Hi, I’m Evander Myrick, a private investigator in Queenstown, New Jersey. In my small hometown, I don’t have many friends or enemies, but those I do have call me Vandy. I run cases of all kinds — divorces, insurance fraud, missing persons, theft, blackmail. Murder isn’t my usual fare, but I’ve handled the worst that human nature can deal. I won’t back off when it comes to defending family and neighbors. If you’re my client, your case matters to me.

Tonight, I’m on one of the toughest assignments I’ve faced in my two years back in town: I’m dolled up in my fancy sheath dress to attend a big-deal homecoming gala as escort to my teenaged friend Ingrid Ramirez. I like Ingrid; she’s a feisty, tender, whip-smart kid with loads of emotional baggage. No one can substitute for my daughter Monica, whose death over two years ago sent me into a devastating collapse. But Ingrid comes pretty close.

Ingrid is an honor student at the Rome School, the snooty private boarding high school which is the jewel in Queenstown’s dented tiara. At tonight’s homecoming banquet Ingrid’s being awarded the school’s highest recognition for academic achievement. Her real mother can’t make it, so I’m happy to play the designated substitute.

Looking around the glitzy table at the guests who’ve arrived so far, I figure I can handle them in a showdown. There’s the Rome School headmaster, Charles Dumont, a brainy snob who’d bulldoze his own grandmother if she stood in the way of his chance for money or the limelight. Then there’s Laurel Vaughn, the hippie art teacher whose passion for painting is matched by her obsessive commitment to her students. Beside Laurel is her good friend, Melinda Terrence, the Rome School’s hard-charging college guidance counselor. Melinda will guarantee your child gets into a higher education institution – for a price. Melinda is at our table in support of her son, Tariq, who is Rome’s student athlete of the year. He’s also Ingrid’s new boyfriend. Tariq is a track star and, according to Laurel Vaughn, the best artist she has taught in all her years at the Rome School.

I was perfectly cool with Tariq as Ingrid’s new boo, until his dad, Philip Bolden, arrived at our table as the surprise guest of honor. Phil Bolden is a Rome School trustee, “Philanthropy Phil,” a real estate tycoon rolling in money. He is also my ex-husband, the father of my dead daughter, and the love of my life. Phil is the itch that won’t stop burning. I married Phil in a fit of youthful ego – my father called him a snake in tight pants – and I divorced him when I was four months pregnant. He worked hard to earn his nickname “Philandering Phil.” We called it quits over twenty years ago. But the memories and regrets still smolder. Now Phil’s back with a new wife, a talented son, and big bucks to throw around the Rome School.

My challenge tonight is to make it through this homecoming banquet without swooning over Phil – or strangling him.

Death of an Ex – A Vandy Myrick Mystery, Book 2
Genre: Private Investigator Mystery
Release: July 2025
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link

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?

About the author
Born and raised in Chicago, Delia graduated from Oberlin College with a Bachelor’s degree in history. After working as a journalist, she earned a Ph.D. in African history from the University of Chicago. She is a former university administrator and U.S. diplomat. Her contemporary noir mystery, Trouble in Queenstown, was published by Minotaur Books in 2024. The sequel, Death of an Ex, also starring New Jersey PI, Vandy Myrick, was published on July 15, 2025 by Minotaur Books. Delia is also the author of the Ross Agency Mysteries, a series set in Harlem. She has also published several acclaimed short stories, including, “The Killer,” which was selected for inclusion in Best American Mystery and Suspense 2021. Delia is an active member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and Crime Writers of Color.

Delia and her husband live in central New Jersey and have twin sons living in Texas. To learn more about Delia and her books visit her website at deliapitts.com.