Immediately hated the narrative voice of this book. The book gives you no time to warm up to the main character. It’s immediately intense, bitter, and annoying. Not for me at all.

I’ve been listening to a lot of romance lately so it was nice to take a break with the first in a new mystery series. Especially when that mystery series involves a no-nonsense private investigator as a heroine.

This had plenty of twists and turns that kept the story interesting. And you couldn’t help rooting for Vandy, the intrepid PI.

If you liked Mare of Easttown with Kate Winslet on HBO then you will definitley like this book! The premise, the MC, everything reminded me of that show. I’d definitely listen to more in this series.

Special thanks to @macmillan.audio for the ALC. Be sure to check this one out when it releasese on Tuesday, July 16.

Pitts' first novel in the Evander Myrick series is an atmospheric story of Vandy's return to her hometown to work as a private investigator to solve the mystery of a double murder that was supposed to be a standard divorce case. There is a lot of exposition on the town and Vandy's life as it developed and collapsed with her own child's death and her cop father's decline. I liked Pitts' writing style and the character of Vandy, even if she was a bit harsh and shady at times. I really enjoyed the narrator who brought the characters to life more than even what I'd already read in the earlier Minotaur sampler. I will recommend this book to mystery and hard-nosed detective lovers and look forward to another Vandy Myrick book now that the setting has been developed. Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the early listen in exchange for my honest opinion. 3.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review. Bahni Turpin does an excellent job narrating this book! I recommend the audio version if that is of interest!

Vandy has moved home to help her dad and hangs out her shingle as a PI. Taking any case she can get, usually for divorces, Vandy is always strapped for cash. But, Vandy is hired to follow the wife of Leo Hannah, the head of research at ArcDev Pharmaceuticals. This seems like another straight case of infidelity but the case quickly spirals out of control. There are a lot of secrets and a racially motivated murder tied to the wealthy family in town.

I loved this well written story of grief, race and family dynamics. I also really enjoyed the unique character of Vandy. Looking forward to more from this series!

I made it to 23% but decided to step away because the story wasn’t pulling me in. Might at a different time, but the past few days I’ve been having difficulty actively listening.

4.5 stars! Please let this be a series! Evander "Vandy" Myrick is one of the best PI characters to come around in the 21st century!
Vandy is a PI back in her home town after her police job went sideways. She’s not interested in deep romantic relationships, her adult child has passed away, and her father has dementia. What starts out as a straightforward PI gig ends up taking twists and turns. Queenstown, NJ is a small town w/ that small town mentality, where everyone knows everyone and threads and pasts run deep. Vandy gets more than she bargained for when her original gig turns into a murder investigation that some very important people are not keen on her solving.
As I said before, PLEASE let this be a new series! Vandy is high on my list of fav characters for 2024 and Bonnie Turpin really brings her to life. Great voice!

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

This was an entertaining listen. The narrator was a GREAT choice. She made Vandy feel so real. Vandy is a Private Investigator back in her home town. She’s not interested in deep romantic relationships, her adult child has passed away, and her father has dementia. What starts out as a straightforward PI gig ends up taking twists and turns. I’ve never actually researched PIs and what the professional expectations are, but I usually take their fictional casual detective work with a grain of salt and just enjoy the storytelling of it all. Vandy definitely shows questionable professional ethics/boundaries.

I think Vandy’s personality won’t be for everyone, but I loved her strong, snarky, flawed character. She has been treated unfairly and has experienced racism throughout her life. She tells it as it is. Hurt, pain, anger and all.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audio ARC. This review will be shared on NetGalley, Goodreads, and Amazon.

Pub Date Jul 16 2024

This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Delia Pitts, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley.

This is the first novel in a cozy mystery series set in New Jersey. Evander 'Vandy' Myrics is both the daughter of a retired cop and an ex-cop herself. Recently retired from former police work and currently working as a Private Investigator. She's mostly getting established when she's hired by the mayor's nephew to investigate his wife for infidelity. Everything is going smoothly until a murder is committed that is found to be connected to Vandy's investigation.

This has a light and humorous tone, flows easily, has a cute setup, and a surprising reveal. There's also a traumatic past and romantic entanglements to add to the drama. All in all, this worked really well, and I look forward to Vandy's next adventure!

This audiobook is narrated by Bahni Turpin, who is possibly my favorite audiobook narrator. Her signature tone, style, and emotive voice make this the perfect way to enjoy this narrative.

Thank you to Delia Pitts, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.

thank you to MacMillan Audio and St Martin's Press for review copies! Note, the voice performance by Bahni Turpin is excellent, she captured the tone and style of a procedural as well as the complex racial, gender, and simmering family and professional tensions that would surely influence the main character, Vandy, in subtle and complex ways.

This is a strong police procedural, one that I for me is a complex one to review because all the strengths of a good procedural are present and there is great power in developing procedurals that explore a female Black woman as the lead PI. There are the usual tropes and styles with a procedural/noir style read and I think it was the leaning a bit more into noir style themes, while at times also feeling a little cozy, that kept me feeling distant from the plot. Loved the character, was all in for the themes, but something felt a little flat for me as a reader. This is often a feeling I have with an early book in a series, the start of a series... learning the tone and style of an author and character, getting to know the background themes and settings; that kind of set up can pay off down the road but sometimes diverts me as a reader.

So why 4 stars? The audiobook that I reviewed is well done, the voice acting and pacing are great and the performance definitely captured what I feel are the intentions and style of Delia Pitts. I also think that the book overall is strong, interesting, and perfect for the right reader and could serve as a start to a series that develops into a great and favorite main character for many.

DNF. I could not connect with this book. I wanted to, but it just wasn't happening. The narrator of the audiobook was great, but there was nothing that hooked me or made me feel like it was worth it for me to keep pushing through. I didn't really like the main character very much and I think that probably had a lot to do with it.

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.

I always enjoy a police procedural and new settings. Trouble in Queenstown is a private investigator who used to be a cop. Vandy has moved back to her hometown to deal with her grief and take care of her father as he ages.

At first, it seemed somewhat quirky and cliche, more like a cozy mystery but once the story moved along it was more of what I expected. Vandy has some typical PI issues like earning enough and taking odd cases to pay the bills. She has chosen not to drink alcohol or carry a gun. I think she needs to work on her self defense skills or get a dog if she is going to go into those high risk situations and cases.

Her case starts with trying to cultivate work with the establishment power brokers and ends up going against their corruption. The happenings are rather over the top but eventually she gathers evidence to prove her case. Vandy reconnects with old friends from high school and develops some new friends.

I enjoyed learning about these characters and their world. I look forward to more cases in Queenstown.

Narration:
I really enjoy this narrator. The emotion and personality she infused into the characters added to my enjoyment. I listened at my usual 1.5x speed.

•Trouble in Queenstown follows P.I. Vandy Myrick as she attempts to solve a double murder. What started as an average potential divorce case, leads Vandy down a twisted trail of corruption and deceit.

•While I liked Trouble in Queenstown, I did think some parts were unnecessary and didn’t really add to the heart of the story. There were a couple twists that I didn’t foresee, so I did enjoy that!

•This book is available next week, on July 16, 2024. Thank you to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, and Delia Pitts for this ARC.

I was excited to have received a copy of this book from NetGalley and MacMillan Audio.

I really loved the main character in this book. She is strong, smart, and snarky.

The writing is great and I appreciate the story, it just wasn’t for me. I would recommend it to others, but I would pick up a physical copy. I think the audiobook had a negative impact on my ability to enjoy the story more.

I really wanted to love this book and was so excited to get early access to it through NetGalley. I listened to the audio version and I’ll start by saying the production did a great job. With that being said, I struggled to feel invested in this story. The writing was solid enough, I just never found myself connecting with the characters or the storyline.

3.5 stars rounding up, I liked this quite a bit!

Vandy's character really made this story so enjoyable. She is a complete bada$$ PI and takes NO sh!t from men, or anyone! Her friends were all great characters too!

I thought this mystery was good, it gets a little convoluted at the end but it all gets explained and when those puzzle pieces fell into place.... wow!

I enjoyed this narrator! Great portrayal of the story and the characters.

Would recommend if you love:
-cozy-ish mystery
-PI as the detective
-family dynamics
-small town politics

I have never read anything by this author, but I can tell you right now that I am so happy I did. As a matter of fact, I liked the main character Evander “Vandy” Myrick so much that I would like to see her star in her own series!

This story is filled with lies, dirty politics, obviously murder, and corruption. Racial disparity plays a significant part in this tale.

I was hooked and enjoyed this one a lot.

The story flowed well and the characters were well developed. I recommend this book and look forward to more from this author.


****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

Overall, I felt like this was a good story. I would definitely read another book by the same author. I did like the gumption of the main character, but found her behavior to be unprofessional, unethical, and a little unbelievable. That behavior lessened her credibility in the story. Without giving away any of the story, there were several places in the book where the main character felt the need to point out what was going on, when that was already clear from the story. It sort of interrupted the flow of the story and made it feel like more of an agenda push. It didn’t happen often enough, nor was it preachy enough to ruin the story. I think it was simply a case of an inexperienced author wanting to be sure that her audience understood what was really going on or what the main character was experiencing.

Thank you, Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this advanced reader's audiobook. This was such a fun thriller. Vandy is a private eye in Queenstown, NJ. She gets a ton of divorce cases as PI. It's not classy, but they pay the bills. Vandy takes on a new client, the mayor's nephew, Leo Hannah, in what she thinks is just another divorce case. Leo wants her to surveil his wife to get photos for any evidence of cheating or scandal. But soon, the surveillance becomes much more trouble when a murder that's possibly racially charged occurs. Vandy is pulled into more than she signed up for, but she must use her hard-earned PI skills to figure out what really happened. I really enjoyed this first book introducing us to Vandy and I look forward to more cases and hijinks with her in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and Delia Pitts for the chance to listen to this ARC.

Trouble In Queenstown had a lot of potential but it fell a little flat for me. I didn't feel a connection to the characters, I didn't feel like any of them were likeable and I felt like the book was pretty predictable. I felt like Trouble in Queenstown was a little slow and lacked action. I tried really hard to like to book but it couldn't really keep my attention. 2.5 ⭐️