Little Black Book of Murder (Blackbird Sisters Mystery, #9)

by Nancy Martin

[MurderByDeath]

I've been reading this series since the first book came out, [b:How to Murder a Millionaire|813740|How to Murder a Millionaire (Blackbird Sisters Mystery, #1)|Nancy Martin|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1309212710s/813740.jpg|1331034], and I've been hooked from the start. I can't think of one book in this series that I'd call weak, and Little Black Book of Murder, IMO, upholds the series winning streak. I loved this book and it's always great fun to catch up with the Blackbird sisters and their individual insanities. Libby is often a bit "too much" but the author does try to expose us only in smallish doses, so it never wears too thin. I will say it feels a tiny bit like she's recycling a plot device in this book with Gus chasing Nora and Nora finding herself pregnant - we've seen this before but Nora seems to be going in a different direction this time, so perhaps not.

The mystery plot of this one was a bit - odd. It ends a bit messy, but not. I can't say much more without giving too much away, but it's definitely not one of the pre-canned, pre-packaged plot lines so popular with a lot of cozy authors up until recently. There are a lot of players involved, but I never struggled to keep them all straight and there was only one thread left dangling we never find out definitively who burned Nora's barn - I think we're supposed to take it as read.

I hope this series continues a bit longer, as I am genuinely attached to all of these characters and the world Ms. Martin has built. I'm not sure how I feel about Nora becoming a mother, as I usually don't care for cozies that have a maternal protagonist, but I'm sure willing to find out!