pitts is the second book in the series A Vandy Myrick Mystery. I did not read the first book, and I was able to follow along without any problems. The history from book one was repeated a few times and the explanations sufficed. The ex they are referring to is Phil Bolden, Vandy Myrick’s ex husband from 20 years prior with whom they share a daughter, who is deceased. The setting takes place in Queenstown New Jersey, and Vandy is a middle aged black woman who is a private investigator by trade. After two decades of radio silence, Phil and Vandy find themselves at the same prestigious dinner in which Phil seems to be the guest of honor. When Phil turns up dead, Vandy decides this is the next case in which she will take on to solve.

Phil is not a like able person within Queestown, making for a very long list of possible suspects. The twists are intriguing and there is a definite web of complex secrets for Vandy to uncover. However, I did feel the story moved too slow and it was difficult to stay fully engaged. There are so many secondary characters introduced, it was difficult to keep up with who was who. I wasn’t a fan of the stereotypes and racist ideas that made for some cringeworthy moments.

I would like to thank Netgalley, St Martin’s Press and Delia Pitts for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 2.5 ⭐️

What a unique story this was. It's not often that a cozy mystery delves so deep into themes of grief, forgiveness, and found family, but this one does it well. I look forward to reading more books from Delia Pitts.

Second in the series really entertaining.Vandy is a wonderful character the story is well written.Will be looking forward to third in the series.#netgalley #st.martins

Such an interesting book. It’s my first by this author and I think I will go back and read the first in the series! However, I don’t think it’s necessary in order to enjoy this book about Vandy and her ex.

Being a Jersey girl myself, this series called to me. And it has not disappointed. Vandy is one heck of a strong female protagonist. Your emotions go up and down along with her story as well as the mystery as it unfolds. I also love the fact that we have a protagonist of color that represents and delivers in the series. I can’t recommend this one enough.

Death of an Ex by Delia Pitts takes us back to Queenstown and PI Evander Myrick, named after her police detective father, Evander Myrick, and known as Mandy. Mandy is still recovering from the death of her daughter, Monica, two years early in a ghastly and totally preventable accident. She had sued and won, but Monica was still dead. She ran into Monica’s father, Phil, the man she had divorced early in her pregnancy. He was a cheater, still was. She took him to Monica’s grave, learned some interesting things about interactions between him and her father, and took him home to bed. She was helping him cheat. She had watched him be a total jerk to his son, Monica’s half-brother, the other night and still could not resist. The next day he was dead. Her guilt forced her to investigate, for free. She needed to know who had killed him and why.

Vandy is a great character. She is clever and knowledgeable. She learned from her father, who is now in the throes of dementia and doesn’t even know her most days. She works for people who love her but are disinclined to put up with her nonsense. What she discovers while investigating shocks even her. A tangled mess of financial misdeeds, including laundering of money and extortion, reminiscent of the pay-for-college-acceptance scandal a few years ago. But, even knowing this and more, she still missed Phil and knew many other women did as well. Good plot, interesting characters. Excellent main character. Good read.

I was invited to read Death of an Ex by St Martin’s Press. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #StMartinsPress #DeliaPitts #DeathOfAnEx

Private investigator Vandy Myrick has been mourning the death of her daughter for the past three years. Her ex-husband Phil suddenly reappears in her life. He had cheated on her during her pregnancy and they divorce before Monica was born. Shortly after they reunite, Phil is murdered. When Vandy begins to investigate Phil’s death, she discovers his involvement in a college admissions scandal. She will work to uncover which players are responsible for his death and realize he is the same Phil she left years ago.

#bestestbookclubever

Death of an Ex by Delia Pitts is the second book in The Vandy Myrick Mysteries. The author does provide a lot of background information at the beginning for those who did not read Trouble in Queenstown. The author, though, I was expecting a cozy mystery, but Death of an Ex is definitely not cozy. I tried several times, but I was unable to get into the story. It takes a while for the story to get moving. The pacing is slow (the snails were waving as they passed). I am not a fan of Vandy who is beyond messy (the author does warn readers). She is annoying as well. I liked that we get to see a middle-aged woman who is lively and vibrant. The author shows the attitudes and behaviors of some wealthy (and entitled) individuals towards education. They feel their money will grease the wheels for the little darling to get into a prestigious university (sound familiar). The mystery may appear complicated, but identifying the guilty party is a cinch. I knew the identity of the guilty party before the murder took place. Vandy uses her private investigator skills to uncover secrets and zero in on bad guy. There are many improbable elements to the whodunit. The reveal was unrealistic. I found myself rolling my eyes often (which gave me a migraine and made my eyes hurt). I’m sorry, but Death of an Ex is not my cup of tea.

I really liked the first book in this series and was excited to receive an ARC of this installment. It did not disappoint. I’ll be sticking with this series to follow the adventures of Vandy and her associates.

Vandie Myrick, a private investigator with a messy life and a penchant for silent snark and plain speech out loud, finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation when her ex-husband gets shot in her Queenstown office parking lot. After a one night “reconciliation.”
Vandy jumps at the chance to assist the police, not only to find Phil’s murderer, but also to clear her name and get to know her dead daughter’s half brother. But as she digs into Phil’s life, she realizes everyone seems to be a suspect.
Full of twists and Vandy’s world-wise observations, Pitts has written another smash hit of a detective novel.
Beach, plane, train or department of motor vehicles line, you won’t care where you read this. You won’t want to put it down!

A well-written, multi layered novel that presents as a mystery but in truth is more a story about life, death and everything in between. I hope to read more work by Delia Pits