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gossamerwingedgazelle's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty good! It wasn't the most amazing thing I've ever read, but it was fun and fast-paced.
lynguy1's review against another edition
3.0
Blue Smoke and Murder by Elizabeth Lowell combines romance, action, suspense, and the search for the truth regarding a death and some art work. Jill Breck is a river guide who saves the life of the son of two operators with a security and protection firm. When Jill’s great aunt dies and there is an uproar in the Western art world regarding several Breck family paintings, Jill calls in a favor. Zach Balfour is the nearest security consultant and he’s assigned to protect Jill.
Jill and Zach are both likeable characters. Since the book mainly takes place during a couple of months with most it occurring during less than one week, the romance is a little too fast to be believable. Additionally, it was too easy for readers to identify the ultimate antagonist. Despite this, I enjoyed the novel. The plot has a few twists to it and the suspense was extremely high at times. The narrative flows well with a thought-provoking story line, fast pacing, and good characterization.
Overall, this was a suspenseful novel with good characterization and plenty of action. It’s the fourth book in a series, but can be read as a standalone novel.
I purchased a copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date was May 27, 2008.
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My 3.48 rounded to 3 stars review is coming soon.
Jill and Zach are both likeable characters. Since the book mainly takes place during a couple of months with most it occurring during less than one week, the romance is a little too fast to be believable. Additionally, it was too easy for readers to identify the ultimate antagonist. Despite this, I enjoyed the novel. The plot has a few twists to it and the suspense was extremely high at times. The narrative flows well with a thought-provoking story line, fast pacing, and good characterization.
Overall, this was a suspenseful novel with good characterization and plenty of action. It’s the fourth book in a series, but can be read as a standalone novel.
I purchased a copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date was May 27, 2008.
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My 3.48 rounded to 3 stars review is coming soon.
lynguy1's review against another edition
3.0
Blue Smoke and Murder by Elizabeth Lowell combines romance, action, suspense, and the search for the truth regarding a death and some art work. Jill Breck is a river guide who saves the life of the son of two operators with a security and protection firm. When Jill’s great aunt dies and there is an uproar in the Western art world regarding several Breck family paintings, Jill calls in a favor. Zach Balfour is the nearest security consultant and he’s assigned to protect Jill.
Jill and Zach are both likeable characters. Since the book mainly takes place during a couple of months with most it occurring during less than one week, the romance is a little too fast to be believable. Additionally, it was too easy for readers to identify the ultimate antagonist. Despite this, I enjoyed the novel. The plot has a few twists to it and the suspense was extremely high at times. The narrative flows well with a thought-provoking story line, fast pacing, and good characterization.
Overall, this was a suspenseful novel with good characterization and plenty of action. It’s the fourth book in a series, but can be read as a standalone novel.
I purchased a copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date was May 27, 2008.
----------------------------------------
My 3.48 rounded to 3 stars review is coming soon.
Jill and Zach are both likeable characters. Since the book mainly takes place during a couple of months with most it occurring during less than one week, the romance is a little too fast to be believable. Additionally, it was too easy for readers to identify the ultimate antagonist. Despite this, I enjoyed the novel. The plot has a few twists to it and the suspense was extremely high at times. The narrative flows well with a thought-provoking story line, fast pacing, and good characterization.
Overall, this was a suspenseful novel with good characterization and plenty of action. It’s the fourth book in a series, but can be read as a standalone novel.
I purchased a copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date was May 27, 2008.
----------------------------------------
My 3.48 rounded to 3 stars review is coming soon.
erinicole's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
rebcamuse's review against another edition
2.0
While I don't hold trade paperback mysteries to the standards of great literature, I do want a good mystery. This one starts well, but the anti-climactic and obvious ending made the last several pages rather dull. Lowell does get credit, however, for a female protagonist that is strong and independent, but doesn't have to be a man-hater. While a bit typecast as the "outdoorsy" woman, river guide Jill Breck is fun to read as she struggles with her intuition vs. her intellect.
mamagames's review against another edition
4.0
Picked up this random paperback at a yard sale earlier this year. It's the kind of modern suspenseful novel that allows me to easily get swept up in the plot and get into that state of reading Flow, especially the last quarter of the book that raced toward the final scenes. I enjoyed learning more about the world of fine art / Western art. I'll definitely check my library and keep an eye out for other books in this series.
kriff08's review against another edition
3.0
This was a very good read. I hadn't read any St. Kilda Consulting books prior to this, but I jumped into it just fine. It was a fast paced story and had me interested till the very end. I'd happily put this next to a few of Iris Johansen's books or a Linda Howard. If you've enjoy those authors I feel like Lowell would be a great addition to your reading list.
setaian's review against another edition
3.0
It's quite a good book but the ending left me a little unsatisfied. Setting the last chapter aside, it was good enough that I've ordered another of her books, but not so good that I'll drop everything and read the next book when it arrives.
bougainvillea's review against another edition
2.0
Not a bad book, but I won't go out of my way to find anything else by this author. There are too many good mystery writers out there!