Blue Smoke and Murder

Elizabeth Lowell has done it again. Reading Blue Smoke and Murder is a lot like reading her other books. Many take place in the desert (which is really no fun, but okay), with a female character who gets herself in trouble, though has no idea of it. The trouble usually comes when she discovers a past family secret that suddenly just can't get out.

Not only that, but she just happens to get help from a security consultant who just happens to specialize in whatever her problem is.

It's like magic.

Anyway, in Blue Smoke (I was going to use the initials, then realized it was...awkward), Jill gets in trouble with some paintings she's found, and Zach just happens to be nearby on vacation when he get assigned her case.

The usual mayhem and madness ensue, including creepy phone calls, people getting shot, Zach and Jill falling in love ( a. who didn't see that coming? and b. Zach is awfully close to Jack, I just decided), the ultimate showdown where Jill has to go out on her own, only to have Zach ride to her rescue.

While the premise is always interesting, and I always feel like I'm actually learning something, some of it is overused and underplayed. A lot of things I've read in her other novels, a couple new things, and the same basic premise. While I enjoy them, they rarely stick with me.

Though there was one great line. "If you're looking for reassurance, it's in the dictionary between real and stupid." Zach tells Jill. I liked that one.

Average.