Color of Death by Elizabeth Lowell

From the Publisher

The prospect of acquiring seven exceedingly rare sapphires generates more than enough temptation, danger, and desire to power the complex plot of this new thriller by New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Lowell. The gems, known as the Seven Sins, represent the opportunity of a lifetime to jewel cutter Kate Chandler, but when her most trusted courier goes missing, along with the jewels, it's time to take action. Kate's ploy to recover the jewels, however, attracts the suspicion of the FBI, which assigns Special Agent Sam Groves to watch Kate. Soon this unlikely couple is teaming up in the field and off, but the closer they get to solving the crime, the greater the danger for Kate.

Publishers Weekly

The theft of seven extraordinary sapphires sparks a rash of murders in this fast-moving romantic thriller by Lowell (Die in Plain Sight; Running Scared). Kate Chandler, 33, is the cutter who shapes the stones for a wealthy Florida collector; her half-brother, Lee, is the courier she chooses to deliver them. Lee is more than careful, but an hour from his destination, the gems are stolen, and he disappears. Five months later, alleging that Lee stole the gems and decamped with a blonde to a Caribbean hideaway, the FBI closes the case. Kate and Lee's lover, Norm, know better, and Kate determines to discover the truth on her own. At a gem show in Scottsdale, she sees one of the precious sapphires at a shady dealer's booth and settles "into the odious business of flirting with a man she'd rather have scraped off her shoes," which leads to a confrontation with maverick FBI agent Sam Groves. In due course, they become allies and consequently, Groves, already unpopular with Bureau brass, finds his job at stake. The reader acquires a lot of esoteric information about gems, the principals share a sense of humor and eventually a bed; when the shady dealer and his wife are mercilessly murdered, Kate receives a death threat and the circle of suspects connected to her brother's disappearance widens. This is a diverting read for thriller fans. Agent, Dominick Abel. (June 15) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Jeweler Kate Chandler is slated to cut the fabulous Seven Sins cluster of sapphires, but then comes murder. One-day laydown: June 15. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Gem cutter gets cracking, from the hugely popular author of, most recently, Running Scared (2002). When her gay half-brother Lee Mandel disappears, Kat Chandler wants answers. Was Lee murdered by mysterious South American baddies trying to get their swarthy hands on the Seven Sins, rare natural sapphires that everyone wants? Could be-and Kat might have stumbled on the first of these matchless stones. Next: explanations. Lowell (a.k.a. mystery writer A.E. Maxwell, a husband-and-wife team) dutifully covers absolutely everything there is to know about precious and semi-precious stones, gem dealing, and the so-called science of gemology, providing exhaustive detail on various techniques to improve the appearance of colored stones and hence raise their value to unsuspecting buyers. A handsome cop pops up as a love interest and brawny shoulder to cry on, as do more bad guys, including Peyton Hall, the whining, ambitious, unscrupulous son of jewelry retailers and his bitchy girlfriend Sharon Sizemore, who's into picking her cuticles and watching porn when not plotting everyone's downfall. Were the Seven Sins stolen by Lee dressed in drag? Hey, maybe he's still alive! Is Jack Kirby, a former fed, in cahoots with Sharon's father, a hard-bitten security expert? And check out all those people skulking around in dopey disguises (the story's chock-a-block with wigs, stuffed bras, and even fake facial hair)-what's up with that? A few obligatory references to scary people like crack whores are thrown in here and there-as if this ladylike author ever got near one. In fact, much of this seems to have been written by someone else, and the dated tough-guy prose borders on the ridiculous: "White went out ofthe van like a hundred-and-seventy-pound cat. His lead-filled sap hit the base of her skull with a meaty sound."James Patterson-style microchapters, some not even a page long, keep things moving, but the end result is no big whoop. Agent: Dominick Abel/Dominick Abel Literary Agency

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