How to Murder a Millionaire

The first book in what would become a 10 book series (not counting novellas) sets the tone. Nora is the middle sister of three who were raised in a blue-blood Philadelphia Main Line family to be debutants, but whose parents spent all the fortunes, raided their trust-funds, then stole enough money from friends to leave the country, leaving the oldest with the family furniture, the youngest with the family’s art collection, and Nora got Blackbird Farm, complete with a 2 million dollar tax bill.

With no skills but great connections, she’s given a job as the assistant to the social columnist at the tabloid newspaper, owned by a family friend. At a party celebrating the newspaper’s longevity, she finds said owner dead in his bedroom and show more its obviously murder.

I like that Martin chose to make Nora the opposite of the clichéd amateur sleuth: she’s not fragile at all, takes Krav Maga for exercise, but she has a fainting problem, and being kind and classy is deeply woven into her dna. But she can’t help but want to help people when they ask her to, and her job attending parties gives her a ready made opportunity to ask questions and listen to gossip. I like that Nora’s obvious romantic interest is the son of a mob boss who is fighting to stay out of the family and against the criminal instincts he was raised with, and that he shows his interest with sincerity instead of braggadocio.

The mystery was well plotted with a resolution that neither transparent nor obvious, and it made sense at the end. show less

A lovely start to a mystery series, and exactly the kind of light reading I needed at the exact moment I picked it up. So it might have gained a half star for being perfectly fitted for the moment.

I loved most of the characters, particularly Nora the protagonist, and her slightly but not overdone snarky outlook on life. I liked that there's no romance triangle in sight, and I liked that I totally didn't see the murderer coming (but props to me, I did suspect an eventual accomplice.)

Sadly my library seems to have a fairly random selection of these books, or I'm pretty sure I'd just have got them all and read them end to end.

I have had this book on my shelf for some time, and I just finally got around to reading it. This is about Nora Blackbird, a former Socialite in Philadelphia. Her Parents left her with the family farm, and the 2 million dollar tax debt. In order to pay the bill, she must get a job, and she beigns working for a newspaper as the society page writer. It is during one of these parties that she finds murdered body of the host, and her friend. This of course pulls Nora into the investigation, can she figure out who, what and why before it becomes her life on the line.
This was exactly what I thought it would be, a fun light read. The characters are quirky and the storyline is engaging. The love story angle took a backseat to solving the show more murder, which was nice. And it was obvious that Martian was doing some world building to set the scene for a series. Which I admit, I went and put on my thriftbook.com wish list. I enjoyed the characters and their craziness. The murder was tame compared to some I have read, and the mystery was good. Upon reflection there were some clues and I had my suspicions, but the actual murder was not who I thought it was. Although, I knew the murder was involved in some way, just not the actual deed. So although the clues pointed in the right direction, they did not give away the ending. I liked it. The writing was good, it flowed smoothly and made it a nice quick weekend book for me.
For additional reviews please see my blog at www.adventuresofabibliophile.blogspot.com show less

This was a nice beginning to a cozy mystery series. The prestigious Blackbird family of Philadelphia has fallen on hard times. Mom and Dad have fled the country, leaving what remains of the family's fortune to the three daughters. Emma got the family art collection and Libby received the furniture. Nora was given the farmland -- but it comes with a bill for $2 million in past due property taxes. Since she has no money to pay the tax bill and not wanting to have the property confiscated, Nora puts a plan in place to retain possession of the land. First, she has to get a job.Leveraging her family's position in the society set of Philadelphia and a close relationship with Rory Pendergast, owner of The Intelligencer, Nora winds up writing show more for the society page of the newspaper. Unfortunately, her first assignment takes her to a gala celebration at Pendergast's home; and he turns up dead during the event. When the police look like they're treating his death as a heart attack rather than murder, Nora jumps in to try and find out who wanted to kill Rory and why. show less

This was a wonderful surprise. I have no idea why I've waited to read something by Nancy Martin. I'm very glad I tried it because it a really good mystery with all the trimmings. A little humor, a little romance, a settled home setting and family & friends. Sometimes the first in a series has so much compacted in it that I don't feel a connection with the main character.....I just am interested in the mystery aspect. Nancy Martin is able to lure the reader into the high-style world of this character with ease. I am definitely looking forward to the next in this series to see what happens with these characters.

This is first mystery in the series featuring the Blackbird sisters. The sisters have no luck whatsoever with marriage or the men with whom they find themselves involved, but they are certainly entertaining to read about. In this story Nora finds herself up to the eyeballs in debt to the IRS, so she gets a job reporting on local social activities for the local newspaper. She is not welcomed with open arms by her immediate supervisor, but she manages not to allow that to keep her from doing her job even when that job involves solving the murder of one of society's well known benefactors. I enjoyed reading about the relationship the three sisters have with each other, and I'm definitely interested enough to read more in this series. By show more the end of the first book, there is a budding romance starting, and I want to see where that's going. Nancy Martin writes with charm and wit about her characters, and I think she's well on her way to producing a good series if this first book is any indication of what's coming. show less

Written by the prolific Nancy Martin, the Blackbird Sisters Mystery series is set in Philadelphia and has a great cast of unique characters. The main character, Nora Blackbird, comes from an old, wealthy family and lives in the rather dilapidated family home. Her parents, apparently not good money managers, have left the country, leaving her the property, land and a two million dollar tax bill. Finding herself needing to work to make ends meet, Nora raids her grandmother’s vintage clothing cache in the attic and goes to work as a society page columnist for a local paper, using her connections to gain entrance to the upper crust establishment society gatherings. Her sisters, wild child Emma, and flaky, earth mother, Libby, round out show more the quirky cast.

On Nora’s first assignment, she unwittingly stumbles across a murder: a millionaire art collector who is an old family friend. As she investigates the crime, using resources she didn’t know she had, she crosses paths with a variety of intriguing characters, including the son of a rumored New Jersey crime boss, who shows more than a little interest in the down-on-her-luck blue blood.

Currently, there are ten titles in the series, and a two-book spin-off series about a relative of Mick Abruzzo, Nora’s love interest. I’ve read all these mysteries and have enjoyed the experience and characters. show less