From AudioFile
A rogue FBI agent and a sexy gem-cutter, an abundance of pheromones, and the brutal deaths of several jewel couriers--these are the makings of a juicy plot about the theft of seven spectacular sapphires. Alas, it dribbles into disappointment. Carrington MacDuffie's efforts are superior, but even she can't hide the writing flaws. The dialogue strains credibility. The sexy romance between the special agent and the girl overwhelms the plot. Luckily, MacDuffie makes the trite sound true, and she has an impressive vocal range. She is believably masculine, throatily gruff as needed. Her women never simper unless they're supposed to. The story boasts improbable disguises, devious villains, and some absorbing bits about the trade in precious, semiprecious, and worthless stones. MacDuffie makes it worth a listen. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
From Booklist
Kate Chandler is the gem cutter responsible for taking a rough sapphire and creating seven gorgeous stones called the Seven Sins. When they disappear along with the courier, her half-brother, Lee, she is the only one who believes that he didn't steal them. Kate tries to get the FBI and other authorities involved, but they assume that Lee stole the gems and is living the high life abroad, so she investigates on her own, starting at a gem show near her Arizona home. There she awakens the instincts of rogue FBI agent Sam Groves, who is part of a task force trying to stop the rise in gem thefts. He spots Kate palming an exceptional sapphire and intercepts her, but it's a beautiful fake and she ditches him. He tracks her down; Kate decides to trust him, and he, in turn, trusts her, jeopardizing his career to follow his hunch about the thieves in spite of his superiors' objections. Lowell deftly explores the underworld of the gem trade, treating readers to a nail-biting search for killers with an eye for glitter. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
The Color of Death 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.
FROM THE CRITICS
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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