Our Lady of Immaculate Deception

Our Lady of Immaculate Deception is tons of fun. Colorful characters, a zany plot, and a great sense of humor make for wonderful escapist reading. Several reviewers here have lamented that the book is unlike Martin's previous mystery series, the Blackbird sisters. I, for one, love the new tone. The Blackbirds were cozy, while our new heroine Roxy Abruzzo is gritty and edgy. Our Lady of Immaculate Deception ain't for prudes, but if you can handle some language, danger, and (gasp!) a woman who has safe sex because it's fun, you'll be delighted by this book.

I love all of Nancy Martin's books, and now this one is the best yet. The story zips along and the dialogue and situations are tremendously entertaining. All of the characters are well drawn, from the highest to the lowest levels of society, providing lots of juicy murder suspects. There are many fun touches along the way. This is a really enjoyable read.

Nancy Martin has never written a book I did not like and again this is no exception. I loved this diversion with a new heroine who is flawed, independent, has a set of morals she lives by, however they might not be the ones we live with. She tries to avoid the good ole boys but sometimes we just gotta fill the fridge. She has a freightening daughter named Sage who is strangly mature in some ways. sounds just like a teenager right? She has a sidekick named Nooch (not real bright) and she is just as protective of him as her daughter. I am not going to tell you the story as I am sure someone already has but I will say that this book is fully entertaining and certainly worth reading. It will reside with my Nancy Martin collection. Great Read

Roxy Abruzzo isn't your typical heroine. She runs an architectural salvage business and tries to stay out of "the Family business" - her great-uncle is the boss of the Pittsburgh Mafia. Of course, a girl needs to eat (and feed her dog), so sometimes she helps him out, too. But, for the most part, she tries to stay on the straight and narrow. In this book, Roxy starts a chain reaction when she "saves" a statue (sticky fingers, *tsk tsk*) - her thinking was that if she didn't take the statue (even though she hadn't bid for it, or bought it), it would just be destroyed with the house, and that would just be a shame. However, the statue is missed, and things start getting a bit crazy. To make things worse, Julius Hyde - the owner of the house being demolished - is murdered the same evening that Roxy was there salvaging stuff. This book is chock-full of great characters - including Roxy's 17-year-old daughter, Sage and her very voluptuous Aunt Loretta, who is a lawyer; Dorothy Hyde, the matriarch of the Hyde clan, who spends most of her time in a coma but tends to conveniently wake up when there is business to attend to; Patrick Flynn, Sage's father and (apparently) once a Very Bad Man (but now a chef); the Delaney brothers, who are usually so high they have no idea what is going on ... etc. Nancy Martin has a gift for creating memorable characters and that makes this book very entertaining to read. Then, of course, not only are the characters entertaining, but Ms. Martin also knows how to spin out a great twisty-tie of a mystery and make up keep turning to pages, speculating on what, exactly, is going on here. Well, I could go on, but I've probably already bored everyone to tears. This book is awesome. Read it. Add Roxy Abruzzo to your list of favorite people. Watch for new books in her series. Make an altar and worship her ... well, maybe not that far. But definitely - BUY THIS BOOK! READ THIS BOOK!! You'll love it!

I'm a big fan of Nancy Martin, so I was pleased to see this book on the Vine list. I was not disappointed! Roxy Abruzzo has an architectural-salvage business. She and others are working on a house that had burned. She talks a bit with Julius Hyde, who had lived there with his wife until she set the place on fire when she found him with a very young 'manicurist', and goes on about her business. When she wanders into the back yard of the estate, she discovers a statue hidden by ivy. She and Nooch, her helper, 'rescue' it, as the house is going to be blown up the next day. Nooch is big, not too bright, on parole for 10 years, and she's keeping him on the straight and narrow, more or less! She has a teenage daughter, Sage, no husband, has sex with any handy male, looks tough, and is tough. She's also a good friend to have. Her Uncle Carmine, is a mobster, but she stays out of his business. After she left, Julius was murdered! Dorothy Hyde, the matriarch of the family, the owner of the property, and Julius mother, is in a nursing home sometimes alert, sometimes not. Police talk to Roxy, talk to Monica, (the wife), talk to Nooch, talk to Trey, (Julius' brother), arrest a tramp who'd been living in the bushes, but no one has a reason to kill Julius. Quentin, another brother, is incensed over the whole thing because it has affected his business. Henry Paxton, Dorothy's lawyer, is called to the nursing home because she wants to talk to him. She's mostly worried about a statue of Achilles she had hidden beside a pool on the grounds and the art work in the house, most of which had been saved. Henry knew nothing about the statue, but starts working on finding it. There is another murder. Sage is kidnapped and Roxy is told she can be swapped for the statue! The plot is very complex, exciting, and satisfying. Several characters I've not mentioned add to the story. All of the characters are alive, and you can relate to them. Recommend this book very highly.