Blue Smoke and Murder

River guide Jill Breck saves the wrong person's son, calls in a favor when her aunt dies in a suspicious fire, and suddenly finds herself in the middle of a deadly conspiracy inside the Western American art market. Elizabeth Lowell's fourth St. Kilda Consulting entry pairs a resourceful female protagonist with operative Zach Balfour and uses the high-stakes world of rare Western paintings as an uncommonly textured thriller backdrop. The pacing is reliable and the art-world setting adds genuine flavor. The honest caveat is that readers new to the series will miss character context built across earlier entries, and the conspiracy plotting follows familiar genre patterns. Romantic suspense genre conventions — a developing romance alongside the thriller — are present and moderate for the category. For established Lowell readers, a solid series entry; newcomers should consider starting earlier in the St. Kilda lineup.