How To Murder A Millionaire (2002) - Plot & Excerpts
My mom accidentally ordered one of the books from later in the series from her book club. She liked it enough to continue with the series and as she always does, sent the books to me when she finished. I like to start series from the beginning so I ordered this one from Paperback Swap.Nora Blackbird and her sisters, Emma and Libby, all three of whom are in their 30's and widowed (though one is remarried), grew up among Philadelphia's elite. And then their parents decided to squander the family fortune and flee the country. Emma was left with the family art collection, Libby the furniture (which made no sense as Libby's the artist in the family) and Nora the family farm-complete with a $2 million dollar bill for delinquent taxes. In an effort to pay off the taxes, Nora sells part of the land to the son of a reputed mob boss, which doesn't go over well with her sisters, who don't seem to grasp (or care) Nora is left with a huge debt to pay. They're just mad the land, which had been in the family for over 200 years, is now a muscle car lot.Nora also has turned to an old (and elderly) family friend, Rory Pendergast, who owns a local newspaper "The Intelligencer" for a job and is given one covering events for the society page, despite not having any practical job experience. Covering a party in Rory's home, she discovers he has been murdered. The detective in charge of the investigation, Detective Bloom, thinks her connections to "that world" can be helpful so she's unofficially enlisted to help with the case and of course, solves it in the end.The inexperienced, non-law enforcement crime solver reminded me of Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swenson, who is somehow smarter than the detectives in the small town which has seemingly become the murder capital of Minnesota. (Another similarity is they both have two sisters). I'm finding that series has become stale so I'm hoping this one doesn't as well.I guess this book was supposed to be funny. Maybe I'm just in a blah mood, but I didn't find it funny at all. It was just ho hum. (Though I did find a scene in which an elderly couple have a bunch of puzzles in various stages of completion scattered around their solarium quite amusing as that is totally going to be me when I'm 80). I honestly can't put my finger on what I didn't like about it. The characters were well enough developed and it's obvious the mob son is meant to be the love interest for Nora. It was obvious from the beginning the main suspect wasn't going to turn out to be the killer in the end, but I got the impression that was supposed to be the case. The book moved along at an okay pace; it just didn't wow me. I will give credit for this: I thought I had it figured out about halfway through the book but I was wrong.
There's the beginnings of something good, here. The writing is a bit awkward and the setting is a little vague (which is a shame as I suspect that Philadelphia could be quite charming), but the main character is sweet and an interesting mixture of brave and vulnerable. I had a tough time engaging with the book for a while. Nora and her interactions with Michael kept me going, though, and I'm glad I stuck it out.And the mystery worked, so there's that.I'm a little fascinated with Nora, truth to tell. She's one of those women who invoke male care without asking (and without really needing it). She depends on it, to an extent, but not in a way that makes her weak, needy, or manipulative. This is an incredibly hard thing to pull of in a novel where we're in her head—mostly because in order for it to be unconscious, we only see it in the reactions of the other characters and in her fundamental assumptions about action and motivation. I really liked this aspect of her character because you can see that she's allowed herself to be weak in the past but is done being that person. That evidence of past growth and its effect on who and where she is was fascinating to me. Add a macho guy with a hint of bad-boy who instinctually, even casually, cares for her and is assured enough to recognize and support her strongest self and you have a relationship I just ate up. And all without even a hint of alpha posturing that so many authors would lavish into such a setup.The writing and setting were weak enough that it's a wobbly three stars, even as fascinated as I was with Nora. But in a hopeful way that drives me to wanting to try at least the next in the series.
What do You think about How To Murder A Millionaire (2002)?
I'm late to the Nancy Martin party since this book was written in 2002. I love the sisters! Their parents make off with the family money, leaving one sister with furniture, one with paintings and one with a farm attached to use debt. I like the whole premise of them figuring out what to do next with their lives. Get married? Sell things? Get a job? Solve a murder? A family friend winds up dead and the story if off to a racing start. The male protagonist could have become a generalized character, but luckily missed that mark. Her supporting cast members are fun--from the viscious woman Nora works for to the elderly neighbor wielding a shotgun. The Philadelphia-area settings are enticing. The book manages to be light and yet complex enough to keep me interested and about to put book 2 into my Amazon shopping cart.
—Rose Mary Griffith
Nora Blackbird is a down on luck socialite, who just inherited 2 million dollar tax bill on her family's farmhouse. For the first time in her life Nora has to get a job, but she never expected it would be this exciting. Rory Pendergast a dear family friend, offers Nora a job writing for his newspaper The Intelligencer. It is at the party for the paper that Nora discovers Rory sprawled out on the floor of his bedroom dead; What's a girl to do?This is was a very good start the series, I accidently read Have Your Cake and Kill Him too before realizing it was not the first in the series. I found all the sisters to be delightfully funny and I especially liked Nora's spunk. I will be reading more from this author in the future.
—Ronica
This series is what I would consider chick lit murder mysteries, and this book probably only deserves three stars for its literary value. But, it was fun to read so I gave it an extra star for being more entertaining than a lot of other books out there. Because the red-headed, thirty-something Blackbird sisters are engaging characters, I look forward to reading the other books in this series. If you're looking for a murder mystery/thriller with a lot of substance, than this is not for you. Just read it if you'd like something lighthearted and playful.
—Suzanne
