Nothing like a spot of blackmail amongst the upper classes. It’s all fun and profit until someone is murdered, and Nora’s youngest sister is a suspect because she was found passed-out drunk next to the body.

Martin continues to address the themes like addiction and abuse that most cozy mysteries wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pen, and she continues to do it in a way that lends the gravitas these issues demand, while keeping the overall read cozy. She also explores the hypocrisy of class double-standards, as Nora and Michael hash their way through why some illegal activity (mob crime) is considered worse that others (crimes of the upper crust), and how that criteria can suddenly change when it becomes convenient. She offers no answers, just plenty to chew on for those that feel philosophical.

The plotting was good; I felt sure I knew who the murderer was – or, who I wanted the murderer to be, but I was wrong. The murderer was craftily unexpected and, in the end, tragic, with Martin once again playing with reader expectations by questioning the meaning of justice. ( )

I really could have done without Nancy Martin's political B.S.
I love the Blackbird sisters, all three of them. Each is different from another, allowing each of them to bring something different to the story.
I have especially liked Nora, but not nearly as much as before. This installment has her on a anti - gun rant that has seriously turned me off. "Anyone who carries a gun is no friend." Really? Well, I guess that Nora and I would not be friends, although I am sure that she would be savvy enough to hide behind me if there was trouble. Unfortunately, this stand by the character did not feel so much like character development as much as it seemed like the author's lame attempt to push her own agenda that guns must be removed from all good people (because we know the bad **** are going to have them). Strange.
That being said, I will continue with the series since there is enough to come back for. The mysteries are good, the characters are among some of the most interesting in the genre and the high class society setting makes it all quite interesting, but... Anymore political ranting and I am finished. ( )

We Have Another Winner

So many of her books are hit or miss..... I'm glad I didn't give up after the One I Hated!

So Nora is at a Hunt Breakfast and she finds her sister, Emma, passed out in a drunken stupor next to the dead body of Emma's very married friend. Emma is take to the hospital and kept under police guard, but somehow manages to escape. Then there is the question of the White Envelope found next to the dead man's body & the photographs therein.....

There is murder, blackmail & hi jinx.... There is fashion, terror & romance....

I liked the story, I liked the characters and there was very little wandering away form the plot. It all tied up very nicely at the end, no unfinished or unraveled story lines. ( )

Book 3 in the Blackbird Sisters Mysteries. Nora finds herself investigating a murder that her sister may have been a part of. ( )