BLUE SMOKE AND MURDER
Elizabeth Lowell
William Morrow
ISBN:978-0-06-082985-8
May 2008
Romance Suspense

Jill Breck was enjoying her day showing a father and son down the rapids. When she saved the life of Lane Faroe, son of two of St. Kilda Consulting's premier operators, they swore if there was anything she needed, all she had to do was ask. Since then, her great aunt has been murdered over some family paintings and her own life has been threatened. So Jill decided to call in the favor. Zach Balfour works for St. Kilda. His expertise is gathering and analyzing information from dangerous sources. He is an effective bodyguard, but being in the line of a bullet is not his idea of fun. Protecting Jill will take him into familiar territory of art collectors, but Jill is in over her head, as she soon realizes. Now they must race against a ruthless killer that appears hidden in a blue smoke of money, lies, threats, and death.

BLUE SMOKE and MURDER takes you on the tentative ride of family secrets of used love and deceit. Jill knows in her gut that her great aunt Modesty did not make a mistake and end up dead. Although she was old, she had all of her faculties about her and would not have made such a mistake that would burn her home and barn. When she finds clues from Modesty in her old childhood home that leads her to twelve unsigned canvases, Jill knows exactly why she was killed. As Jill tries to authenticate the pictures, her life is suddenly under great scrutiny. When she calls in a favor with St. Kilda, she never expects to come face to face with the man of her dreams. Zach is tired of babysitting women as part of his job. When he meets Jill, he knows that this job will be like no other. Coupled with the fact that he knows his stuff about painters, this is a match made in heaven. If only they can stay alive long enough to enjoy each other. The trails that wind around each other are tricky and full of double talk. No one can be trusted. Can Zach protect Jill? Or is she determined to do things her own way and not only lose her precious paintings, but her life as well?

BLUE SMOKE and MURDER is electrifying! The story line is fast paced, the characters all blend together and you are kept on the edge of your seat to see which way the scale will tip. This one is a keeper!

Reviewed by: Kathy Fisher
Rating: 4 1/2