Dru’s Short Musing:
The struggle is real for Vandy Myrick in this complex tale of mischief and deceit.

Running into her ex was not expected but when his murder hits a bit too close to home, Vandy is determined to find out who killed Phil and why. This drama builds from a slow boil to cascading bubbles that does not disappoint, quickly becoming a page-turner as I had to know what happens next. The author did a great job with the visually descriptive narrative and engaging dialogue that made me see Queenstown through Vandy’s eyes. The mystery was nicely executed with a potential list of suspects, all who have been betrayed by Phil. I like how this was staged where the few twists and turns added to the suspense and intrigue of what was going on. The more Vandy digs into their motive, the more she uncovers, and it is by her persistent nature and to soothe her emotional soul, she discovers the one clue that puts a notch in the identity of the killer. This book is an excellent and grippingly enticing read and I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

Series Name: A Vandy Myrick Mystery | Book 2
Genre: Private Investigator Mystery
Release: July 15, 2025
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link

Book Synopsis:
Delia Pitts expertly writes about family, race, class, and grief in her mysteries. Vandy Myrick captured readers’ and critics’ hearts in Trouble in Queenstown. She returns in Death of an Ex, where Vandy tries to piece together what brought her ex-husband’s life to an end.

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.

Keeping busy with work helps Vandy deal with the grief of losing her daughter, stitching the seams, cementing the gaps. The memories will always remain, and they come crashing back to the surface when her ex-husband, Phil Bolden, walks back into her life. Promising everything, returning home, restoring family. Until she answers her door to the news that Phil has been murdered. And Vandy decides Phil is now her client.

It’s hard to separate the Phil that Vandy knew from the one Queenstown did. She sees him—and their daughter—in Phil’s son, who attends a prestigious local high school. She sees the layers of a complicated marriage with his wife. She sees all of Phil’s various roles: parent, husband, businessman, philanthropist. But which role got him killed?

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.