Little Black Book of Murderby Nancy Martin
Rating: ★★★★
isbn: 9780451415257
Series: Blackbird Sisters #8
Publication Date: August 5, 2013
Pages: 372
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Publisher: Obsidian
Nora’s assigned to write 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 her boss wants her to snap up an exclusive on who killed Starr before the cops do.
But solving this murder won’t be easy with a family as colorful as Nora’s. Mick, her sort-of husband, is associating with unsavory characters from his past. Her sister Libby is transforming into a stage mom for her diabolical twins. And Emma, the youngest Blackbird, is mysteriously kicked out of the house by Mick. Nora’s home life may be hogging the spotlight, but there’s also a matter of Starr’s missing pig, which just might be the key to solving this mystery and the way Nora can bring home the bacon…
I’ve been reading this series since the first book came out, How to Murder a Millionaire (Blackbird Sisters Mystery, #1), and I’ve been hooked from the start. I can’t think of one book in this series that I’d call weak, and Little Black Book of Murder, IMO, upholds the series winning streak.
I loved this book and it’s always great fun to catch up with the Blackbird sisters and their individual insanities. Libby is often a bit ‘too much’ but the author does try to expose us only in smallish doses, so it never wears too thin. I will say it feels a tiny bit like she’s recycling a plot device in this book with Gus chasing Nora and Nora finding herself pregnant – we’ve seen this before but Nora seems to be going in a different direction this time, so perhaps not.
The mystery plot of this one was a bit – odd. It ends a bit messy, but not. I can’t say much more without giving too much away, but it’s definitely not one of the pre-canned, pre-packaged plot lines so popular with a lot of cozy authors up until recently. There are a lot of players involved, but I never struggled to keep them all straight and there was only one thread left dangling – we never find out definitively who burned Nora’s barn – I think we’re supposed to take it as read.
I hope this series continues a bit longer, as I am genuinely attached to all of these characters and the world Ms. Martin has built. I’m not sure how I feel about Nora becoming a mother, as I usually don’t care for cozies that have a maternal protagonist, but I’m sure willing to find out!