The wait is over for longtime fans of The Blackbird Sisters Mysteries. MICK ABRUZZO'S STORY tells the tale of how Nora and Mick first met . . . and how Mick's criminal past in the Abruzzo family almost ended their relationship before it got started. At a troubling crossroads in his life, Mick is offered a contract by one of his father's emissaries, but before committing a terrible crime he sets on out his own kind of investigation into the murder of a promising research doctor at the hands of his drug dealer. Mick's search sends him through mansions on the Main Line as well as into dangerous neighborhoods of South Philly, and on this journey he encounters many of the quirky characters that author Nancy Martin is best known for. MICK ABRUZZO'S STORY is a short, but exciting story, priced to be a special treat for fans, and now available in e-book form for the Kindle, Nook, iPad and other e-reading devices. Get your copy to learn the backstory of this dangerous road to true love.
How to Murder a Millionaire
"To squander the last dollar left in the Blackbird family fortune, my parents threw a lawn party that would have made Jay Gatsby proud. My father wore a moth-eaten dinner jacket and poured champagne while Mama offered marijuana cigarettes to the ne'er do wells of Philadelphia high society who'd come to see how far the mighty had fallen.
At the party's climax, my parents shot off fireworks and presented the Blackbird family art collection to my sister Emma. The Blackbird furniture went to my sister Libby.
Dead Girls Don't Wear Diamonds
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.
Some Like It Lethal
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...
Cross Your Heart and Hope to Die
Book List Review: 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.
Have Your Cake and Kill Him Too
Publishers Weekly: The three sisters Blackbird (Nora, Emma and Libby) return in Martin's charming and funny fifth novel. Zell Orcutt, a dirty old man on the periphery of the Blackbirds' high-society Philadelphia circle, is found dead. If the arrow shot through his heart at first seems a tad improbable, well, all his disgruntled relatives are archery fans. From a state senator who may not be as dumb as he appears to an obnoxious, busty teenager who thinks she'll come into big bucks now that Zell is dead, the suspects are legion, and Nora, of course, can't resist detecting. But the real mystery is the paternity of the baby Nora's carrying, and whether she is really, truly, finally through with her hunky but oh-so-dangerous lover, Michael Abruzzo.
A Crazy Little Thing Called Death
Publisher's Weekly: The Blackbird sisters (Nora, Libby and Emma) tackle their sixth arch mystery set among Philadelphia's contemporary blue-blooded (and red-handed) set. When former child star Sweet Penny Devine goes missing and is presumed dead, her brother, Porter "Potty" Devine, opts for a memorial party and polo match instead of a funeral, which Nora, a society reporter, covers for a Philadelphia paper. The festivities falter after Nora discovers a severed hand that could be Penny's. Nora, Libby and Emma aid detective Ben Bloom in an investigation whose suspects include Potty; Vivian, Penny's cat-crazy sister; the Devines' former housekeeper's daughter, Julie Huckabee; Julie's missing father, Kell Huckabee; and Crewe Dearborne, a food critic. Sleuthing provides a welcome distraction for Nora, still grieving over a miscarriage and a little nervous about her engagement to Michael Abruzzo, son of a notorious New Jersey mobster. Martin's wicked observations about the horsy set enhance another fine-feathered mystery.
Murder Melts in Your Mouth
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
No Way to Kill a Lady
The return of the Blackbird Sisters features everything readers love most about bestselling mysteries from Nancy Martin: Nora Blackbird is hot on the trail of a murderer--but this time, the culprit is very likely someone in her own family! Great Aunt Madeleine Blackbird dies in a volcanic eruption--or does she? And various Blackbirds fly home to the family estate to claim their share of Madcap Maddy's millions. Trouble is, there's plenty of misfortune to go around. Add a pregnant sister and a longlost Abruzzo family member, and you've got a hot mess in high society. Witty repartee, steamy nights with Mick and haute couture to die for--everything readers want from Nancy Martin. It may be No Way to Treat a Lady . . . but it's big fun for mystery lovers!
Someone’s getting crossed off the register.
Nora Blackbird may have been to the manor borne, but these days money is so tight, she can’t afford to lose her job as a society columnist. So when her new boss at the Philadelphia Intelligencer—Australian tabloid editor Gus Hardwicke—tells her to work the celebrity gossip beat or start checking the want ads, the choice is easy.
Now Nora’s writing a profile on billionaire fashion designer Swain Starr, who recently retired to build a high-tech organic farm with his new wife, Zephyr, a former supermodel. But before Nora can get the story, the mogul is murdered. And now Gus wants her to snap up an exclusive on who killed Starr before the cops do.
But solving a celebrity murder isn’t easy with a home life as colorful as Nora’s. Her sort-of-husband, Mick, a former mobster, is associating once again with unsavory characters. Her sister Libby is on a mission to get her diabolical twins on stage or screen with the help of an unscrupulous former child star. And the youngest Blackbird sister, Emma, just got kicked out of the house by Mick—who refuses to explain why.
Drop Dead Blonde
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.
Murder under the stars...
Nora Blackbird—pregnant 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 Philadelphia’s high-society events for the local newspaper. And this time she doesn’t 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 Toodles’s diva widow, Boom Boom. The demanding old broad still rules with an iron fist, and considering the chorus line of enemies she’s racked up over the years, her death has been a hotly anticipated event. So imagine everyone’s dismay when it’s her beloved daughter, Jenny, who drops dead—from a cause that is anything but natural—just 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....
Nora’s 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 Nora’s life, Mick Abruzzo, has been desperate to prevent Nora from meeting the most notorious member of his mobbed-up family—his mother.
Now Nora has to deal with the bump-and-grind of her personal life, and also bring the curtain down on a daring killer—before he forces her to exit stage left, permanently.