Drop-Dead Blonde [Paperback]

Nancy Martin (Author), Elaine Viets (Author), Denise Swanson (Author), Victoria Laurie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2005

Do blondes have more fun?

Four beloved authors with all new fair-haired mysteries to dye for do.

They're blondes with style, money, and men falling at their feet. But now these perfect women are perfect victims. In Drop-Dead Blonde, four of today's top mystery authors-Nancy Martin, Denise Swanson, Elaine Viets, and Victoria Laurie-spin four all-new tales of fair-haired sirens, secrets, and seduction.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Signet; First Thus edition (February 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451214447
• ISBN-13: 978-0451214447
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #423,517 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Foursome, June 3, 2005

By 

Mystery Reader (NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drop-Dead Blonde (Paperback)

Do blondes really have more fun? Sure and the authors in this book show that even dying can be a ball. Get ready for four funny stories, each taking a different kind of blonde and showing what can happen when girls just want to have fun.

Nancy Martin's "Slay Belles," puts Nora Blackbird on the trail of a shopaholic who will do anything for the perfect purse. Dogs, sisters, and the general madness of Christmas make this a fun read.

Elaine Viets' terrific "Killer Blonde," gives Helen Hawthorne a break as she listens to her over the top landlady's interesting account of two blondes out of the past who duel to the death over office politics.

Denise Swanson's "Dead Blondes Tell No Tales," was my favorite. The ending was a complete surprise and the story had me laughing out loud. In this novella the small town of Scumble River is the perfect setting for a story of shenanigans that occupy school psychologist Skye Denison while she works at a bowling alley during spring break. Skye has to deal with sex toys, false alarms, karaoke, a Marilyn Monroe look-alike contest--not to mention the blonde.

Victoria Laurie's "Blind Sighted" was a new character for me. Abby Cooper is a psychic detective who finds her self at a paranormal convention rather than the vacation she thought she was going on. When a nonbeliever is murdered at the seminar Abby decides to find the killer. This charming story rounds out a fantastic foursome.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Chick Lit Amateurs Sleuths, January 23, 2006

By 

dessert - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drop-Dead Blonde (Paperback)

Bite sized stories from 4 authors. I was a first time reader new to their works except for Victoria Laurie's. All stories of course involved blonde women as the title suggests. Like they say, blondes have more fun but they may end up in more trouble.

Nancy Martin - 2 stars. I found her style of writing difficult to get into. In the first place, all her characters seem to have wierd names that seem to imply that they are rather ditzy. Lots of brand names some imaginary thrown around as the sleuth used to be wealthy.

Denise Swanson - 4 stars. Liked the down to earth girl in a small town working as a counsellor in school full time but doubles up as a sleuth during school vacations.

Elaine Viets - 4 stars. Interesting plot in this book seen thru a retrospective angle going back to the 1970's.

Victoria Laurie - 5 stars. Ah, my favourite amateur sleuth author who never fails to deliver with her protaganist, Abby Cooper's, pyschic powers in solving crimes.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A light travel/beach read, February 14, 2005

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Book Maven - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drop-Dead Blonde (Paperback)

This collection of four mysteries about blondes isn't earth shattering, but it's a cute read suitable for riding on the subway or lying on the beach. Some of the mysteries end up being quite silly (&without any real clues to help you figure them out), but the storeies do get progressively better as the book continues. The Dead End Job and the Psychic Eye mysteries were my favorites...the writing was a bit better with more developed characters and more intense mysteries. I suggest taking this book out from a library or buying it used. While it's not really bad, you might not want to spend full price for this mystery anthology.