Book Review: How to Murder a Millionare

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

How to Murder a Millionare     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Nancy Martin
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Woman Main Character
Series: Blackbird Sisters
Signet, Oct 2002, $6.50, 272 pp.

Nora Blackbird is Philadelphia Mainline. However, she and her sisters are hardly rich since her parents squandered the family fortune and left town to avoid getting arrested for failing to pay taxes. Her older sister inherited the Blackbird art collection, while the younger sister got the Blackbird antique furniture. Poor Nora got the Bucks County farm and a tax bill of two million dollars.

She sells five acres of the property to Michael Abruzzo who uses the land to expand Mick’s Muscle Cars. If he wasn’t such a sexy studmuffin, Nora would cry. She also uses her connection to newspaper owner Rory Pendergart to land a job as a society columnist at the Intelligencer. When she’s invited to Rory’s house for a party she comes across his murdered body and decides to do some snooping to see if she can ferret out the killer. Because of her society connections the police encourage her but Nora doesn’t realize the danger she’s placing herself in from a killer whom would murder again to keep his crimes secret.

Nancy Martin gives her audience a scenic tour of the different Philadelphia neighborhoods that makes them appealing enough so that reader will want to visit them. The heroine is an adorable eccentric who is always on the verge of fainting when life gets too stressful though why she would turn to sleuthing with that problem seems questionable. The plethora of suspects will keep readers turning the pages until they find out who done it and why. HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE is a book that amateur sleuth readers will want to have as a series, especially if the star is the delightful heroine.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner