Phil in SF reviewed Trouble in Queenstown by Delia Pitts
Starts interesting but gets increasingly more dumb
2 stars
Evander Myrick is the daughter of revered Queenstown police officer Evander Myrick, now a resident in a memory care facility. She's a former police officer herself, now starting a private investigations business. She's hired to find out if the wife of the mayor's nephew is cheating on him. She's wants the job because the mayor's connections will get her business for years to come. Just as she's about to report that nothing much is happening, the wife is murdered and the nephew has killed the murderer.
The villains are mustache-twirlers. They are also intent on monologuing their crimes to Evander. She is intent on not fucking recording them when they monologue. Or even investigating. Of course, neither are the police. So the big baddy is going to get away with it!
But then, the Lex Luthor of Queenstown inexplicably decides to make a run for it even though they are …
Evander Myrick is the daughter of revered Queenstown police officer Evander Myrick, now a resident in a memory care facility. She's a former police officer herself, now starting a private investigations business. She's hired to find out if the wife of the mayor's nephew is cheating on him. She's wants the job because the mayor's connections will get her business for years to come. Just as she's about to report that nothing much is happening, the wife is murdered and the nephew has killed the murderer.
The villains are mustache-twirlers. They are also intent on monologuing their crimes to Evander. She is intent on not fucking recording them when they monologue. Or even investigating. Of course, neither are the police. So the big baddy is going to get away with it!
But then, the Lex Luthor of Queenstown inexplicably decides to make a run for it even though they are winning. Thus sealing their guilt. OK, they're leaving town and getting away. But then... they turn around and come back, also for no reason except the author needs to have a big confrontation with the big bad guy.
But then, right after that her father (yes, he's there for the confrontation) remembers her name for the only time in the book. This is the emotional piece that Evander needed to feel complete, despite that never really being part of the emotional chasm that is our main character. Lots of other stuff is melodramatically and emotionally wrong with her at strange times, and usually when a side character that Evander has no reason to unload on, is present.
The plot is only coherent as a series of movie scenes where nothing lines up between them. I have no idea why this got a featured blurb in the Washington Post. This is not for readers. It's for someone who wants B-movie scenes in a book.