Blue Smoke and Murder (St. Kilda Consulting)

by Elizabeth Lowell

2009

Status

Available

Publication

Avon (2009), Edition: Reprint, 448 pages

Description

Protecting a river guide with ties to the art world, private information collector and reluctant bodyguard Zach Balfour realizes his charge is in more danger than previously known, a situation that pits them against the ruthless multi-million-dollar Western art circuit.

User reviews

LibraryThing member dearheart
The basis of the book has already been outlined, so I won’t bother with that aspect of it.

It appears there should be a new genre type; Suspenseful Romance. Unlike some other Romantic Suspense books I’ve read, the main drive of the book is heavy on the suspense with only a small portion of the
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book dedicated to the romance aspect. That’s not in any way a dig. We know as soon as they meet that Jill and Zach are attracted, but more often than not, it’s more like the soundtrack in a movie. We know it’s there and it comes to the forefront at times, getting a little louder as we near the end of the book.

The suspense begins fairly quickly and keeps up right through to the end of the story. The bad guys are identified and stopped, but we’re left with wanting to know what happens next to Jill and Zach. Hopefully they’ll be mentioned again in a future book.

It is important for the story that we have an understanding of what takes place in the world of art and the author does a good job of bringing us up to speed. Perhaps a little more information than I wanted, and a couple of times I got lost in the explanation for a short time.

I highly rate the suspense, the way the romance was handled, the fast pace, points of view from so many different characters involved, and the apparent research done by the author.

This author was new to me. I’ve just ordered to more of her books.
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LibraryThing member timepiece
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
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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.
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LibraryThing member ReadingKnitter01
typical for the genre-romantic thriller-a good beach read
LibraryThing member wirtley
Jill, a river guide inherited paintings from her grandmother. There is also a very price art auction coming up. Jill sends out copies of three paintings to art collectors. Then, she her life is threatened twice. She asks for help from a consulting company. Zach becomes her protector and a romance
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blooms. There is a mystery about the paintings that must be solved inbetween between death threats. Enjoyable romance.
Suspense is average.
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LibraryThing member jjmachshev
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
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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.
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LibraryThing member SunnySD
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,
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and not Lowell's best, but readable.
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LibraryThing member hailelib
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.
LibraryThing member amf0001
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
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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.
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LibraryThing member ImBookingIt
I really enjoyed reading this book, but weeks afterward, the details are merging with other similar books I've read.The setup is somewhat implausible, but I can deal with that. I think that events flow fairly reasonably once you accept it. Elizabeth Lowell is good at the thriller side of the
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story.She's also good at the characters, which is (to me) the most important aspect of a romance novel. I enjoyed the different aspects of Jill's personality-- her career and the aspects of her personality that make her successful as a river guide; her family loyalty that calls her back to deal with her great-aunt's estate; and (of course) the part that makes her a good character in a romance novel.Zach is similarly interesting, although with somewhat less depth. Watching their relationship develop was fun.
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LibraryThing member EmScape
An extremely suspenseful and engaging plot combined with steamy romance and fascinating characters make this fourth volume involving St. Kilda a must-read!
Jill has inherited some paintings from her great aunt that someone would kill to either steal or destroy. Fortunately, she recently saved the
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life of the son of some top St Kilda operatives and has been assigned some help in the form of the handsome and skillful Zach. As they race around the southwest trying to stay ahead of the bad guys and prove the provenance of Jill's paintings, they also fall in lust with each other. The gripping climax is not at all overshadowed by the fact that we knew who the bad guys were all along.
Elizabeth Lowell is an author I will still read, and acquire every new offering from, even though I've mostly moved on from the romance/romantic suspense genre.
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LibraryThing member sferguson
A good book, and just like all of Lowell's works (at least those I've read), the suspense and art is great. Like many of her works, the action and operations side of the book is not quite up to the highest standards and that is all that detracts from the story. Unless you read techno-thrillers it
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is unlikely that you will see anything wrong or have had any hand in the operational side of things, it is unlikely that you will give this book less than five stars.
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LibraryThing member AddictedToMorphemes
I very much like novels written by Elizabeth Lowell, but this one was just so-so compared to her others. I thought the romantic connection between the two main players was lukewarm and as far as the suspense part of it...there is no way an organization like St. Kilda would have allowed the
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circumstances at the end of the book to have occurred. Unbelievable that a client of theirs would face what she did. I did enjoy the background information on the art world. This was fairly enjoyable but not spectacular by any means.
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LibraryThing member Randall.Hansen
A decent thriller about lost art, art auctions, and shady dealings... all wrapped up in a series about St. Kilda consultants... who seem to have operatives that can do just about anything. A little slow at the start, but interesting perspectives on the value of art mixed in with the suspense over
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the what might happen to the main character -- and her inherited art collection.
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Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2008-06

Physical description

448 p.; 4.19 inches

ISBN

0060829869 / 9780060829865

Barcode

1600755
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