Oddly plot heavy and not romantic at all, there was little sexual tension (which Ms Lowell usually does so well) and a lot about tax wroughts and donated art.. I liked Jill Breck she was a smart, resourceful heroine. I didn't even mind Zach Balfour, the St Kilda operative sent to help her who coincidentally happened to be a western art expert (and how lucky was that!) I just didn't enjoy the plot. I found the art angle obvious and heavy handed and the twist at the end not so twisty and not very interesting. There was barely any sexual tension or romance. A disappointing read. ( )

The latest in her series about the operatives of St. Kilda Consulting. Romantic suspense and pretty standard for this subgenre but enjoyable nevertheless. Recommended for those who like Lowell's contemporaries.

River guide Jill Breck didn't know she was saving her own life when she fished the son of two of St. Kilda's top operatives out of the rapids, but when some family paintings put assassins on her trail, St. Kilda's agent Zach Balfour is all that stands between her and certain death.

A bit formulaic, and not Lowell's best, but readable. ( )

Elizabeth Lowell is one of my auto-buy romantic suspense authors. I can never wait for the paperbacks either, so I just grin and shell out the $ for the hardcovers 'cause I know she'll provide a few hours of good reading now and I'll re-read it at least once every couple of years when I'm in need of a Lowell 'fix'! "Blue Smoke and Murder" is her latest and it's a headrush of action and tension from start to finish.

The entire events of the book take place over a little less than two months...BUT, the real action and 9/10 of the book takes place in 5 days. Just reading it about gave me a heart attack and I didn't want to put it down 'til I knew what would happen next and...well, I'm sure you can guess how that went!

The book opens with the murder of a fiesty 90-year-old woman. She's our heroine's Aunt Mercy and I was actually sorry we didn't get to hear more from her as she was a hell of a dame! But our heroine is Mercy's heir. Her name's Jill and she's a river guide who happened to save the life of two top St. Kilda Consulting operatives' son. She pocketed the card they gave her figuring she'd never need it...but of course she does...and pretty darn quickly too. Part of her inheritance is a set of 13 paintings. When she does some research, it appears that one of those paintings may have caused her aunts murder. So she uses her card and in steps Zach.

Zach is quite the character. Smart, rugged, and handily enough, an art expert. He pilots Jill through the white water of greed, lies, politics, and murder that makes up the world of high ticket art collections. Neither of their lives will ever be the same.

Another read I couldn't put down from Elizabeth Lowell. If you like Coulter, Johansen, or Brown...you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of "Blue Smoke and Murder". I bet you'll get hooked too. ( )

Not quite as fun as the Donovan books, but quite enjoyable. I liked explanation of what can bring value in the art world, as well as the less ethical reasons for confirming or denying authenticity.

I didn't enjoy the writing structure that much - I think I would have preferred to be as surprised by events as the main characters, rather than having some chapters narrated from the POV of the antagonists (hired and otherwise).

Both main characters were well-rounded, with good interactions with both each other and the rest of the characters. I liked the initial resistance to a relationship from both, and thought it grew naturally.

And I loved the revelation toward the end of the book about the artwork, something that no one on either side had previously suspected. Priceless.