Customer Reviews

How to Murder a Millionaire

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Nora Blackbird's parents left the US for a sunny, tax evaders resort leaving Nora's sister Emma with the art collection and her other sister Libby with the furniture collection. All Nora gets is the property that has been in her family for generations - and a two million dollar tax bill. For the first time in her life, Nora, a former socialite, is forced to *gasp* work. Rory, an old friend of the family who owns a Philadelphia newspaper takes pity on her and hires her as a society page columnist. This is not quite as much fun as it could have been because Kitty, the reigning queen of the society column, believes that Nora is trying to take over her job and gives her all of the bad assignments - like the opening of the monster truck dealership on land that Nora was forced to sell. I mean, its bad enough that Nora sold land that had been in her family for generations, but she sold it to the son of a rumored New Jersey crime boss who sells trucks! To top off her day, Nora discovers the body of her employer and family friend at a party that evening. Nora quickly realizes that the police are out of their depth when it comes to dealing with high society and tries her best to help them out. However, she keeps getting distracted by her flaky sisters and their problems, a slimy art dealer, and the bone-melting come ons she can barely resist from Abruzzo, the suspected crime boss...

First of all, in case the synopsis didn't tip you off, this book is not for the hard-core mystery lover. It is kind of a cross between a romance and a mystery novel and fits quite neatly into the "mystery cozy" genre. This is a fun, fast read for those who enjoy their mysteries filled with comments about clothes, food, romance, socialites, art and weird families. Nancy Martin has a nice, smooth writing style and the plot unfolds nicely. I also loved her characters. I mean, where else do you find a reclusive billionaire who collects erotic art, a brother-in-law who dresses up in full Confederate regalia for formal occasions, two flaky, funny sisters, a baby-faced detective who is a lot sharper than he seems, and hosts of other entertaining characters. Sound like fun? This book definitely is!

Nora Blackbird's world has been turned upside down. Her husband was killed during a drug deal and her socialite parents have fled to a tropical tax haven to escape creditors. Her sisters got the furniture and art collection and Nora got the family farm and the two million dollar tax bill. She manages to get a job as a social reporter for a family friend's newspaper, but the friend ends up murdered at a party. Nora's curiosity gets the better of her, especially when a folio of erotic art is given to her by her sister to return to the estate. Nora wants to know who killed Rory and why. She has the help of Mick Abruzzo whether she wants it or not.

This is a promising new series. The three Blackbird sisters are very quirky from Emma's horse obsession to Nora's fainting spells. The plot is entertaining without being too far fetched and I look forward to the next installment of the series.

The first book in the Blackbird Sisters mystery series introduces us to a sleek, yet unlucky sleuth trying to stay on the top of the social ladder. The narrator, Nora Blackbird, is a widow (her husband died in a drug deal gone bad) with a $2 million tax bill left to her by her free-spirited parents. When her parents left the country to avoid paying back taxes, Nora got the property (with the tax bill as an added bonus) and her two sisters got the furniture and the art collection. Swallowing her pride, Nora takes a job (albeit a swanky one) writing for the gossip/society page at one of Philadelphia's newspapers. She owes this cushy job to family friend and newspaper owner, Rory Penderghast. However, when she attends a party thrown to honor the newspaper and its lengthy history, she has the unfortunate honor of finding Rory dead in his room. Believing that he could have never killed himself, Nora is determined to find a killer and keep her family's good name in the process.

Even though the premise of the series is a bit implausible, I loved this book about these hilarious sisters! They were plucky in the face of doom (how could you ever repay $2 million?) and were determined to triumph over the hard times in their lives. I was glad to see that Nora did not have a completely naïve attitude about money (she did wear her grandmother's evening gowns to parties) but there is something odd about a woman who acts nonchalantly about millions owed to the IRS. Nevertheless, I found this book fun and interesting, and would definitely recommend this book for a lighthearted, fun read. Enjoy!

A Cozy Lover

Delightfully funny and deliciously sexy, How to Murder a Millionaire is an entertaining romp through Philadelphia high society where old money mixes with new crime and motives abound along with the martinis.

Nora Blackbird is smart, stylish and too busy for love, but it still manages to find her as she deals with a new job, two wild sisters and the murder of an old family friend. This mystery is wickedly funny and also romantic as Nora juggles being a full-time society page columnist with part-time sleuthing. In trying to solve the mystery of who murdered her friend, Nora skirts dangerously close to becoming victim number two and skates into the arms of someone far outside her social circle.

Nancy Martin's writing is fresh, funny and filled with the sort of details that make this mystery a must for those looking for pure entertainment. A good exampe of the perfect beach book--but don't save it!

"How to Murder..." is a terrific fun. The mystery element is legit - you're given some interesting suspects and the ultimate murderer is a surprise...Nora, however, is superbly developed - she's funny, clever, but with her own faults. (She faints a lot - she hates it, she's not a delicate creature, but she just faints a lot. Oh, and she and her sisters can't keep husbands - they die on them.) Her sisters round out what looks to be a truly fun group of detectives - especially Emma, the youngest. And Michael adds an attractive balance to all those women - and gives us all a reason to keep reading (to see what happens between him and Nora). I'm sure we'll see Det. Bloom again, as well. I'll definitely look for book #2.

It's not often that I get to begin a series at the beginning. (It took me decades to work my way back to the first Parker/Spenser book.) So I enjoyed following along as the author both set up and solved a mystery and introduced a cast of characters we just know will be reappearing later in the series. Like the Amanda Pepper mysteries by Gillian Roberts, this book is set in Philadelphia, a city I have great affection for. The story itself is not that complex -- Nora is no VI Warshawski or Kay Scarpetta. But it was entertaining and the end really surprised me. The only problem I had -- and from reading some of the other reviews here, I may be alone in this -- is that while I liked the heroine, I really had little use for Emma and Libby, her sisters. I guess I was supposed to find them eccentric and charming, but instead they annoyed me. I expect to come back and revisit this series, so maybe they'll grow on me.

When Nora Blackbird's parents fled Philadelphia, abandoning their former socialite status, they left Nora, their daughter, with a property tax bill of two million dollars. Now, at the age of 31-years-old, Nora has to try to find a job. And she's lucky, for she finds one as a Philadelphia newspaper's society page columnist. Unfortunately, her job doesn't mention anything about playing detective, which is what she ends up doing when an old family friend, and millionaire art collector ends up being murdered during Nora's first party assignment. Now she has to solve the mystery, before she ends up dead next.

Martin has created a very likable character in her first novel from the beginning BLACKBIRD SISTERS MYSTERY SERIES. Nora is a fun, sexy character, who has many strange, yet entertaining quirks about her. A mystery with a comedic kick. Great for all mystery fans.

Erika Sorocco

Martin's MILLIONAIRE is a well-thought-out, excellently crafted, entertaining read! Not only are the society girls, Nora and her sisters, a hoot, but the range of legitimate suspects makes it a toughie to figure out, holding your interest until the very end! Martin's knack for presenting engaging characters in interesting situations puts her up there with Strohmeyer and Evanovich in my book. I can't wait for her next release!

Also recommended: BUBBLES IN TROUBLE by Sarah Strohmeyer; FULL HOUSE by Janet Evanovich

The Blackbird family heirlooms have been divided up, with each of the sisters getting something of value. Nora received the family farm just outside Philadelphia. Unfortunately, with it comes a huge tax debt. So Nora does what any young woman would do, she takes a job as a society reporter for a local paper.

Nora has connections with the owner of the paper, which makes her new co-worker furious. But that's minor after Nora finds the dead body of the owner. Even with Rory's advanced age, the police quickly find evidence of murder. When they start looking in what Nora feels is the wrong direction, she decides to investigate and find the real killer herself. The more she pokes around, the more Nora learns about Rory's secret life and the more motives she finds. Can she sort out the correct motive and solve the crime?

I've been hearing about this series for some time, and finally got a chance to read it. All the buzz I'd heard is well deserved. This is a fun mystery with a charming heroine. Her sisters are a hoot as well. I look forward to getting to know all of them better in future books. The story was well plotted and reached a logical conclusion. The ending did seem a bit rushed to me, however. My only other complaint is that Nora's reason for looking into this murder seemed a little shaky, but maybe I'm just being picky.

I'm looking forward to seeing what befalls Nora in her future adventures.

If you like Jennifer Cruise or Janet Evanovich books, you'll love Nancy Martin's series. There is a cast of quirky people, a mini-mystery to solve, and lots of great banter.

Nora Blackbird finds herself at thirty-one, having to work for the first time in her life. She and her two sisters grew up among the high society of Philadelphia. The Blackbird name is know for being around since the Civil War, for the "curse" of the Blackbird women, and always providing the rumor mills for ripe gossip. When Nora's parents left the U.S. for a sunnier locale (and for tax evasion), they split the remains of the family fortune among their three daughters. Libby, the eldest and mother earth type, received the family furniture. Nora, the middle daughter was left with the original family estate (and a two million dollar property tax bill, hence her need to find employment). Emma, the baby of the family, owns the families' multi-million dollar art collection.

Nora asks a longtime family friend, Rory Pendergast, for a job at his newspaper. Rory has a special place for the Blackbird sister's and hires Nora to work under the cities most feared gossip columnist, Kitty Keough. Kitty is non too happy at Nora's new position. Since this position will not make much of a dent in the tax bill, Nora is forced to sell off some acres of ancestral land. She sells it Michael "The Mick" Abruzzuo, who reportedly is related to a New Jersey crime family.

While on assignment at a party at Rory's house, Nora stumbles upon Rory's dead body. The lead homicide detective, Lt. Bloom, thrusts her into the investigation. He needs someone who understands the ways of the elite. Nora continues to investigate long after the police are finished with her help. Along the way, Michael becomes an ally. Nora is careful not to ask him questions that she doesn't want to know the answers to. As the investigation continues, Emma and Libby disappear. There is a cast of hysterical characters who come out of the woodwork to add to the flavor of the story. Nancy Martin gives us plenty of twists and turns to keep us guessing. Her storyline keeps you interested the entire way through.