Synopses & Reviews
The Blackbird sisters are back—and as witty and wonderful as ever! For richer, for poorer...
Nora Blackbird, the Bucks County ex-debutante with a haute couture wardrobe, a hot job as a glamorous society columnist and a stone cold bank account, might finally have her own life just right, but everyone around her is going down in flames. Her sister Libby seems destined to be the lead character in a tabloid sex scandal. Her sister Emma is expecting a mysterious love child. Her best friend, Lexie Paine, is serving time in the slammer. And now her mobbed-up boyfriend, Mick Abruzzo—who might actually be her husband—is conducting clandestine capers from Blackbird Farm while under house arrest. What’s a good girl to do?
Find a killer, that’s what! Word arrives that the sisters’ great aunt, Madeleine Blackbird, has died in a volcanic eruption on an Indonesian island and left her fabulous country estate, worth millions, to the three of them. But when the Blackbird sisters show up to claim their windfall, they find the house in a state of disheartening decay and all of Madeleine’s to-die-for treasures gone. Worse, the mansion has been hiding a grisly secret: the body of a woman who died there many years ago. All the evidence points to a high society murder...
Nora’s special bond with flamboyant Aunt Madeleine compels her to seek out the truth. With her aunt’s amorous stepson dogging her footsteps, her unscrupulous lawyer acting like a skunk, and her devoted housekeeper not to be found, Nora’s investigation is going nowhere. Good thing Mick’s close by to offer Nora distractions both dark and delightful. And, as ever, her irrepressible sisters provide some unexpected... and highly unorthodox... assistance when she most needs it.
Review
Praise for Nancy Martins “Highly Entertaining”* Series
“Clever, good-humored, and sharply observed.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Smart intrigue dressed in cool couture.” —New York Times Bestselling Author Susan Andersen
“Nancy Martin knows the inner workings of blue-blooded Philadelphia and she lets us in on the fun with style and panache.” —New York Times Bestselling Author Margaret Maron
“Great clothes, great mystery, great fun!” —New York Times Bestselling Author Jennifer Crusie
“Thoroughly entertaining.”—New York Times Bestselling Author Jane Heller
“Hilarious repartee and zany characters.”—Library Journal (Starred Review)
“What a hoot! What a treat!” —*Rhys Bowen, Author of the Royal Spyness Mystery Series
“A delicious mix of murder, sex, and cupcakes on the Philadelphia Main Line.” —Pittsburgh Magazine
“A fizzy, entertaining adventure.” —Publishers Weekly
Review
Martin, a master of one-liners and witty repartee...comes up with another winning mystery. (
Library Journal, starred review)
Review
“A nifty tale…the author’s sense of humor adds sparkle.”—
Florida Sun-Sentinel “Fashion-forward romance and witty suspense…Martin’s wicked tongue-in-cheek satire will appeal to fans of Jennifer Crusie [and] Janet Evanovich.”—Publishers Weekly
Review
Great clothes, great mystery, great fun! (Jennifer Crusie)
Come fly along with the fabulous, beautiful, wacky and witty Blackbird sisters. (Kasey Michaels)
Review
"A window on a moneyed world that the author skewers and spotlights with equal fun." -
San Antonio Express-News "master of one-liners and witty repartee." -
Library Journal (starred review)
Review
Praise for The Blackbird Sisters series “Nancy Martin knows the inner workings of blue-blooded Philadelphia and she lets us in on the fun with style and panache.” —New York Times bestselling author Margaret Maron
“Great clothes, great mystery, great fun!” — New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Crusie
“Clever, good-humored, and sharply observed.”--The Philadelphia Inquirer
“A delicious mix of murder, sex, and cupcakes on the Philadelphia Main Line.” —Pittsburgh Magazine
“Hilarious repartee and zany characters....”—Library Journal (Starred Review)
“Smart intrigue dressed in cool couture.” —New York Times bestselling author Susan Andersen
“What a hoot! What a treat!” —Rhys Bowen, author of the Royal Spyness series
“What scandal for high society, but what fun watching Nora figure it out.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Review
Praise for the Blackbird Sisters Mysteries “Smart intrigue dressed in cool couture.”—New York Times bestselling author Susan Andersen
“Martin knows the inner workings of blue-blooded Philadelphia.”—New York Times bestselling author Margaret Maron
“Its always a joy to see what those flawed and feisty Blackbird sisters are up to.”—Agatha and Anthony Award-winning author Rhys Bowen
“A fizzy, entertaining adventure.”—Publishers Weekly
Review
Praise for the Dead-End Job Mysteries by Elaine Viets, Winner of the Anthony Award and the Agatha Award “A stubborn and intelligent heroine...a wonderful South Florida setting.”—Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of the Sookie Stackhouse Novels
“[Viets writes] quick-witted mysteries.”—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review
“Wickedly funny.” —The Miami Herald
"Lively plots and broad humor...highly entertaining."—South Florida Sun-Sentinel
“Viets shines at evoking Floridas vibrant landscapes and even more colorful characters.” —Publishers Weekly
“Moving Helen from dead-end jobs into full-time employment does nothing to stifle her quirky good humor.”—Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
When the tycoon owner of a spectacularly tacky sports bar is killed, Nora Blackbird suspects a secretive politician, a shady former rock star doubling as a pastry chef, and a dangerous aristo-brat on the verge of stardom.
Synopsis
You could say my sisters and I are hot-blooded bluebloods with a flair for fashion—and for solving crimes. But things have NOT been going well for us Blackbirds: Emma has busted out of a very exclusive clinic. Libby’s hormones are in overdrive from selling paraphernalia for Potions and Passions, a company that promises its customers full satisfaction. And I’m still dating mobster’s son Mick Abruzzo, which keeps me in a permanent tizzy. At least, nobody in my vicinity has been knocked off lately. Oops—looks like I spoke too soon… A TEMPEST IN A C-CUP
Nora’s next journalistic assignment: the unveiling of the most miraculous bra in fashion history. But before Nora can hand in her uplifting story, her boss is found shot execution-style and trussed up in expensive panty hose—an Abruzzo family trademark. Now Nora must find the killer before her innocent lover takes the rap. That means shadowing the most glamorous suspects in Philadelphia—including a bad-boy designer, a former child star, a high-strung ad exec, and a pair of luscious twin models. Though Nora’s accustomed to upper-crust murder, cross your fingers for the Blackbird sisters, because this time, high society has never seemed so low-down dirty.
Synopsis
Nora Blackbird, society columnist and down-and-almost-out former debutante, reclaims her place within Philadelphia's elite when she stumbles upon the murdered body of a millionaire art collector.
Synopsis
When the husband of a wealthy dog food heiress is found bludgeoned to death at an exclusive hunt club, Nora Blackbird is as surprised as anyone. Worse still, the evidence points toward a devious blackmail scheme-with Nora's sister, Emma, as the main suspect. Investigating with the help of friend and foe alike, Nora uncovers the secrets of some of Philadelphia's high-and-mightiest-and attracts the unwanted attentions of the real killer...
Synopsis
When a high society jewel thief winds up drowned at the bottom of a pool with a tacky garden gnome tied to her ankles, Nora must swing into action to save her old flame from a hasty murder charge.
Synopsis
Down-to-earth debutante Nora Blackbird is having a meltdown. A noted Philly philanthropist has taken a swan dive from an office balcony?and Nora?s friend Lexie stands accused of the murder. Then her scheming parents reappear, sending all three Blackbird sisters into a panic. Now Nora must uncover her parents? scandalous high jinks?before she winds up taking the heat?
Synopsis
Nora Blackbird has made the society pages yet again. The impoverished Philadelphia heiress has agreed to wed Mick Abruzzo, son of New Jersey's most notorious mobster-if he can survive the Blackbird Curse. Anytime a Blackbird sister remarries, the groom is bound to die...
Synopsis
When the husband of a wealthy dog food heiress is found bludgeoned to death at an exclusive hunt club, Nora Blackbird is as surprised as anyone. Worse still, the evidence points toward a devious blackmail scheme-with Nora's sister, Emma, as the main suspect. Investigating with the help of friend and foe alike, Nora uncovers the secrets of some of Philadelphia's high-and-mightiest-and attracts the unwanted attentions of the real killer...
Synopsis
Down-to-earth debutante Nora Blackbird is having a meltdown. A noted Philly philanthropist has taken a swan dive from an office balcony and Nora's friend Lexie stands accused of the murder. Then her scheming parents reappear, sending all three Blackbird sisters into a panic. Now Nora must uncover her parents' scandalous high jinks before she winds up taking the heat.
Synopsis
Nora Blackbird has made the society pages yet again. The impoverished Philadelphia heiress has agreed to wed Mick Abruzzo, son of New Jerseys most notorious mobster. Now Nora has to help him survive the Blackbird curse: Every time a Blackbird sister marries, the groom is bound to die.
But Noras superstitions are eclipsed by some ominous news. Penny Devine, ex-Hollywood starlet and daughter of the Philadelphia Devines, has disappeared, and strangely, her family is very eager to have her declared dead. When its revealed that Nora has inherited Pennys extensive couture wardrobe, eyebrows rise even higher. The only way for Nora to keep her name clear and save her sanity is to snoop among the snooty
until she sniffs out the truth.
Synopsis
Not much is going right these days for once rich, now impoverished Nora Blackbirdwhat with her lover under house arrest and her best friend in the slammer. Then Nora and her sisters receive word of a million-dollar inheritance.... Great-aunt Madeleine Blackbird has died in a volcanic eruption on an Indonesian island and left her fabulous Bucks County estate to the three Blackbird sisters. But when Nora and her scandal-ridden sisters, Libby and Emma, go to claim their windfall, they find the house in decay and all of their aunts to-die-for treasures gone. They also find a womans body....
Nora feels compelled to seek out the truth, but even with help from her mobster boyfriend, Mick Abruzzo, who provides distractions both dark and delightful, solving this case proves challenging. Relatives are circling to claim a share of Madeleines property, the suspect list is growing, and Noras wild and wacky sisters are adding one surprise after another. Its enough to put Noras couture undies in a serious twist!
Synopsis
No more pussyfooting around! Husband and wife PI team Helen Hawthorne and Phil Sagemont have barely scratched the surface of the world of show cats when a cornered kitty kidnappers claws come out.... This show cat is a no-show....
The one thing celebrity Trish Barrymore and her no-account accountant husband, Mort, can agree on in their bitter divorce is shared cat custody. But when Mort is found brained by a mahogany cat tower, and Justine, their pedigreed Chartreux show cat, goes missing, Trish calls on Helen and Phil. Despite a ransom note from the catnapper, Trish is still the prime murder suspect in the eyes of the police. As they await the post-Mort-em, its up to Helen and Phil to find the feline filcher and let the cat out of the bag.
Discovering that Mort had some shady dealings within cat show circles, Helen goes undercover as an assistant for a woman who shows prizewinning Persians. But Phil is not buying Trishs cat-that-swallowed-a-canary acthe thinks she might be staging the whole catnapping.
As Helen and Phil get deeper into a high-pressure world of primping, posing, and purring to collar a killer, they get caught up in a cat-and-mouse game where the stakes are literally life and death....
Synopsis
Murder under the stars... Nora Blackbirdpregnant at last!is spending summer afternoons wallowing in the Bucks County pool of her best friend, Lexie Paine, who has just been released from prison. At night, Nora is covering Philadelphias high-society events for the local newspaper. And this time she doesnt have to look far for a good story.
Next door, a Broadway show is in rehearsal at the estate of Toodles Tuttle, the long-deceased but ever-legendary composer. Reigning over the estate is Toodless diva widow, Boom Boom. The demanding old broad still rules with an iron fist, and considering the chorus line of enemies shes racked up over the years, her death has been a hotly anticipated event. So imagine everyones dismay when its her beloved daughter, Jenny, who drops deadfrom a cause that is anything but naturaljust as the lights are set to go on for the lucrative new Toodles musical.
Yet murder is only an overture to the drama to come....
Noras sister Libby, a soon-to-be-grandmother, has gotten herself into a sticky situation, wooed by both a lowly bug exterminator and a cheesecake-loving Broadway impresario. Edgy sister Emma has a dangerous new boyfriend who may jeopardize her show-jumping exploits. And the love of Noras life, Mick Abruzzo, has been desperate to prevent Nora from meeting the most notorious member of his mobbed-up familyhis mother.
Now Nora has to deal with the bump-and-grind of her personal life, and also bring the curtain down on a daring killerbefore he forces her to exit stage left, permanently.
About the Author
Like her heroines, the Blackbird sisters, Nancy Martin comes from a distinguished Pennsylvania family whose ancestors include Betsy Ross, a hanging judge, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. She is the author of the Blackbird Sisters Mysteries: Little Black Book of Murder, No Way to Kill a Lady, Murder Melts in Your Mouth, A Crazy Little Thing Called Death, Have Your Cake and Kill Him Too, Cross Your Heart and Hope to Die, Some Like it Lethal, Dead Girls Dont Wear Diamonds, and How to Murder a Millionaire.