A Little Night Murder
Blackbird Sisters Mystery, Book #10
By Nancy Martin
ISBN13: 9780451415271
Author website: http://www.nancymartinmysteries.com/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Kayt
Synopsis:
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.
Review:
A Little Night Murder is the 10th in author Nancy Martin’s Blackbird Sisters Mystery. I have not read any of the others so this one was a bit overwhelming for me. It has all the requirements to be a fabulous read and I am sure those that have read them all adored it. I truly enjoyed this one, but at times felt a bit lost. Probably that is my own deficiency at being unable to keep too many characters straight, but it was hard for me. That said, the characters are enjoyable and seem to be very well developed. The interactions are wonderful. The story line is entertaining and amusing at times as well. The writing style is easy and flowing and full of non-stop action and fun.
Having no knowledge of the sisters Blackbird, the two sisters of Nora seemed to be just peripheral characters to me. Their relationship is interesting. Nora seems to be the one that holds things together for me. Her loving and delightful relationship with love of her life Mick Abruzzo is enviable. Even if he is former mobster. The addition of his over the top mother Bridget adds a twist in both their relationship and the murder mystery next door. Nora is very pregnant in this installment and very happy. She spends time with her dear friend Lexi Paine who has just been released from prison and would be a wonderful person for Nora to interview, or so her boss says.
The house next door to Lexi is inhabited by an odd family that is known to Nora and is in the middle of trying to resuscitate their Broadway lineage. When a murder occurs there Nora cannot stand by and let things go as they may put Bridget in the cross hairs of the police. Nora and her family search for answers and adventure, humor and mishaps ensue. In the midst of all this craziness, Nora and Mick want an intimate wedding, no fuss, no muss. Oh and there is also the impending adoption of a nephew’s soon to be born child. I have to say I was tired and just plain exhausted with all that Nora had going on. One other things on her plate, her boss wants her to write with more meat in her stories. Wow, that lady can sure multi-task.
I did truly enjoy A Little Night Murder and am sure if I had read some of the others in this series I would have loved it to pieces. The writing is excellent, the mystery suspenseful with the right amount of false turns, the characters are fun and entertaining. I think it would be best to read some of the earlier books in this series to really enjoy this one to its fullest. That said, I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys a well written read dealing with high society, mobsters and family, or any of those things. Nancy Martin is a wonderful writer and her style is easy to read.
