In the first book of this series, we learned about Vandy, a former police detective whose daughter died tragically, her mother has passed, and her father has Alzheimer's. She returned to her hometown and made some very good friends. Although we encounter those friends in this book, they are not prominent. This book has Vandy on the search to uncover her ex-husband's killer. The farther she gets down the rabbit hole, the darker it seems to get. Phil, the ex-husband, isn't the man she had hoped he was. Though this book is dark, our characters are not as emotionally distraught or full of rage as they were in the previous book. Though Vandy is not a villain, she toes that line and is kind of morally grey, but we will say more chaotic good than anything else. She wants to do the right thing, but doesn't always go about it the right way to get to the outcome that is needed. Like the first book, there are darker themes that can be triggering, such as neglect, suicide, and murder....I mean, it's a mystery/thriller; there is going to be a murder. Also, though Vandy is still vulnerable and has not dealt with her trauma's I was not thrilled with the decision to have her sleep with a married man. No real remorse either, and she felt justified at the time and went in full tilt. I do like Vandy in this story, though; she's honest and fights for what she believes in and truly cares about. This turned out to be pretty good. I thought the ultimate villain was obvious as soon as we met her, but there were plenty of logical red herrings thrown in. Overall, a pretty fast-paced mystery where Vandy is thrown into more situations where her life can easily be snuffed out.

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.

I love listening to this series, the narrator (Bahni Turpin) really brings Vandy to life! Highly recommend the audiobook!

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.

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.

I liked this book, it just wasn't something I would normally reach for. I think the story building and plot twist was great though.

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.

Well I didn’t know there was a first book so I obviously read that first before reading this one. I enjoyed both and I love a good murder mystery. Books that you can visualize are my favorite kind. I hope this serious continues cause I would love to read more.

3.75 out of 5 stars (rounded to 4)

Death of an Ex is a compelling and twist-filled continuation of the Vandy Myrick series. This time, the mystery gets personal—Vandy returns to her hometown only to find herself investigating a case that centers around her ex-husband. Delia Pitts crafts an intricate plot layered with secrets, tension, and strong emotional stakes. The audiobook narration adds depth to an already rich cast of diverse characters. While some plot threads take time to resolve, the story stays engaging and grounded in Vandy’s sharp instincts. A solid, satisfying entry in a promising PI series.

Death of an Ex reintroduces detective Vandy Myrick, a former police officer turned small-town New Jersey private eye, still reeling from the tragic loss of her daughter Monica. When another death in the family shakes her world, Vandy is determined to uncover the truth. The suspect list is long—but thankfully, so is her network. She leans on the generosity of friends, acquaintances, and even strangers to solve a case that strikes painfully close to home.
Vandy is no-nonsense, cynical, unpretentious, and stubborn to a fault. She takes risks, makes messy choices, and holds her grip on sanity by chasing justice for those wronged. Through her, the story explores grief, complicated relationships, and the weight of the past with surprising depth.
Four stars for its compelling mystery and complex characters—it’s a gritty, emotionally resonant ride.

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.

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.

This series is so good!! Vandy is such a great character - she inspires compassion in me with her backstory, but she’s also a baddie who gets sh*t done and I love that abbot her too. The way these mysteries combine family drama, small town vibes, race, economic and social issues, and real-life problems is just so get. It’s narrated by the fabulous Bahni Turpin who is the absolute best. Loved the audio!!

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).

The narrator was phenomenal. But 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.

Narration:
I really enjoy this narrator. The emotion and personality she infused into the characters added to my enjoyment. The voices were distinct and sounded authentic for the age and gender of the character. I listened at my newer 1.75x speed

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, 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 lovely 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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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!

I loved the narrator again. She brings wonderful character to the storytelling.

I was really hoping I would have enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed the first one. I felt like there were points that were slow, and then it picked up suddenly. I wanted more!

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press | Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the second book in the Vandy Myrick Mystery series by Delia Pitts, with the audiobook narrated by Bahni Turpin. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

Vandy is a private investigator in Queenstown, NJ. She's still coping with the grief of losing her only daughter when her ex-husband, Phil, comes back into her life. But just as quick as he enters, he is murdered and Vandy decides to investigate.

I enjoyed the first book in this series, Trouble in Queenstown, but the author gives plenty of background so that this one works perfectly well on its own. I like Vandy's grit and determination to uncover the truth, even when it hits close to home. Pitts creates multi-faceted characters and there are plenty of suspects to consider for Phil's murder, as well as other plot lines. I enjoyed the audiobook production and ended up mostly listening to it. Will be looking forward to the next in this series!

This is the second book in the Evander "Vandy" Myrick series. This time, Vandy, the only Black female P.I. in Queenstown, NJ, is investigating the death of her ex-husband, Phillip Bolden. Vandy is helping the police figure this one out as no one in Queenstown is paying her to find Phil's murderer. However, Vandy still has a soft spot for Phil, and because of this, and their shared grief over the loss of their daughter, Monica, Vandy stops at nothing to find Phil's killer. This will keep you guessing until the very end.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this digital audio e-arc.*

While I enjoyed the setting and the characters, this one did not hold my interest as well as the first one. This started off well and then seemed to drag in the middle and then picked up again for the reveal of the guilty party. Vandy is still a fun character and I love her grit and determination as well as getting to know more about her life prior to the first novel but the inconsistent tempo made it difficult to stay absorbed in the story. Still, I look forward to more in the series.

Narration was well done, though Wilkes-Barre was pronounced incorrectly throughout.

Sorry, this book was a “did not finish” at the 40% mark. I really liked the main character - Vandy Myrick- Strong, smart, black, independent female private detective. Her character as well as many others are morally grey which could be interesting if the story is compelling, but in the case- it fell flat for me. In addition, I just couldn’t care about the victim-her serial philandering ex-husband. He was such a complete jerk, to so many people including his own son, that I really didnt care who killed him.
I’d like to that NetGally and the publisher for a chance to review this book. Sorry, this book just wasn't my cup of tea.
I listed to the audo book and the narrator Bahni Turpin was excellent.