Dead Girls Don't Wear Diamonds (2003) - Plot & Excerpts
This is the second book in the Blackbird Sisters Mystery series, which I started reading because my mom sent me a couple of the later books in the series. I wasn't sure after reading the first one but I did find this one to be more amusing and much quicker to get through than the last.Covering a party for society page of "The Intelligencer," Nora Blackbird discovers the wife (Laura) of her college ex-boyfriend/friend (Flan) has transformed herself to look like Nora. Laura comes from old money in the South but has found that did not translate into automatic acceptance with Philly's high society, and she feels Flan thinks of Nora as "the one who got away." Flan's father is in line for a high ranking government position and Laura is rumored to be a jewel thief, which does not bode well for her father-in-law's appointment. After Laura and Nora get into an argument at the party, Laura is found dead in the swimming pool. Nora is considered a suspect but not really as she's never arrested or formally brought in for questioning. It's more of a "you two fought so you're on our list" logic type of thing. Instead of being formally charged, she's asked by her detective friend from book one to do some behind the scenes asking around to help find the real killer and clear her own name. Which, of course, she does, with the help of her sisters and her love interest, reputed mobster Michael "Mick" Abruzzo.I liked the pace of this book. I also liked the squabbling among the sisters-it felt realistic and didn't distract from the mystery portion of the book. The personality traits of the three sisters are also very distinct which I think will help the series from growing stale quickly. After two books, this isn't my favorite series of those I'm reading, but it did definitely grow on me with this book.
This was an enjoyable light read but I have to admit that the relationships are starting to work on my nerves. The main character is thoroughly inconsistent regarding her opinions on her "boyfriend" (hates that his family is purportedly mobbed up, but then she's appalled that he wants nothing to do with them). Makes you wonder how someone who's related to tons of criminals and low lifes(dead husband was a drug addict, sister is probably an alcoholic, parents are tax evaders on the run, brother in law was central to the crime in the first book and killed as a result), but she has the nerve to stand in judgement of Michael. Also, the eccentrics in this series (including her ridiculous older sister) are snobbish, self-righteous prigs who NEVER get called on their stupid comments. I know Nora is supposed to represent the ultimately in old money gentility but at some point I would think she would have to slap some folks down (in the nicest way of course) in order for this reader to continue to see her as a heroine.
What do You think about Dead Girls Don't Wear Diamonds (2003)?
While stronger than the first, there's still enough wobbly bits to keep this from being as strong as I feel it could be. Nora and Michael are still a delight. I was worried, at first, that they had "taken a break" from each other between the two books as I thought Martin would use that to reset their relationship. Which she did, but not it a bad way.I worry that their relationship is the strongest part of the book. Michael is just lovely (in a hard-core, competent way) and his interactions with Nora are fantastic. They carry the book in a lot of ways. Again, like the first, the mystery is competent and well plotted with lots of herrings and sleuthing.Nora's sisters play a slightly larger role in this one and I really hated that. They're kind of one-note jokes and at one point I was so exasperated I nearly tossed the book. Emma is bad enough, but Libby is a complete loss and having them horn in on Nora all the time got tiresome. Tiresome enough that I'm officially reluctant to move on to the next book seeing as the series is titled "Blackbird Sisters". Ugh.Still... that Michael...
—Jacob Proffitt
Nora Blackbird returned in the second installment in this cozy series with a helluva case on her hands. With her sister Libby's who entered the final stages of her pregnancy, she had a lot more drama on her hands. Land developers wanted to turn their farm into an outlet mall, while she continued to fall hard for Mick, and her family continued to feud along the way. As she tried to make ends meet as a society columnist for the local newspaper, a high jewel thief had wounded up drowning at a pool. With her former flame under suspicion for the murder, it was up to Nora and her sisters to clear his name and bring the right culprit to justice. The closer they learn more about the victim, the more in peril Nora would end up in high water with the true criminal.
—Kristen
I feel like I shouldn't be enjoying this series as much as I do. The main character is a former rich society girl who doesn't know how to do much of anything that most people would consider work and who faints at inopportune times (which actually translate to dramatic times in terms of the novel). Yet I find myself charmed by the Blackbird sisters, who seem determined to make the most out of their lot (or else are pigheaded enough to blaze ahead without care or consideration -- I haven't decided which interpretation is more accurate). The only reason I can see for this is that I enjoy Martin's writing, which can be best described as fun. Overall, Dead Girls Don't Wear Diamonds delivers a satisfying mystery, the kind where the murderer might not have been telegraphed but the motive behind the murder was.
—Megan
