Blackbird Sisters Mysteries Books in Order
Part ofNancy Martin Books in OrderSee the Blackbird Sisters Mysteries by Nancy Martin in order, with quick summaries, series background, and help choosing the best place to start.
Last updated: June 9, 2026
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Publication Order
15 books
How to Murder a Millionaire
by Nancy Martin
2002
After her parents abscond with the family money, Nora Blackbird takes a job covering Philadelphia society. At her very first party she finds a murdered host, and steps into a world of scandal, danger, and Mick Abruzzo.
Dead Girls Don't Wear Diamonds
by Nancy Martin
2003
Nora Blackbird's new life as a society columnist gets uglier when a glamorous thief and socialite winds up dead. With suspicion edging her way, Nora has to investigate before she loses more than her reputation.
Some Like It Lethal
by Nancy Martin
2004
A killing at an exclusive hunt club drops Nora Blackbird into another tangle of wealth, gossip, and bad behavior. Teaming up with Michael Abruzzo may be risky, but she needs every edge she can get.
Cross Your Heart and Hope to Die
by Nancy Martin
2005
Nora Blackbird's nasty boss is murdered, and the case lands right in Nora's working life. Society parties, newsroom politics, and Mick Abruzzo's less civilized methods all collide as she hunts for the killer.
Have Your Cake and Kill Him Too
by Nancy Martin
2006
When a thoroughly unpleasant old man dies, Nora Blackbird is the one stuck sorting through the scandal. To solve the murder, she has to balance her shaky career, her eccentric sisters, and the dangerous appeal of Mick Abruzzo.
Mick Abruzzo's Story
by Nancy Martin
2006
Fresh out of prison, Mick Abruzzo is trying to decide whether he can leave crime behind. A tempting mob job makes that choice a lot harder, and shows how close he came to a very different future.
A Crazy Little Thing Called Death
by Nancy Martin
2007
Nora Blackbird is engaged to Mick Abruzzo, but wedding plans take a back seat when death strikes at a polo match. Another high-society murder forces Nora to choose between romance and investigation, again.
Murder Melts in Your Mouth
by Nancy Martin
2008
A Philadelphia philanthropist dies in spectacular fashion, and Nora Blackbird's best friend lands under suspicion. To clear her, Nora has to navigate scandal, society, and the inconvenient usefulness of Mick Abruzzo.
No Way to Kill a Lady
by Nancy Martin
2012
When the Blackbird sisters inherit their great-aunt's crumbling estate, Nora expects family trouble, not murder. Missing treasures and a suspicious death pull her into another stylish, dangerous hunt for the truth.
Slay Belles
by Nancy Martin
2012
Christmas shopping goes very wrong when a star personal shopper is found murdered in a department store display. Nora Blackbird has to solve the case while her sisters spin off in opposite directions.
Little Black Book of Murder
by Nancy Martin
2013
Society columnist Nora Blackbird is shoved into celebrity gossip territory when a billionaire fashion designer turns up dead. To keep her job and her footing, she has to untangle the murder before her messy personal life swallows her whole.
A Little Night Murder
by Nancy Martin
2014
Pregnant Nora Blackbird is covering Philadelphia society when a death tied to a Broadway show rehearsal lands close to home. Between family drama and Mick's formidable mother, she has plenty to juggle before she finds the killer.
Lady Be Good
by Nancy Martin
2014
Grace Vanderbine takes over her mother's etiquette empire and expects a smooth publicity tour. Instead she collides with former football star Luke Lazurnovich and finds herself brushing up against an old Blackbird family mystery.
Mick Abruzzo: The Second Wire
by Nancy Martin
2014
Mick Abruzzo wants a normal future with Nora, but the family business has other ideas. When his brother Frankie needs help, Mick is pulled toward one last job that could cost him everything.
Bye, Bye Blackbird
by Nancy Martin
2016
Nora Blackbird is finally on the verge of both motherhood and marriage, if her sisters can help without wrecking everything first. What should be a happy ending turns into one more round of Blackbird chaos.
Series background & context
The Blackbird Sisters books start with a great setup. Nora, Libby, and Emma Blackbird were raised as Philadelphia socialites, then their parents vanish with the family money and leave the sisters to deal with debt, taxes, and the wreckage of their name. Nora becomes the main point of entry because she takes a job as a society columnist, which lets her step back into parties, estates, hunt clubs, and charity circles where murder keeps turning up under the silk and silver.
Philadelphia matters here. These books are steeped in Main Line manners, old houses, old grudges, and the quiet panic that comes when old money stops being actual money. Martin has fun with clothes and etiquette, but the style is never just decoration. It is part of how people signal rank, hide fear, and try to stay respectable when their lives are plainly coming apart.
The sisters are broke, proud, and never boring.
Nora is the one chasing stories and corpses, but Libby and Emma give the series much of its spark. Libby brings family chaos, impulsive schemes, and a big emotional heart. Emma is sharper, riskier, and more unpredictable. Together they make the books feel less like a lone-sleuth series and more like a running family comedy with bodies in the background.
Another big piece of the series is Mick Abruzzo. He comes from a mobbed-up New Jersey family, and his relationship with Nora keeps the books balanced between cozy mystery and something hotter, stranger, and more dangerous. Their push and pull runs through the series, so even when each murder is solved in a single book, readers who start with How to Murder a Millionaire get a richer experience by reading on in order.
The cases themselves move through different corners of privilege and performance. One book might center on a jewel thief, another on a hunt club, a newspaper office, a fashion world scandal, or an inherited estate full of missing treasures. The pleasures stay consistent, though, Nora asking the wrong questions in the right room, the sisters stirring up trouble, and Martin showing how fragile good breeding can look when people are scared.
If you like your mysteries stylish but not flimsy, this is a very easy series to settle into. The tone is witty and social, but there is real pressure underneath it, money problems, family shame, romantic entanglement, and women trying to keep their footing when the ground keeps shifting. Start with How to Murder a Millionaire, and expect the world to get messier, funnier, and more complicated from there.
Edited by
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