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Blackbird Sisters Mystery book cover 1
Blackbird Sisters Mystery book cover 2
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Blackbird Sisters Mystery
Series · 15
books · 2002-2016

Books in series

Mick Abruzzo's Story book cover
#0.5

Mick Abruzzo's Story

2006

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 out on 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.
Lady Be Good book cover
#0.6

Lady Be Good

2014

While launching her new career as the etiquette expert Dear Miss Vanderbine. Grace Vanderbine finds herself snowbound in Pittsburgh, of all places, and the hero who rides to her rescue turns out to be a local celebrity who has a few insights into the good manners business. But Luke "the Laser" Lazurnovich is a retired football player with more on his mind than helping a damsel in distress. Their initially chilly relationship turns into a road trip filled with quirky characters and unlikely social situations—not to mention a few hot nights. Grace's sister-in-law Nora Blackbird needs help, though, so Grace and Luke become detectives. Nora's sister Emma Blackbird has gone missing—and perhaps she's mixed up in the mysterious death of football quarterback Jake Kendall, who died before his involvement in illegal gambling came to light. Grace and Luke may be the only ones who can crack the case. But what they learn may jeopardize the feelings that are blooming between them.
How to Murder a Millionaire book cover
#1

How to Murder a Millionaire

2002

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. "MY parents blew the country for a sunny resort that catered to American tax evaders, leaving the family art collection to my sister Emma, the furniture to my sister Libby. They gave me the land—and a property tax bill for two million dollars. Which is why I, Nora Blackbird, a former socialite who never really held a job in all of my thirty-one years, found myself in dire need of a paycheck. . ." Now Nora has a job as a society page columnist for a Philadelphia paper. This down—and almost,—out former debutante is happy to reclaim her place within the city's elite. Until her first party assignment, when she stumbles upon the murdered body of the host—a millionaire art collector and old family friend. Her sisters—sexy, hard-edged Emma and flaky earth mother Libby, who has her hands full with husband number two and four kids—only complicate matters as Nora investigates. And meanwhile the son of a rumored New Jersey crime boss is pursuing her with bone-melting come-ons she can barely resist. Priorities, Nora, think priorities...
Dead Girls Don't Wear Diamonds book cover
#2

Dead Girls Don't Wear Diamonds

2003

Giving up my socialite life to get a real job writing a society column for a Philadelphia paper hasn't worked out as well as I hoped. The developers still want to turn the Blackbird estate into an outlet mall. My eccentric sisters are convinced I need a dog, a baby or a keeper. And now I'm falling hard for a Jersey tough guy with criminal connections. On top of my family feuding, one of the city's nouveau riche has just been murdered, and I could be a prime suspect. What would Emily Post do? 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, Flan Cooper, from a hasty murder charge. A politically ambitious millionaire with hushed up secrets, a dotty grand dame with a penchant for polo teams, and a cat fancier who keeps a gun with his silver tea set all steer suspicion onto Nora herself. It's enough to make the bluebloods turn pale! Nora must find the killer on her own or risk trading her grandmother's couture for an orange jumpsuit. All in an ex-débutante's day's work, Nora. All in a day's work.
Some Like it Lethal book cover
#3

Some Like it Lethal

2004

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 cover
#4

Cross Your Heart and Hope to Die

2005

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 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 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.
Have Your Cake and Kill Him Too book cover
#5

Have Your Cake and Kill Him Too

2006

Heiress-go-lightly Nora Blackbird and her two sisters- desperate housewife and nudist-yoga enthusiast Libby and fiercely independent Emma-are back in this rollicking mystery about a sports bar with hot wings and hotter waitresses, explosive political secrets, former rock stars, a dangerous fame-and-fortune-hungry aristo-brat, and, of course, a case of blue-blooded murder that only Nora can solve.
A Crazy Little Thing Called Death book cover
#6

A Crazy Little Thing Called Death

2007

Impoverished Philadelphia heiress Nora Blackbird has agreed to wed Mick Abruzzo, son of New Jersey's most notorious mobster, leaving the city's bluebloods in shock. Then Nora and her sisters get some ominous news-Sweet Penny Devine, ex-Hollywood starlet and daughter of the Philadelphia Devines, has mysteriously disappeared. Even stranger, her family wants her declared dead pronto. Could someone have plotted her final act? Now it's up to the Blackbird sisters to snoop among the snooty-until they uncover the truth.
Murder Melts in Your Mouth book cover
#7

Murder Melts in Your Mouth

2008

Sensible Philadelphia debutante Nora Blackbird turns sleuth when her friend Lexie becomes the prime suspect in the killing of a prominent Philadelphia philanthropist, who has fallen to his death from an office tower balcony, but her investigation is complicated by the return of her scheming parents, whose scandalous hijinks unnerve all three of the Blackbird sisters.
Slay Belles book cover
#7.5

Slay Belles

A Blackbird Sisters Mystery (An eSpecial from New American Library)

2012

Whoever coined the phrase “Shop till you drop” certainly never meant “Shop till you drop dead.” But premier personal shopper Popo seems to have done just that—except this shopper’s been murdered. After Popo’s body is found on a display bed in the luxurious Haymaker’s department store, Nora Blackbird is forced to put solving a murder before finishing her Christmas shopping. With sister Libby off on a spending spree and sister Emma checked into rehab, it’s up to Nora to see who had a personal vendetta against this personal shopper—and to determine if a certain designer handbag was worth killing for.
No Way to Kill a Lady book cover
#8

No Way to Kill a Lady

2012

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 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.
Little Black Book of Murder book cover
#9

Little Black Book of Murder

2013

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. If anything can bring the blue-blooded Blackbird sisters together, it’s a murder investigation involving high-society events, glamorous people, and the disappearance of a genetically perfect pig that may or may not be basking in the sun at Blackbird Farm. They’ll all have to pull together this time, because if Nora can’t bring home the bacon, she might have to exchange her bucolic estate for a cramped walk-up.
Mick Abruzzo book cover
#9.5

Mick Abruzzo

The Second Wire

2014

The son of New Jersey's last remaining mob boss, Mick Abruzzo wants to live in the real world with a legitimate job, a wife and happy family. But when his family needs him, Mick feels obligated to help. This time, it's his presumed-dead brother, Little Frankie Abruzzo, who needs help getting out from under a pushy bookie. But the simple job of getting Frankie out of debt soon escalates into bad business that threatens the life Mick wants with his lover, Nora Blackbird.
A Little Night Murder book cover
#10

A Little Night Murder

2014

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.
Bye, Bye Blackbird book cover
#10.5

Bye, Bye Blackbird

2016

Nora Blackbird is finally having her baby! But even that comes with complications. Sisters Emma and Libby have their own problems, but they try to join forces to help Nora live happily ever after. And nothing could go wrong. Or could it? Michael is the target of a Mob plot, and the cops have set up an observation post right outside the delivery room. Is he going to make it into fatherhood without going to jail? And Nora's trying to cope with a new job offer as she labors to bring her baby into the world. Big changes are in store for everyone. In other words, it's life as usual for the Blackbird sisters!

Author

Nancy Martin
Nancy Martin
Author · 24 books

Winner of the 2009 Lifetime Achievement award for mystery writing from Romantic Times magazine, Nancy Martin announces the release of the 8th book in her popular Blackbird Sisters mystery series, NO WAY TO KILL A LADY. Set in Philadelphia, the story features three heiresses whose parents have run off with their trust funds. Now thay have a chance to regain their wealth when their aunt, "Madcap Maddy" Blackbird dies in a volcano and leaves her estate to the sisters. But Nora Blackbird soon discovers all the treasures in Aunt Maddy's house have disappeared...information that leads her to believe maybe Maddy didn't die the way everybody thinks. Author of 48 pop fiction novels in mystery, suspense, historical and romance genres, Nancy created The Blackbird Sisters in 2002—- mysteries about three impoverished heiresses who adventure in couture and crime—as if “Agatha Christie had wandered onto the set of Sex and The City.” Nominated for the Agatha Award for Best First Mystery of 2002, HOW TO MURDER A MILLIONAIRE won the RT award for Best First Mystery and was a finalist for the Daphne DuMaurier Award. Currently, she is at work on the Roxy Abruzzo mystery series for St. Martin’s Minotaur. In 2009 she received the Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award for mystery writing. Nancy lives in Pittsburgh, serves on the board of Sisters in Crime and is a founding member of Pennwriters. Find her on Pinterest and Facebook.

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