... Nancy Martin's fourth mystery about three heiresses whose fortune was stolen soon kicks into a nifty tale of family bonds, bullies and a little boy whose childhood had been denied him. Along the way, Martin also provides a behind-the-scenes look at fashion and high society.

Using just the right mix of humor, Martin balances this light story with an often weighty plot. Yes, Cross Your Heart and Hope to Die certainly belongs to the cozy/amateur sleuth category. But like the best writers in this subgenre, Martin keeps the story grounded in reality.

Columnist Nora Blackbird's assignment to cover the unveiling of a new bra puts her back in contact with her old social circle. Nora isn't interested in two old rivals who now appear to be friends, but she deeply cares about a little boy whose guardian cares more about the money the child has inherited. When a situation turns fatal, Nora is thrown into the middle of the conflict.

Martin's affinity for creating realistic, likable characters makes it easy to believe in - and root for - Nora's ''mafia prince'' boyfriend, a sister who sells sex toys in a biker bar and another sister who bolted from rehab to be a nude model. Nora finds being broke has given her new insight to her former social circle and to know who her real friends are.
The author's sense of humor adds sparkle to Cross Your Heart and Hope to Die, the first of this series to be published in hardcover.

- Oline H. Cogdill
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Cross Your Heart and Hope To Die: A Blackbird Sisters Mystery. NAL . Mar. 2005.

With major debt as motivation and closets of vintage designer clothes as inspiration, formerly old-monied Nora Blackbird (Some Like It Lethal ) writes columns for a Philadelphia newspaper. While attending a fashion show launching the self-supporting Brinker Bra, she and erotic toy-selling sister Libby witness younger rehab-escapee sister Emma riding practically naked on a horse. They all remember bad-boy designer Brinker, nasty when younger and nasty now, but nothing prepares Nora for the discovery of her fashion editor's body back home. Police suspect Nora's mob-connected boyfriend, but Nora suspects Brinker. Anyway, the resultant wide-eyed sleuthing, sisterly antics, and humorous dialog will have readers panting for more. This marks the hardcover debut of the popular paperback series.

Nora Blackbird is no singing star, but she knows how to act like a diva, complete with the designer clothes and the little dog in her arms. But Nora is one thing most divas are not: she is broke. Determined to save the family manse outside Philadelphia, frittered away by her parents, Nora is forced (shudder) to get a job. As an assistant for fashion-writer Kitty Keough, she does grunt work for little recognition—such as covering the unveiling of the hot new “Brinker bra.” After fighting the crowds for a seat, Nora is shocked to find that her sister Emma, supposedly in rehab, is the top bra model. She is even more shocked to return home and find her boss, Kitty, dead on her doorstep. It’s perhaps not quite so shocking to learn that her “mobbed-up” boyfriend is the prime suspect. This third in the Blackbird Sisters series (and first to appear in hardcover) is a laugh-out-loud comic mystery as outrageous as a pink chinchilla coat. —Jenny McLarin

"Some Like It Lethal," by Nancy Martin

Nancy Martin has demonstrated an ability to write a credible mystery that is simultaneously clever and funny.

Set in Philadelphia among the upper crust, "Lethal" is the third in a series featuring Blackbird sisters. To the manor born but now struggling after their parents' abrupt departure from the country, the three women were all widowed young.

Sensible Nora gets by, thanks to a newspaper job covering society doings. Libby has a penchant for reproduction -- baby No. 5 has just arrived -- and an interest in New Age spirituality.

But it is Emma, the alcoholic horse-trainer, who most troubles Nora, particularly after Emma is found unconscious alongside a dead man at a hunt club breakfast.

Of course, Nora wants to free her sister from suspicion, but it's not like she doesn't have plenty of other things going on, namely coping with her envious boss and her on-again/off-again relationship with the sexy scion of a crime family.

All in all, "Lethal" is a tasty mix of murder, family dynamics, blackmail and humor.

by Roberta Alexander