Trouble in Queenstown

I love hard boiled detective radio shows, so I get excited when I can find a modern hard boiled detective book. Vandy is a PI in the vein of a Sam Spade or Phillip Marlowe. She is obviously a black woman, so she has more layers than the above mentioned PIs. Then you add in her backstory and you have a complicated character trying to solve a mystery, bring justice and just maybe deal with her own issues.
The gritty beginning lets us know exactly what we are getting into right away. So no one should be surprised that this is a hard boiled detective instead of a cozy mystery. As a cozy mystery reader also, I appreciate Pitts letting us know what we are in for right away.
I am hoping for some more books with Vandy to see how she develops as a character. Great ‘start' to a hard boiled detective series.