Dead Girls Don't Wear Diamonds (Blackbird Sisters Mysteries, No. 2)

Nancy Martin's second book in the Blackbird series is another winner. We pick up the story the next fall. Libby is close to her due date, Emma has decided to buy a horse and train herself, and Nora gets involved in another murder.At a celebration party for Oliver Cooper (He was nominated for the next Department of Transportation Secretary), Nora runs into her college boyfriend, Flan Cooper. After an innocent private talk, Flan's wife, Laura, finds them and thinks the worst. Nora talks to Laura and finds out she and Flan are having trouble. During their conversation, Nora notices that Laura has changed her appearance to resemble her. Nora's talk to Laura ends with the understanding that Nora is not interested in Flan any longer.The next day, Emma tells Nora that Laura was found dead...an apparent suicide. Flan asks Nora for help; since he can't image his wife would kill herself and realized that he is the prime suspect. Nora starts to snoop around and gets a picture of Laura that she can't believe. Laura is known with the estate crowd as a jewelry thief. There is a new cast of supporting characters, which give this book a different flavor than the last. They are still eccentric so you'll be entertained. Michael is around and ends up helping Nora with her mad capers. This was a great second story with a stronger mystery than the first novel. I can't wait for the next story.

I didn't think Ms. Martin could ever top her first book, "How To Murder a Millionaire", but this latest installment of the hilarious adventures of the Blackbird Sisters is even more delicious than the last one. The vintage clothes, the hunky and slightly dangerous boy friend, the laugh-out-loud humor, the well-drawn characters and the authentic settings all combine for a fabulous read.

I haven't had this much fun since Martin's last mystery, How to Murder a Millionaire. Her newest frothy concoction, Dead Girls Don't Wear Diamonds, features the same delightful heroine, Nora Blackbird, the high-society amateur detective whose wit and charm make her everyone's ideal best friend.There's also a suspenseful mystery, a gallery of colorful, sharply drawn supporting characters and a wealth of hilariously wicked social observations. All in all, the ideal light and fun summer read.

Growing up wealthy made it hard for Nora Blackbird to survive when her parents went through the family fortune, skipped town, and began living the high life in a foreign country using funds "borrowed" from friends. Keeping Blackbird Farm is important to Nora so much so that she sold some acreage to a mobster's son who built a used car lot on the property. She now works as a society columnist for the Philadelphia Intelligencer which means going to a lot of parties hosted by friends.Oliver Cooper, who has been nominated as the Secretary of the Department of Transportation, and his trophy wife Doe, throw the latest social event attended by Nora. Nora is alone with her first love Flan Cooper until his wife Laura catches them and causes a public scene. The next day Laura is found dead with Flan, who was having marital difficulties, the prime suspect and Nora a close second. With her freedom at stake and a desire to clear her reputation and that of Flan's, Nora embarks on her own investigation against a murderer not hesitant to kill again.DEAD GIRLS DON'T WEAR DIAMONDS is a brash, flaming and sassy amateur sleuth mystery staring a person trying to be the voice of reason yet always finds herself up to her ears in trouble and ridiculous predicaments. The heroine's relationship with the mobster's son will make Nancy Martin's latest mystery have cross over appeal to romance fans. This is the perfect novel to take to the beach, a book that is light, breezy, and pure fun.Harriet Klausner