Trouble in Queenstown

In this promising series launch, Pitts (the Ross Agency Mysteries) introduces PI Vandy Myrick, the self-described “toughest bitch” in Queenstown, N.J. After her daughter died of an overdose at a college party, Vandy quit the Philadelphia police department and returned home to Queenstown. Her detective agency is a downgrade from her police work—most of her cases involve collecting evidence against philandering spouses—but it pays well and keeps her busy. Things go south, however, after she’s hired by Leo Hannah, the nephew of Queenstown’s mayor, to gather information about his wife, Ivy. When Vandy arrives at the Hannahs’ home to deliver her report, she finds a bloody crime scene. Leo says he found a man—taxi driver Hector Ramírez—attacking Ivy with a hammer and shot him, but not before Ivy was killed. Vandy isn’t convinced the answer is so straightforward and sets out to investigate. In the process, she reconnects with her high school flame, who’s now Queenstown’s chief of police, and learns discomfiting truths about the racial tensions rippling through her hometown. With an indelible lead and a richly rendered setting, Pitts sets this series up for success. Readers will clamor for the next installment. (July)