A Review of Trouble in Queenstown by Delia Pitts

Reviewed by Tim Suddeth

Trouble in Queenstown by Delia Pitts (Minotaur Books, 2024) is the first book in a new mystery series from the author of the Ross Agency Mysteries, about a detective firm in Harlem. Trouble in Queenstown, the 2025 Shamus Award winner for Best PI Novel, introduces us to Evander (Vandy) Myrick, a former Philadelphia police officer and the daughter of a legendary cop.

Trouble begins when Vandy relocates from Philadelphia to Queenstown, New Jersey, her childhood home without the homey feeling. She returns after the death of her daughter and puts out her PI shingle. She’s able to make ends meet by taking divorce cases and other jobs the bigger agencies refuse.

Leo Hannah, the nephew of the mayor who runs the city, hires Vandy to follow his wife and dig up dirt for a divorce. Unfortunately, the wife seems too busy with her children, shopping, and social groups to be involved with another man. Vandy goes to Leo’s house to give him the bad news that his wife is faithful. When she arrives, she sees two uniformed officers charging into his house. Vandy follows the police in with gun drawn. Stopping in the living room, she finds an unknown man dead on the floor and Leo kneeling over his wife’s body.

Pitts introduces us to a strong female PI who isn’t afraid to fight for what she believes, no matter whom she has to take on. All while handling watching her beloved father slowly succumb to dementia and dealing with the memories of her daughter. Vandy does have some friends. She just rarely listens to them as she barges through a political minefield that is way out of her league. Or is it?

I like how Pitts breaks the story up into different cases as the plot develops. The pace of the story will keep you reading “just one more chapter.” Vandy may try to act stoic while on the job but faces the emotional struggles many families deal with.

Delia Pitts earned a doctorate in history at the University of Chicago and later became a U.S. diplomat and university administrator. She said she drew on her cousin, Esther Myricks, while writing Trouble in Queenstown. As a young woman, her cousin teamed up with her husband to start a security firm. Pitts was impressed with watching her cousin in a male-dominated industry.

Trouble in Queenstown is a great addition to the PI canon. Vandy runs against a political force that will do anything to protect her family and position. You will find yourself pulling for this underdog who doesn’t know how to quit.