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Blackbird Sisters Mystery #3
Some Like It Lethal
In this updated version of the Blackbird Sisters Mysteries, falling hard for a magnetically attractive mobster might sound ill-advised for Philadelphia blue blood Nora Blackbird, but what else can go wrong for a girl after her parents run off with her trust fund and her toxic boss would like nothing better than Nora’s pretty head on a platter?
To make matters worse, Nora’s attendance at an exclusive hunt club means she’s sipping champagne with the horse fanciers when the seemingly wealthy husband of a dog food heiress is found bludgeoned by a polo mallet. The prime suspect is Nora’s sister Emma, a well-known expert in horsemanship, handsome men, and—truth be told—hard drinking. To protect her little sis, Nora uncovers an aristocratic blackmail plot that reveals some inconvenient secrets among high society’s high-and-mighty.
The quips fly faster than a Grand Prix show jumper, and Nora’s having a very hard time not falling hard for the irresistible Mick Abruzzo. It’s mystery, mayhem, not to mention hot men abounding in Nora’s latest misadventure.
“Hilarious repartee and zany characters.” --Library Journal
To make matters worse, Nora’s attendance at an exclusive hunt club means she’s sipping champagne with the horse fanciers when the seemingly wealthy husband of a dog food heiress is found bludgeoned by a polo mallet. The prime suspect is Nora’s sister Emma, a well-known expert in horsemanship, handsome men, and—truth be told—hard drinking. To protect her little sis, Nora uncovers an aristocratic blackmail plot that reveals some inconvenient secrets among high society’s high-and-mighty.
The quips fly faster than a Grand Prix show jumper, and Nora’s having a very hard time not falling hard for the irresistible Mick Abruzzo. It’s mystery, mayhem, not to mention hot men abounding in Nora’s latest misadventure.
“Hilarious repartee and zany characters.” --Library Journal
250 pages, Paperback
First published April 6, 2004
43 people are currently reading
832 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Martin
137 books559 followersWinner 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.
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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews
July 10, 2025
The rich are truly different. I just love this series that follows the daughter of an old Mainline Philadelphia family after her parents bilk their friends and take off for a country with no extradition treaty leaving their three daughters with no liquid assets. Nora Blackbird is now working as a society columnist and doing okay. But the upkeep on the family estate is going to eventually bury her. The Blackbird curse isn't helping either. Ending up in the middle of murder isn't planned but keeps happening anyway. Falling for bad boy Michael Abruzzo is so definitely not in the plan. But he seems to pop up when Nora needs him most. His shady reputation is both a turn on and a turn off for Nora, Jury is still out on how that is going to end up.
Horses can be dangerous and when the husband of the heiress to a dogfood fortune ends up murdered and Nora's sister, Emma, is passed our nearby Nora is on the case. No, a horse didn't trample him, but the murder took place in a horse barn at the annual Hunt Breakfast. When the hay settles Nora discovers a blackmail plot. Could the blackmailer have done the dastardly deed? Finding out will lead Nora to a lot of Philadelphia's residents on the Main Line and a lot of secrets. But when she needs help, we all know who she calls, Michael Abruzzo. But when her nephew is mixed up in some shady business, Nora blames Michael.
Horses can be dangerous and when the husband of the heiress to a dogfood fortune ends up murdered and Nora's sister, Emma, is passed our nearby Nora is on the case. No, a horse didn't trample him, but the murder took place in a horse barn at the annual Hunt Breakfast. When the hay settles Nora discovers a blackmail plot. Could the blackmailer have done the dastardly deed? Finding out will lead Nora to a lot of Philadelphia's residents on the Main Line and a lot of secrets. But when she needs help, we all know who she calls, Michael Abruzzo. But when her nephew is mixed up in some shady business, Nora blames Michael.
September 5, 2021
In the Goodreads rating system, two stars means you felt the book was "okay," and I did. It's a murder mystery full of red herrings that includes a romance of sorts and brings up ethical issues that give the novel some literary merit but remain unresolved, with the result that, although the killer is revealed to the reader, the story is inconclusive.
The smooth, uncomplicated writing style certainly makes for an easy, quick read, and the author has created what I suspect is a depressingly realistic portrait of life among the moneyed elite of Philadelphia. Kudos for both of those achievements, but I'm afraid they weren't enough to raise my rating all the way to three stars, meaning "I liked it."
That's mainly because I never felt connected on a personal level with any of the characters or found one I could root for, starting of course with the first-person narrator Nora Blackbird. I would very much like to have cheered her on were it not for some of the choices she makes--those ethical issues I mentioned above.
I'm being obscure (sorry) to avoid spoilers that have to do with the central mystery. Perhaps it's all right, though, to point to Nora's boyfriend Michael Abruzzo, who's absent at first but eventually plays an important role in the investigation. He belongs to a notorious crime family, and it's unclear to us and to Nora throughout the story to what extent he might be involved in their illegal doings.
The set-up for the series is that all three Blackbird sisters--Nora, Emma, and Libby--have been recently widowed. (Nora's husband, a doctor who became a cocaine addict, was shot by his dealer.) Their parents "blew the last of the Blackbird fortune and sailed off to a tax-evader's paradise..." Emma and Libby are fairly well off but Nora got stuck with the family farm and a huge tax debt, so she had to go to work for a living; her elite access got her a job as a society reporter.
Covering a hunt club function that introduces most of the principal characters, Nora finds Emma "unconscious and badly bruised" in the stable, and nearby is the body of "the husband of a wealthy dog food heiress" who changed his last name to hers when he married her, becoming Rushton "Rush" Strawcutter. Emma becomes the prime suspect but Nora has faith that she didn't do it, and the series title makes it clear that all three sisters will stick around. It's only toward the end of this book, though, that an unexpected bit of information lets Emma off the hook with the police.
In the meantime, of course, Nora is hard pressed to find out who really did kill Rush. The urgency of her narration as she works through one red herring after another is tempered with a kind of light-hearted pertness that cuts through the abundant superficiality of the upper-class suspects. Even so, there was only one scene that actually made me laugh out loud, when a pretentious social event wound up in comic shambles.
A prime mover in that disaster was Spike, the ill-behaved and aggressive little dog Nora carries around in her bag. For the most part, I think Spike, like Nora's sister Libby with her inner goddess Placida, was intended to provide comedy, but for me they were both a bit too overdrawn to be really funny. And the less said about Hadley, the stereotypical gay gadabout, the better.
Emma herself is more of a tragic figure, having been injured previously in the accident that killed her husband; her grief has driven her to drink, and she is generally viewed as an unpleasant person (whether for that reason or all along, I don't know). Thinking about it now, Emma comes closest to being a character I could root for.
The smooth, uncomplicated writing style certainly makes for an easy, quick read, and the author has created what I suspect is a depressingly realistic portrait of life among the moneyed elite of Philadelphia. Kudos for both of those achievements, but I'm afraid they weren't enough to raise my rating all the way to three stars, meaning "I liked it."
That's mainly because I never felt connected on a personal level with any of the characters or found one I could root for, starting of course with the first-person narrator Nora Blackbird. I would very much like to have cheered her on were it not for some of the choices she makes--those ethical issues I mentioned above.
I'm being obscure (sorry) to avoid spoilers that have to do with the central mystery. Perhaps it's all right, though, to point to Nora's boyfriend Michael Abruzzo, who's absent at first but eventually plays an important role in the investigation. He belongs to a notorious crime family, and it's unclear to us and to Nora throughout the story to what extent he might be involved in their illegal doings.
The set-up for the series is that all three Blackbird sisters--Nora, Emma, and Libby--have been recently widowed. (Nora's husband, a doctor who became a cocaine addict, was shot by his dealer.) Their parents "blew the last of the Blackbird fortune and sailed off to a tax-evader's paradise..." Emma and Libby are fairly well off but Nora got stuck with the family farm and a huge tax debt, so she had to go to work for a living; her elite access got her a job as a society reporter.
Covering a hunt club function that introduces most of the principal characters, Nora finds Emma "unconscious and badly bruised" in the stable, and nearby is the body of "the husband of a wealthy dog food heiress" who changed his last name to hers when he married her, becoming Rushton "Rush" Strawcutter. Emma becomes the prime suspect but Nora has faith that she didn't do it, and the series title makes it clear that all three sisters will stick around. It's only toward the end of this book, though, that an unexpected bit of information lets Emma off the hook with the police.
In the meantime, of course, Nora is hard pressed to find out who really did kill Rush. The urgency of her narration as she works through one red herring after another is tempered with a kind of light-hearted pertness that cuts through the abundant superficiality of the upper-class suspects. Even so, there was only one scene that actually made me laugh out loud, when a pretentious social event wound up in comic shambles.
A prime mover in that disaster was Spike, the ill-behaved and aggressive little dog Nora carries around in her bag. For the most part, I think Spike, like Nora's sister Libby with her inner goddess Placida, was intended to provide comedy, but for me they were both a bit too overdrawn to be really funny. And the less said about Hadley, the stereotypical gay gadabout, the better.
Emma herself is more of a tragic figure, having been injured previously in the accident that killed her husband; her grief has driven her to drink, and she is generally viewed as an unpleasant person (whether for that reason or all along, I don't know). Thinking about it now, Emma comes closest to being a character I could root for.
September 19, 2012
The scene in this book where Spike the dog is chasing the bratty little girl at the Christmas party is worth the price of admission just by itself. I fell off the sofa giggling. I was ..... a bit surprised at how this one ended as far as the choice that Nora makes. Got you wondering now don't I?
June 10, 2021
This was another great installment of the Blackbird sisters by Nancy Martin. It opens with Nora helping Libby after her baby is born which of course is typical Libby chaos. Soon Nora is caught up with trying the prove that Emma is innocent of murder. The book has lots of subplots and as always vintage fashions. Unlike earlier books this one leaves a few loose ends to be addressed in the next book. As always there are some LOL episodes.
December 21, 2020
Definitely left me wanting more! A super good story and I love how Nora comes to Michael’s aid!!
October 5, 2019
Sadly, I wasn't on vacation to read this.
But it was a much needed break in the middle of a rough few weeks.
Fun, easy, mindless.
But it was a much needed break in the middle of a rough few weeks.
Fun, easy, mindless.
July 26, 2014
While Nora Blackbird is covering the annual Fox Hunt Breakfast at an exclusive club for the local newspaper, she is shocked to hear that Rush Strawcutter, husband of a wealthy heiress, has been murdered in a horse stall. She is even more alarmed when she finds her sister, Emma, unconscious and bruised nearby. All evidence points to Emma as the culprit. Working to prove Emma's innocence, Nora uncovers several secrets of Philadelphia's high society...secrets that could get her killed.
The third book in Nancy Martin's Blackbird Sisters series is a nice cozy mystery with a lot of humor. Nora gets help from childhood friend Hadley Pinkham, crazy older sister Libby, and sometime boyfriend Michael Abruzzo. But her new puppy, Spike, is the star of this book. He is described as the offspring of her neighbor's beloved rat terrier-poodle-rattlesnake mix and a legendary mongrel that has been featured on Animal Control's most wanted list for two years. My rating: 4 Stars.
The third book in Nancy Martin's Blackbird Sisters series is a nice cozy mystery with a lot of humor. Nora gets help from childhood friend Hadley Pinkham, crazy older sister Libby, and sometime boyfriend Michael Abruzzo. But her new puppy, Spike, is the star of this book. He is described as the offspring of her neighbor's beloved rat terrier-poodle-rattlesnake mix and a legendary mongrel that has been featured on Animal Control's most wanted list for two years. My rating: 4 Stars.
November 25, 2014
Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...
1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.
2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.
3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.
4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.
5 stars... I loved this book! It has earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.
May 12, 2015
The cover is nice enough, but rather misleading. The story is set around Christmas which suits me well. I liked it, too, things between Nora and Michael are proceeding nicely. For a moment I dreaded a love triangle, but it dissolved, so much the better. Libby, the annoying sister, was not as much in evidence as I feared, either. One character (not spoiling here ...) I was all set to like turned sour, sadly. Still, all in all quite decent. Bring on the next one.
January 28, 2019
#3 in the Blackbird Sisters Mystery series
I'm liking this series more and more. Nora Blackbird is a strong heroine, with a bit of a different twist. She's from an originally wealthy family, but now she is struggling to make ends meet. She works as a society reporter for a local newspaper, which puts her in the middle of the action and allows her to use her many contacts to investigate the crimes she happens upon. This time someone is killed at a hunt breakfast, plus there's some blackmail going on. I like that Nora doesn't really put herself into dangerous situations, although her questions probably don't help. But her personal relationship with the son of a notorious crime boss probably keeps her safer. She's unsure about developing her relationship with Michael, although they are both attracted to each other. My favorite part of the book is about Spike, the demon dog she carries around in her purse. The scene at the children's Christmas party made me laugh out loud--very entertaining. Secondary characters of sisters Emma and Libby add some laughs, and the camaraderie between the sisters if sweet and strong. I will definitely continue with this series sooner rather than later.
I'm liking this series more and more. Nora Blackbird is a strong heroine, with a bit of a different twist. She's from an originally wealthy family, but now she is struggling to make ends meet. She works as a society reporter for a local newspaper, which puts her in the middle of the action and allows her to use her many contacts to investigate the crimes she happens upon. This time someone is killed at a hunt breakfast, plus there's some blackmail going on. I like that Nora doesn't really put herself into dangerous situations, although her questions probably don't help. But her personal relationship with the son of a notorious crime boss probably keeps her safer. She's unsure about developing her relationship with Michael, although they are both attracted to each other. My favorite part of the book is about Spike, the demon dog she carries around in her purse. The scene at the children's Christmas party made me laugh out loud--very entertaining. Secondary characters of sisters Emma and Libby add some laughs, and the camaraderie between the sisters if sweet and strong. I will definitely continue with this series sooner rather than later.
April 14, 2023
When I started reading the book my first thought was did I read this already, or one of the first two already? But; checking Goodreads I found I had not, so not sure why it seems familiar to me. The newspaper lady (responsible one), and her diva sister (lazy and lovely) love and have each others back. I like that. The diva's a bit annoying but has an intelligent mindset that can help her sister despite her actions. Her sister is bold in her questions, but questionable/emotional male relationships, but that does happen in life. Many different things going on that I liked.
The book is around Christmas time, (I was surprised by that) and there's some delightful scenes with a children Christmas party that caused a big smile. She has a little dog that's hilarious. I'm not sure how the book ended as it did other than I think it's allowing for the next book in the series. The way the sisters work together is an awesome part of the book. I enjoyed it.
The book is around Christmas time, (I was surprised by that) and there's some delightful scenes with a children Christmas party that caused a big smile. She has a little dog that's hilarious. I'm not sure how the book ended as it did other than I think it's allowing for the next book in the series. The way the sisters work together is an awesome part of the book. I enjoyed it.
August 6, 2018
I'm being a little generous here with the star rating because I thought the book was better than 3 stars but we can't give 1/2 stars so I'm rounding up to give it 4 stars.
I found Nora's sister, Libby, much less annoying in this book than in the last one but I don't know if she was actually less annoying or if I'm just getting used to her. I was generally satisfied with how the other characters developed in this book but, without giving anything away, not 100%.
I found Nora's sister, Libby, much less annoying in this book than in the last one but I don't know if she was actually less annoying or if I'm just getting used to her. I was generally satisfied with how the other characters developed in this book but, without giving anything away, not 100%.
December 24, 2018
Finally got around to finishing this book! I love this series, but I realize that I need to pay attention while reading. This isn't a book where I can space out and come back in. I love the Philly social scene and the different sites around the city. Nora and her sisters are the best, as is Michael. I wish this series was more widely available, honestly. I don't know when I'll get around to the next book, but I love this series and I highly recommend it.
March 29, 2019
Campy, easy read of the wacky Blackbird sisters and the trouble they get into. Between Nora and her possible Mob boyfriend, her postpartum sister and youngest sister being found unconscious near a dead man following a Philly mainline trendy Fox hunt...minus the fox - lots of Philadelphia references and name dropping of elite but bored upper crust.
December 18, 2022
Continuing to love this series. I'm enjoying learning more about the main characters that move from book to book, but also appreciate how Ms. Martin creates a set of new characters that are just part of the single mystery. You get a chance to really get to know those characters as well. Its fun to see how all the different relationships evolve. Already on to the next book in this series.
April 23, 2023
Continuing to love this series. I'm enjoying learning more about the main characters that move from book to book, but also appreciate how Ms. Martin creates a set of new characters that are just part of the single mystery. You get a chance to really get to know those characters as well. Its fun to see how all the different relationships evolve. Already on to the next book in this series.
April 4, 2020
Such a great series. All the vintage couture descriptions. And the society insider perspective from Nora. Her crazy sisters. The building romance that comes to a head at the end of this 3rd in the series.
June 6, 2017
Just as good as the first 2 stories. Love this series and all the characters.
August 6, 2017
I really don't like Nora's sisters. Especially Libby. I would've told her to mind her own business a long time ago.
May 30, 2019
I am enjoying this series so very much. I like the sisters and all the oddball characters in their small community. I really like Michael and the fashion.
May 31, 2019
Another very fun puzzle in the Blackbird Sisters mysteries. I am liking the expanded characterization and growing sense of the community Nora lives in.
June 13, 2019
This series is a wonderful read. I still think about who done it, but I can just read and relax.
July 11, 2019
The Blackbird Sisters are hilarious! Princess meets Pauper with funny witty women.
July 16, 2019
These books have more twists than the average cozy mystery, which I enjoy - although Nora is becoming a predictable heroine.
Read
January 31, 2020More romance genre than mystery but still not a bad way to spend a few hours off.
August 3, 2022
I love this series!! It’s a great cozy mystery and the characters are so fun. Can’t wait to read the rest!
September 19, 2022
Love Nancy Martin. Love the Blackbird Sisters Mysteries series. Quick read. Definitely a page turner!!
October 3, 2022
Another entry in the Blackbird Sisters mysteries. Solid and the clothing descriptions are good. Not so much for the mystery. WE find out who did the deed but the characters mostly don’t.
December 5, 2022
I might have read too many action and bio books prior to this. The characters and plot did not have substenance. I felt I was forcing myself to finish a book I would never remember.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews