BLUE SMOKE AND MURDER

William Morrow (2008), 404 pages, $24.95 (hardcover)
Elizabeth Lowell does many things well.
She creates compelling characters that captivate and entertain readers..
She pens snappy and witty dialog that makes readers smile and laugh.
And she researches exceptionally well.
Too well.
Because the drawback of reading most of Lowell’s recent books is that too much of her stories are devoted to sharing that research with readers. In “Blue Smoke and Murder” the topic is the art world – fraud, and the eccentricities and obsessions of collectors.
Lowell does weave all this into a rather interesting story that sends Jill and Zach on quite an adventure where they dodge bullets but don’t even try to avoid Cupid’s arrows.
Jill inherits a trunk of mysterious paintings when her great-aunt mysteriously dies. She soon figures out that the unsigned canvases are the reason her aunt was killed. When her life is threatened she calls in a favor from Joe Faroe (“The Wrong Hostage”) who sends St. Kilda operative Zach to protect her.
Of course, the romance sparks flare right away, despite the fact that Jill is in danger. And most of their courtship is spent moving around during an investigation, as they try to A) keep Jill alive, B) find out who the artist of her paintings was, C) why someone is willing to kill and be nasty to get them.
It’s all a bit convoluted, but understandable. And while the romance is tepid, you like Zach and Jill enough that your romantic interest is adequately piqued to keep reading – and that dialog is fun too, even though sometimes that’s used to deliver long lectures on the art world.
Suggestion: Just skip those.



Overall rating: 3-plus of 5 hearts. Jill and Zach make it worth reading, even though it’s not a real mushy or lovey-dovey type relationship. The art stuff does get tedious at times, but sift through that and you’ll find an intriguing, well-written story.


Hunk appeal: 10. Zach takes care of Jill from the onset, and is obviously a good guy. He respects her, protects her, and cares for her.

Steamy scene grade: XXX. Definitely cares for her.

Happily-Ever-After: Good. The romance subtlety developed so there was no grand finale for that, just a sweet ending that let you they’re together even though there is no mush and gush (or four-letter words or four word questions.) The intrigue finishes rather intensely albeit not real surprisingly.


Also this week …

NO ORDINARY MAN, by Suzanne Brockmann (1990, paperback) – 3 of 5. This is another blast from Suzanne Brockmann’s past, when she wrote more pure romances for Harlequin. Jess is a divorced mom who takes in a tenant to help make ends meet. When Rob moves in, she’s immediately intrigued and smittened. He’s a mystery man who deftly avoids talking about his past and seems to take two steps away from her every time he takes one step closer. While they’re dancing around a relationship, a serial killer is terrorizing the area and while Jess adamantly defends Rob and insists that she knows there is no way it’s him, she can’t keep help but have the tiniest of doubts at times – especially when investigators insist it’s him. But despite that, she remains his ally and at the end, that earns her a happily-ever-after.