Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Trouble in Queenstown by Delia Pitts Narrator: Bahni Turpin
Published by MacMillan Audio, Minotaur Books on July 16, 2024
Genres: Mystery
Pages: 320
Length: 11 hours, 58 minutes
Format: Audiobook, eARC
Source: NetGalley, Publisher
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Evander “Vandy” Myrick became a cop to fulfill her father’s expectations. After her world cratered, she became a private eye to satisfy her own. Now she's back in Queenstown, New Jersey, her childhood home, in search of solace and recovery. It's a small community of nine thousand souls crammed into twelve square miles, fenced by cornfields, warehouses, pharma labs, and tract housing. As a Black woman, privacy is hard to come by in "Q-Town," and worth guarding.
For Vandy, that means working plenty of divorce cases. They’re nasty, lucrative, and fun in an unwholesome way. To keep the cash flowing and expand her local contacts, Vandy agrees to take on a new client, the mayor’s nephew, Leo Hannah. Leo wants Vandy to tail his wife to uncover evidence for a divorce suit. At first the surveillance job seems routine, but Vandy soon realizes there’s trouble beneath the bland surface of the case when a racially charged murder with connections to the Hannah family rocks Q-Town. Fingers point. Clients appear. Opposition to the inquiry hardens. And Vandy’s sight lines begin to blur as her determination to uncover the truth deepens. She’s a minor league PI with few friends and no resources. Logic pegs her chances of solving the case between slim and hell no. But logic isn’t her strong suit. Vandy won’t back off.
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.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Bahni Turpin
Bahni Turpin is a Los Angeles-based actress with many television and film credits in addition to being an award winning narrator. She is honored to have been awarded an Audie for Best Female Narrator, 2015, Audible Narrator of the Year, 2016, and American Library Association’s Voice of Choice for 2017. In 2018, Bahni won best female narration again, and was also inducted into the Audible Hall of Fame. She is a two-time Odyssey Award winner, and was also named as one of Audiophile’s Golden Voices for 2019.
Bahni Turpin is also a famous TV and film actress. She started her career in 1987 with the film called “Tiszta Amerika”.
2010 Best Voice in Fiction: PRECIOUS
The talented narrator is now a devoted listener, too, but she came to audiobooks with a bit of skepticism. Another actress referred her to Books on Tape, where she later auditioned. “It was very strange to me at the time because I didn’t listen to audiobooks then.”
In time, Books on Tape engaged her to read A PIECE OF CAKE, by Cupcake Brown, and Bahni was hooked. She had always liked reading aloud and found the assignment to be a comfortable and enjoyable gig. Of course, she’s continued. But sometimes she’s surprised at a director’s requirements. “I auditioned for a new company, and the director was so picky,” she says. “Every time you cleared your throat, you had to restart the paragraph.”
Bahni, who now loves listening to women’s stories as she tools around Los Angeles, was mesmerized by her own voicing of the character Minny in THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett. “While listening, I forgot it was me I was listening to,” says Bahni, who enjoyed the book’s rich emotions and vivid characterizations of several female characters.
The experience of absorbing audiobooks can be challenging for some modern listeners, Bahni feels. The heavy reliance on television for entertainment has led some to forget how to listen without a visual component. But she doesn’t draw a line between acting and narration. Bahni reads each book before recording and makes notes about how each character should sound. “I like to give each one a characterization and really try to read the way I feel the text should be heard. I especially enjoy doing dialects.”
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 24-COYER
I like the idea of the New Jersey setting, and it sounds like it will be a very good series😁
I think it will be a great series once it gets settled. The first book in the series can be tricky with both world and character building.
It’s been awhile since I read a good PI mystery! I like the sound of this one. 😀
There were some quirky bits but it eventually got real.
The cover gives it cozy vibes, too. I like the set up and slow build mystery you described for it and I already like the narrator.
yes I’m not sure if it will be cozy or what long term. I love this narrator.
Bahni Turpin is SO good! She’s one of my top ten narrators. Glad you enjoyed this book and wonderful review, Anne💜
Thank you. I always look hard at ones she narrates.
I would listen to this, just for the narrator. I love Turpin. Great review!
Thank you. I also love Turpin and the combo with a police procedural
I enjoy new settings and crime procedurals, too. Yes! There are other ways to defend yourself other than carrying a gun! Pepper spray (I carry while running), a tazer, one of those scope thingys that you can whack someone with. And yes, learn some self-defense if you’re going to be in dangerous situations! Glad to hear you enjoyed it.
Thanks Rachel. It seemed kind of stupid for her to run into danger without preparation.
This sounds good, I like police procedurals too and I like the NJ setting. Glad you enjoyed.
Thank you. I liked it and the narrator was excellent.
Yea. Good find. Will it be a series?
yes it is listed that way in Goodreads. I think I’ll really enjoy the series. First books can be hard and this one I really enjoyed after getting into it.
That seems dangerous not taking a gun or something
yes for someone who was a cop I would think she would at least have something defensive for herself.
I was tempted to pick this one up but ended up passing on it. It looks like a good one and I love that the main character is a PI with law enforcement backgroud. I’ll have to give it a try.
I wanted to read this one. It was a bit more quirky / unbelievable than I expected. It settled in after the start though.
Love the cover with the diner! Glad you’re enjoying this series!
It’s a great cover and an interesting start to a series.