Murder with a Twist by Tracy Kiely is the first book in the NEW “Nic & Nigel” mystery series. Publisher: Midnight Ink, May 2015

Visiting New York to attend a cousin’s birthday gala, Nic and Nigel Martini are looking forward to cocktails with old friends and a pampered stay at the Ritz. But when the birthday girl’s gold-digging cad of a husband goes missing, the Martini family worries that the social event of the season may turn into a story for the scandal sheets.

Nigel’s condescending aunt begs former detective Nic to find sleazy Leo, despite the fact that it would be better for everyone if he just stayed lost. Trailing a “married bachelor” with a penchant for trouble isn’t pretty; in fact it’s downright deadly. Assisted by Nigel and their newly adopted Bullmastiff, Nic must tangle with her old underworld connections if she hopes to hunt down the dirtiest Martini.

I love this story. We are introduced to Nic and Nigel and their illustrious family when a missing husband leads to murder, deceit, betrayal and a downright enjoyable mystery that left me hungry for more fun times with the Martinis. This past-paced and action-packed drama immediately pulled me in and quickly became a page turner as I couldn’t put it down, especially as this light drama plays homage to the Thin Man series. I loved the way the mystery was set-up where the other players in the well-written drama were suspects and every clue pointed to one or the other, and when I thought I had it narrowed down, the author change direction and I did not even see that one coming when the killer’s identity was revealed. Brilliant touch! Boasting a terrific cast of characters that includes the marvelous Skippy and with engaging and witty repartee, this was a great read and I look forward to the next book in this wonderfully entertaining series.