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A Scumble River Mystery #6.5
Drop-Dead Blonde
Do blondes have more fun? Four beloved authors with all new fair-haired mysteries to dye for do. They're blondes with style, money, and men falling at their feet. But now these perfect women are perfect victims. In Drop-Dead Blonde, four of today's top mystery authors-Nancy Martin, Denise Swanson, Elaine Viets, and Victoria Laurie-spin four all-new tales of fair-haired sirens, secrets, and seduction.
SLAY BELLES by Nancy Martin
KILLER BLONDE by Elaine Viets
DEAD BLONDES TELL NO LIES by Denise Swanson
BLIND SIGHTED by Victoria Laurie
SLAY BELLES by Nancy Martin
KILLER BLONDE by Elaine Viets
DEAD BLONDES TELL NO LIES by Denise Swanson
BLIND SIGHTED by Victoria Laurie
341 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2005
27 people are currently reading
829 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Martin
138 books562 followersWinner of the 2009 Lifetime Achievement award for mystery writing from Romantic Times magazine, Nancy Martin announces the release of the 8th book in her popular Blackbird Sisters mystery series, NO WAY TO KILL A LADY. Set in Philadelphia, the story features three heiresses whose parents have run off with their trust funds. Now thay have a chance to regain their wealth when their aunt, "Madcap Maddy" Blackbird dies in a volcano and leaves her estate to the sisters. But Nora Blackbird soon discovers all the treasures in Aunt Maddy's house have disappeared...information that leads her to believe maybe Maddy didn't die the way everybody thinks.
Author of 48 pop fiction novels in mystery, suspense, historical and romance genres, Nancy created The Blackbird Sisters in 2002--- mysteries about three impoverished heiresses who adventure in couture and crime --as if “Agatha Christie had wandered onto the set of Sex and The City.” Nominated for the Agatha Award for Best First Mystery of 2002, HOW TO MURDER A MILLIONAIRE won the RT award for Best First Mystery and was a finalist for the Daphne DuMaurier Award. Currently, she is at work on the Roxy Abruzzo mystery series for St. Martin’s Minotaur. In 2009 she received the Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award for mystery writing.
Nancy lives in Pittsburgh, serves on the board of Sisters in Crime and is a founding member of Pennwriters. Find her on Pinterest and Facebook.
Author of 48 pop fiction novels in mystery, suspense, historical and romance genres, Nancy created The Blackbird Sisters in 2002--- mysteries about three impoverished heiresses who adventure in couture and crime --as if “Agatha Christie had wandered onto the set of Sex and The City.” Nominated for the Agatha Award for Best First Mystery of 2002, HOW TO MURDER A MILLIONAIRE won the RT award for Best First Mystery and was a finalist for the Daphne DuMaurier Award. Currently, she is at work on the Roxy Abruzzo mystery series for St. Martin’s Minotaur. In 2009 she received the Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award for mystery writing.
Nancy lives in Pittsburgh, serves on the board of Sisters in Crime and is a founding member of Pennwriters. Find her on Pinterest and Facebook.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
November 25, 2014
Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...
1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.
2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.
3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.
4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.
5 stars... I loved this book! It has earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.
April 15, 2011
Drop dead blonde is a book of four stories each written by a different author .Slay Belles, Nancy Martin,Killer Blonde, Elaine Viets, Dead Blondes Tell No Tales, Denise Swanson, Blind Sighted, Victoria Laurie.
Each story has one thing in common death. hard to choose a favorite story. I really enjoyed each one for different reasons .
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes murder mysteries.
Each story has one thing in common death. hard to choose a favorite story. I really enjoyed each one for different reasons .
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes murder mysteries.
October 31, 2015
Drop Dead Blonde is a series of 4 Novellas by 4 cozy mystery authors. The first was Slay Belles by Nancy Martin and is part of the Blackbird Sisters mysteries. Second was Killer Blonde by Elaine Viets and is part of the Dead End Job mystery series. Third was Dead blondes Tell No Tales by Denise Swanson and was part of the Scumble River Mystery series. Fourth was Blind Sighted by Victoria Laurie and is part of the psychic eye mystery series. The first two were new to me but the last two were from two of my favourite series. I loved all the stories and will continue reading more from all the authors.
April 16, 2009
I only read the Denise Swanson story since that was the only one I was interested in. I usually don't like to read short story compilations or novellas and now I know why. The story was not that good. It does not nearly give you the taste of Ms. Swanson's excellent writing and plot with her other Scumble River books. It was too short (70 pages) and lacked a murder. I will stick with reading with the whole Scumble River mysteries instead.
August 10, 2018
Four short stories by four authors of cozy mysteries. I've only read one of the authors before, so this was mostly an introduction to the other three.
Slay Belles by Nancy Martin - I've read book one in the Blackbird series, so I remembered some of the characters, mostly by name, not so much their particulars. It was a fun story, though the end annoyed me. Nora realises who did it and then goes after the murderer rather than inform the police of her suspicions. I don't remember Nora being too stupid to live from the book I read.
Killer Blond by Elaine Viets - I like this story best. It's a framework story, so other than the mention of a character, it doesn't really tie-in with the Dead-End Job series. Great set-up, great pay-off. I'm subtly reminded of The Colorado Kid - as that too is a framework story. I really like to read more by Elaine Viets after this story.
Dead Blonds tell no Tales by Denise Swanson - there's probably a good story in there, but it would have worked better if there had been more pages to tell it. That might have led to a better reason to want Ruby dead, because the reason given just did not make sense, at least not to someone capable of thinking things through.
Blind sighted by Victoria Laurie - I liked this story, except for all the mumblings about professional physics. Apperantly, there is a whole bunch of them, so there must be great demand for their services. The ending annoyed me again, this time as the ghosts came tumbling out of the machine head over heels. (Although the 'devout atheïsts' gave me giggles)
Slay Belles by Nancy Martin - I've read book one in the Blackbird series, so I remembered some of the characters, mostly by name, not so much their particulars. It was a fun story, though the end annoyed me. Nora realises who did it and then goes after the murderer rather than inform the police of her suspicions. I don't remember Nora being too stupid to live from the book I read.
Killer Blond by Elaine Viets - I like this story best. It's a framework story, so other than the mention of a character, it doesn't really tie-in with the Dead-End Job series. Great set-up, great pay-off. I'm subtly reminded of The Colorado Kid - as that too is a framework story. I really like to read more by Elaine Viets after this story.
Dead Blonds tell no Tales by Denise Swanson - there's probably a good story in there, but it would have worked better if there had been more pages to tell it. That might have led to a better reason to want Ruby dead, because the reason given just did not make sense, at least not to someone capable of thinking things through.
Blind sighted by Victoria Laurie - I liked this story, except for all the mumblings about professional physics. Apperantly, there is a whole bunch of them, so there must be great demand for their services. The ending annoyed me again, this time as the ghosts came tumbling out of the machine head over heels. (Although the 'devout atheïsts' gave me giggles)
August 17, 2024
Margery is one of my absolute favorite characters of all time! I need a Margery in my life with some wild and crazy stories. This has been a fantastic series to read. Nancy Martin is such a creative and twisted author! I can't wait to read more!
May 14, 2018
Great quick reads
What a great way to see if you like the authors books. Just had read the short stories and I knew I would like all these authors.
What a great way to see if you like the authors books. Just had read the short stories and I knew I would like all these authors.
October 11, 2018
Too short but still somewhat fun.
February 14, 2022
A book by 4 authors all good stories.
February 13, 2024
3.94⭐
SLAY BELLES by Nancy Martin 3.5⭐
KILLER BLONDE by Elaine Viets 5⭐
DEAD BLONDES TELL NO LIES by Denise Swanson 3.25⭐
BLIND SIGHTED by Victoria Laurie 4⭐
SLAY BELLES by Nancy Martin 3.5⭐
KILLER BLONDE by Elaine Viets 5⭐
DEAD BLONDES TELL NO LIES by Denise Swanson 3.25⭐
BLIND SIGHTED by Victoria Laurie 4⭐
March 11, 2025
interesting, cheesy, easy stories. great beach read. nothing spectacular about any of them, not eager to pick up any other books by the authors.
August 30, 2017
Book 1: Slaybelles. This is a new author for me and 80pg is not enough to say yes or no to loving an author but I wouldn't go to trouble to find the other books but if another one comes along I would read it to see what the storyline is about. OK.
Book 2: Killer Blonde. I actually liked this short story. It was different and very enjoyable. It makes me want to read other books by this author. Good job!!
Book 3: Dead Blondes. Different. Not sure what to think about this author as it was so short and the characters were strange. I could not connect with any of it but if a longer story is available I might read it to see if that makes a difference.
Book 4: Blind Sighted. I liked this one & I was surprised that I did. I have some of her other books but the Abby/psychic eye series I could not finish the first book but I may try again since I enjoyed this one.
Overall, I enjoyed this and I like to find new authors all the time and now I found at least one and maybe two. Worth reading.
Book 2: Killer Blonde. I actually liked this short story. It was different and very enjoyable. It makes me want to read other books by this author. Good job!!
Book 3: Dead Blondes. Different. Not sure what to think about this author as it was so short and the characters were strange. I could not connect with any of it but if a longer story is available I might read it to see if that makes a difference.
Book 4: Blind Sighted. I liked this one & I was surprised that I did. I have some of her other books but the Abby/psychic eye series I could not finish the first book but I may try again since I enjoyed this one.
Overall, I enjoyed this and I like to find new authors all the time and now I found at least one and maybe two. Worth reading.
January 26, 2016
Drop Dead Blonde ★ ★
This is a trilogy of mysteries with the murderess being a blond....
Slay Bells, Nancy Martin ★ ★ 1/2
The first story featured the Blackbird Sisters and the murder of the premier personal shopper of a high-end department store. But as it is a short story, there wasn't much character development and much of the filler seemed to be just mindless chatter by women who are stressed and shop too much. I did like the main character's boyfriend..... A man from a mafia family, trying to go straight while still subtly using his influence to right a wrong.
Killer Blonde Elaine Viets ★ ★ 1/2
The second story is about a retired secretary who is telling the story of the murder of her boss....and how the mouse-washed-out brunette-turned-full-out-ravishing-blond-lion got away with the murder. She is telling this to a woman who has run away from an abusive husband.......
Dead Blondes Tell No Tales, Denise Swanson ★ ★
Skye is dating Simon.... Simon, the local undertaker, has purchased the local bowling alley for his mother Bunny to run and has Skye working there in order to keep an eye on Bunny. Breeze in Ruby, Bunny's best friend, from Las Vegas....with something she's holding for the FBI..... Enter trouble and disappear Ruby..... WTH???????
Blind Sighted, Victoria Laurie ★ ★
I like her series that's of a Ghostbuster..... But this short story is about Abby the "Psychic Eye".... I have never read Abby before, and there was just too much chatter for me....
So Abby is conned in to going to a Psychic Seminar with her über-rich sister, Cat. On the way they meet up with a famous psychic debunker... Abby's alarms go off & she gives the woman a warning, which of course is ignored. At the seminar they run into the woman again, right after Abby has proven the woman running the seminar a Fake! And of course, there is a murder and Abby gets involved....... Yaddah Yaddah Yaddah...... Pfffffffffft!
This is a trilogy of mysteries with the murderess being a blond....
Slay Bells, Nancy Martin ★ ★ 1/2
The first story featured the Blackbird Sisters and the murder of the premier personal shopper of a high-end department store. But as it is a short story, there wasn't much character development and much of the filler seemed to be just mindless chatter by women who are stressed and shop too much. I did like the main character's boyfriend..... A man from a mafia family, trying to go straight while still subtly using his influence to right a wrong.
Killer Blonde Elaine Viets ★ ★ 1/2
The second story is about a retired secretary who is telling the story of the murder of her boss....and how the mouse-washed-out brunette-turned-full-out-ravishing-blond-lion got away with the murder. She is telling this to a woman who has run away from an abusive husband.......
Dead Blondes Tell No Tales, Denise Swanson ★ ★
Skye is dating Simon.... Simon, the local undertaker, has purchased the local bowling alley for his mother Bunny to run and has Skye working there in order to keep an eye on Bunny. Breeze in Ruby, Bunny's best friend, from Las Vegas....with something she's holding for the FBI..... Enter trouble and disappear Ruby..... WTH???????
Blind Sighted, Victoria Laurie ★ ★
I like her series that's of a Ghostbuster..... But this short story is about Abby the "Psychic Eye".... I have never read Abby before, and there was just too much chatter for me....
So Abby is conned in to going to a Psychic Seminar with her über-rich sister, Cat. On the way they meet up with a famous psychic debunker... Abby's alarms go off & she gives the woman a warning, which of course is ignored. At the seminar they run into the woman again, right after Abby has proven the woman running the seminar a Fake! And of course, there is a murder and Abby gets involved....... Yaddah Yaddah Yaddah...... Pfffffffffft!
January 16, 2016
A collection of four short mystery stories.
Slay Belles(A Blackbird Sisters Mystery) by Nancy Martin.
A personal shopper is murdered and Nora Blackbird along with her sister Libby, and her boyfriend, Michael, Nora sets out to solve the murder.
Great story and wonderful humor. My favorite of the four.
Killer Blonde(A Dead -End Job Mystery) by Elaine Viets
Margery tells Helen that she once knew a murderer. Margery does the story telling as Helen takes it all in about the hostility, betrayal and revenge within the everyday office.
A fast read. Great writing. My second favorite.
Dead Blondes Tell No Tales(A Scumble River Mystery) by Denise Swanson
Simon runs a bowling alley in Scumble River and his Mother, Bunny has come to live and work with him. Some of Bunny friends follow her from Las Vegas with Murder in mind.
My fourth favorite. I could not get into this story line like I did the others. I found it like some of the charters.
Blind Sighted(A Psychic Eye Mystery) by Victoria Laurie
Abby is talked into going to a Psychic convention by her Sister Cat. Cat is sure Abby will be able to make big bucks. At the hotel they are staying in a Murder and a Theft happens and the two pair up a long with a older lady to solve them.
My Third favorite. I enjoy the humor and keep me guessing until the very end.
Slay Belles(A Blackbird Sisters Mystery) by Nancy Martin.
A personal shopper is murdered and Nora Blackbird along with her sister Libby, and her boyfriend, Michael, Nora sets out to solve the murder.
Great story and wonderful humor. My favorite of the four.
Killer Blonde(A Dead -End Job Mystery) by Elaine Viets
Margery tells Helen that she once knew a murderer. Margery does the story telling as Helen takes it all in about the hostility, betrayal and revenge within the everyday office.
A fast read. Great writing. My second favorite.
Dead Blondes Tell No Tales(A Scumble River Mystery) by Denise Swanson
Simon runs a bowling alley in Scumble River and his Mother, Bunny has come to live and work with him. Some of Bunny friends follow her from Las Vegas with Murder in mind.
My fourth favorite. I could not get into this story line like I did the others. I found it like some of the charters.
Blind Sighted(A Psychic Eye Mystery) by Victoria Laurie
Abby is talked into going to a Psychic convention by her Sister Cat. Cat is sure Abby will be able to make big bucks. At the hotel they are staying in a Murder and a Theft happens and the two pair up a long with a older lady to solve them.
My Third favorite. I enjoy the humor and keep me guessing until the very end.
June 26, 2008
This is 4 short stories by some cozy authors. All of the stories were good and fairly quick reads. My least favorite was the one by Nancy Martin but it was still good, just took me a bit to get into it.
Elaine Viets is a great author so this one was good and I have the series by Victoria Laurie but hadn't started it yet and now want to read it because I really enjoyed this short story with Abby Cooper, Psychic PI.
Elaine Viets is a great author so this one was good and I have the series by Victoria Laurie but hadn't started it yet and now want to read it because I really enjoyed this short story with Abby Cooper, Psychic PI.
August 18, 2013
It's not often I find a compilation where all the books are closely equal. This one is. The best, in my opinion, is by Elaine Viets and I will be looking for more books by her. But all of the books are an easy way to spend an afternoon.
October 9, 2007
collection of 4 short mysteries. easy and entertaining. good for traveling!
November 15, 2007
read 01.31.07
November 2, 2020
I didn't do a review when I read this but it's got some short stories by some of my favorite authors and they had to be good since I gave it 4 stars. #readforkimberly
August 12, 2009
Dead Blonds Tell No Tales
October 12, 2014
I only read Slay Belles, but it was a fun story.
June 28, 2011
Drop-Dead Blonde
Nancy Martin, Elaine Viets, Denise Swanson, Victoria Laurie
Four short mystery stories all with the lead character being a blonde. Fast, fun , read.
Nancy Martin, Elaine Viets, Denise Swanson, Victoria Laurie
Four short mystery stories all with the lead character being a blonde. Fast, fun , read.
July 31, 2011
Just finished the Nancy Martin story since I am reading that series now. It was, as usual, really great.
June 24, 2012
My favorite of the four stories was the Blackbird sisters. That author is the reason I read the book. The other stories were also enjoyable and it was nice to read some quick, short stories.
February 11, 2013
Stories by 4 of my favorite authors.
April 10, 2015
This was a very entertaining read with 4 quick short stories. Some of these stories were very silly but fun to read.
Read
September 22, 2015Blind Sighted
August 6, 2008
I was already a fan of a couple of the authors in this collection.
April 24, 2009
I liked this book because without it I may never have found 2 new authors to read. Thanks book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews