Trouble in Queenstown by Delia Pitts introduces a compelling new protagonist, private investigator Vandy Myrick, in a mystery that masterfully intertwines themes of grief, race, and class. Set in the small, tight-knit town of Queenstown, New Jersey, the novel follows Vandy, a former cop turned PI, as she returns to her hometown to find solace. Her routine divorce cases take a dark turn when a racially charged murder shakes the community, and she is drawn into an investigation with deep personal and political ramifications.

Pitts does an excellent job of creating a complex, relatable character in Vandy, whose determination to uncover the truth, despite limited resources and mounting opposition, drives the narrative. The small-town atmosphere, combined with the tensions of race and privilege, adds layers of depth to the plot, making Trouble in Queenstown not only a gripping mystery but also a powerful commentary on societal divisions.

Vandy’s refusal to back down in the face of adversity makes her an intriguing and sympathetic protagonist, and the mystery itself is tightly woven with enough twists and turns to keep readers on edge. Fans of character-driven crime fiction will find much to appreciate in this thrilling and thought-provoking debut.

Trouble in Queenstown was a good ol sleuthy-type book. I really liked the main character and would like to see her in more books.

I have been provided with a review copy of Trouble in Queenstown from NetGalley for an impartial review. I was just drawn into this wonderful story and I just couldn’t get enough of it. It was just so easy to get lost in this great story. I just didn’t want it to end. I just lost myself in and I just couldn’t get enough of these interesting characters. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

Wow! This was a wild ride but it was AWESOME!
After a tragedy, a campus officer Vanity turned in her gun, and leaving the force she decided to be a Private Detective. The mayor's nephew Leo hires Vanity because he thinks his wife, Ivy is being stalked. She does her job and on the day that she is supposed to give her report, Leo calls saying he is sick and asks her to deliver the report to his house. When Vanity arrives at the house police officers are going into the house and Ivy is found severely injured and unresponsive along with the man he swears that was stalking his wife is found dead as well. Soon after the news that Ivy passed away on the table, and the investigation is short and determined that Leo was justified in killing the stalker and the stalker was the one who ultimately murdered Leo's wife case closed.
Soon Sam, Ivy's father, hires Vanity to prove that Leo is responsible for Ivy's death. Slowly Vanity starts to investigate and she realizes that she missed so much the more that she investigates the more she gets into trouble and she and her loved ones are threatened and hurt.
This story has so much in it. It covers problems family secrets, different ethical backgrounds, and people who use power in a community to hide their secrets! I loved this story and I was hooked from the very beginning! My review does not do this book justice and for that I am sorry but this one was one the better mysteries I've read this year! Soo good! Thank you Minotaur Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this one! It was an absolute treat

Thanks to the good people at NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book.

Sad to say, I found this book interminable.

DNF @ 68%. I just could not get into the story or characters.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this ARC.

"Trouble in Queenstown" was just what I needed! Delia Pitts pulls off a murder mystery with small-town drama that kept me hooked. Vandy is strong and unshakable, facing down the racism around her without missing a beat. The way each case connects is so satisfying, and Queenstown’s buried secrets made it even better. I'm definitely ready for book two!

Trouble in Queenstown reveals the underbelly of Evander "Vandy" Myrick's small hometown in New Jersey. After her career in law enforcement crashes due to her grief, Vandy gets her PI license in an effort to reinvent herself. She quickly runs into town politics and a network of deceit. I hope this is the first in a long series of books featuring Vancy, as Delia Pitts created a flawed and brave character in an environment that has much to support her PI cases. Looks like the next volume in the series is due next summer.

This was such a fun mystery book that I truly enjoyed reading!

Vandy’s transition from cop to private investigator is a fun transition as she navigates her childhood home of Queenstown, New Jersey, a tight-knit community with its own unique challenges. As a Black woman in a small town, Vandy's struggle for privacy adds layers to her character and the story. Her decision to take on a divorce case for the mayor's nephew, Leo Hannah, initially seems like a straightforward job, but the stakes quickly escalate when a racially charged murder shakes the town. The way Pitts captures the tension and complexity of the situation kept me engaged and guessing until the end.

Vandy’s determination to seek the truth, despite the odds stacked against her, makes her a captivating protagonist. While the path to solving the mystery is fraught with challenges, her refusal to back down is truly inspiring. Overall, Trouble in Queenstown is a well-crafted mystery that left me eager for more of Vandy’s adventures.

I debated DNFing this multiple times and I can honestly say that I am not glad I finished. The story was okay, definitely a little predictable. Sure, there was a decent twist, but overall nothing that crazy. Wasn’t a huge fan of the writing either.

Vandy is a PI who has returned to her hometown. Divorces and affairs are her main source of income, So when the mayor's nephew asks her to follow his wife to get evidence for a divorce, she agrees. However, things quickly take a more deadly turn.

I like mystery/detective novels a. lot so I was looking forward to this one. However, I think Pitts tried too hard to write in the noir style. It just felt forced and awkward. I'm ok even with Vandy being a harder character, but I just think writing in the style of the classic noir mysteries (or at least emulating it) just didn't work here.

Trouble in Queenstown by Delia Pitts

This is solid start to what I hope will be a series!
I really enjoyed the main character Vandy-a strong, middle age private eye who is investigating the death of a local woman. Hired first by the husband, then the father and then the alleged killers sister, this story took many twists and turns. I did feel there was a lot going on, but felt it was necessary to lay the background information for more novels. Also introduced was a great character in Ingrid! Look forward to more of her also.

A solid 4 star read.

I'll be honest, cozy romances aren't for me but I was intrigued by the synopsis and thought I would give it a try. That said, even on a cross-country flight, this book didn't keep me sucked in enough to want to keep reading. I kept putting it down and found myself dreading picking it up again

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

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

TROUBLE IN. QUEENSTOWN by Delia Pitts
In this novel, Delia Pitts, introduces private investigator, Vandy Myrick, in a powerful mystery that blends grief, class, race, and family with thrilling results.


Enjoyed this cosy mystery. I could relate to the characters. Lots of action. I recommend this book.

Thanks to Net ?Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for my review.

Middle-aged female protagonist with a dementia-addled parent needing care and an aversion to the snares of monogamy plus a healthy libido? Sign me up.

Smart judge of character, possessed of real, professionally gained investigative chops? Intelligent woman who suffers no fools and has a bit too much freedom of tongue? Head of the line.

We Ma'at followers don't get gifts like Vandy all that often. I was delighted by her, by her casually-but-effectively drawn world, and the challenges she faces. They're not tied to her Blackness, they're not tied to her womanness, they're informed by those facts of her life of course but they don't arise from them. Her father in a memory-care facility? Happens to ever more of us as living longer expands the chances of developing some kind of dementia. Coming home to care for her dad is another increasingly common life-event. Needing to find a way to support oneself with the skills of a lifetime yet being inescapably tied to one's family's past is another very common experience to those of us at a certain age (or well past it, but still able to remember the weird double expectations).

The book doesn't pull any punches or give any unrealistic takes on Vandy's relationships with Queenstown's police. They're not orcs out to club her into a pulp; they're not sensitivity-trained good boys, either. They're bog-standard misogynists and racists who do their jobs without much reflection, or much actual malice. They have to solve cases, so they do; that sometimes means corners get cut. That's not okay with Vandy. Her role isn't to teach the cops; it's to catch the guilty and make sure the cops can't ignore her findings.

Why then isn't there a higher star rating? Because some tropes are deployed as shortcuts in the identification of the guilty party that were, shall we say, unsubtly foreshadowed. Klieg lights and klaxons aren't subtle hints. Now, I have read a lot of mysteries and a lot of puzzle-solving ones in that mass. I'm not going to demand authors surprise me to get good marks, because next-to-no one would meet the standard. Not to mention other people don't have my ideas about what counts as a clue, or a trope. So in the case of this story, I rate it four stars because I feel sure y'all will enjoy meeting Vandy, spending time in Queenstown, and seeing how the town works when its social fabric is ripped by the gross insult of murder.

I'm in for the next one. Soon, please, thank you please.

*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur for my honest review.*

Vandy Myrick's life shattered and she returned to her hometown of Queenstown to regroup, lick her wounds, and start again. Life as a PI in a small town with a lot of racial issues brings not much but divorce cases and she is happy with that. And then Vandy takes a job for the mayor's nephew.

Not a cozy mystery by any means, but a great debut of a new series, I hope. the writing was spot on with color and flair. Enough likeable characters to offset the dastardly ones. Great twists in the investigation.

This was a very enjoyable read!

Where do I start? I guess at the beginning. I'm not going to lie, I started this book in July but for some reason, it wasn't vibing with me at the time. So, I put it down and finally came back to it and boy, am I glad I did. I thought the beginning was a little slow, when Vandy was hired by Leo to follow his wife, Ivy. But, I'd say about 30% in, with the arrival of Ivy's dad, the story really picked up. I wanted to know the ins and outs of these characters. Why they acted like they did. Who was the murderer and why? What was really going on with Ivy's? I got all of these answers, plus more I wasn't expecting! I will definitely read more stories (if there are more coming!) about Vandy and her PI work in Queenstown. I absolutely blew through the last half of this book and, although I wasn't surprised by everything, I was surprised by quite a bit.
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Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the e-ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

This is the beginning of a series so as long as you go into it knowing that you should be satisfied. Great writing and an interesting start to a series!

This book left me with mixed feelings. There were some parts that really worked for me and others that just did not. At times, I felt like the storyline tended to get a bit overstuffed with information, which tends to happen when an author will be expanding a series.