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Book Review of Murder with a Twist (A Nic & Nigel Mystery)

Murder with a Twist (A Nic & Nigel Mystery)
dollycas avatar reviewed on + 705 more book reviews


Dollycas's Thoughts

reelz.com
reelz.com
I love old movies, movies that were made before I was even born. As soon as I saw the synopsis for this book I knew the author's inspiration had to be Dashiell Hammett's Nick and Nora Charles. Yup, I was right. I dove right into this book and was absolutely thrilled about her "updated twist".

The characters are reversed from Hammett's version. Nic is a retired police detective married to Nigel Martini. His family and him by extension, are ultra wealthy. They have come to New York for the holidays and his cousin's birthday party but she is overwrought because her husband, Leo, has gone missing. Something he has done before, but with the big birthday bash in just a few days, he must be found so the family is not scandalized in the press by his absence. Nigel's aunt basically tells Nic to use her police training to find Leo as quickly as possible. The first thing her training tells her is that the guy is a low class jerk and that the family would be better off if he just stayed gone. But with some help from Nigel and their new puppy she will find him and then let the family decide what to do with him.

bullmastiff

I immediately pictured Nic and Nigel like Nick and Nora updated to present day, but let me tell you Skippy is no Asta. Skippy is a small horse of a dog, a Bullmastiff, and he makes everything Nic and Nigel do more interesting because he goes with them everywhere.

Just like the movie these characters are terrific. The dialogue is fast and full of wit. The Martini's also partake plenty of martini's, the dirtier the better. They stay at the Ritz and travel the city trying to find the missing husband. Doing so they met a few unsavory characters. None of Nigel's family thinks much of Nic, just what see can do for them, but they are a snobby bunch so that is just fine with her.

This is a light mystery, full of humor and I loved every word. I hated for it to end. The good thing is I was able to start reading Killer Cocktail, book 2 in this series. It was released on May 8. Stay tuned I will be posting my review next Tuesday!