"BLUE SMOKE is an example of why Ms. Roberts is one of the most popular authors writing today"

In 1985 Baltimore Catarina "Renna" Hale was attacked by her neighbor twelve year old Joey Pastorelli and would have been raped if the neighbors didn't intervene. Reena's father fought with Joey's abusive dad and that night, the Hale's family pizzeria, Sirico's burns to the ground. Police find enough evidence to arrest Joey's father and Joey is taken away from his mother after he burns his dog and leaves it on Reena's doorstop.

Reena decides that she will because an arson investigator, studying hard in school to make her dream a reality. When Rena buys a house in her old neighborhood, her next door neighbor is Bo Goodnight who saw Reena at a college party years ago and fell in lust. Over the years he sighted his Dream Girl but they never met but when the pair finally get together, lust turns into something more for Bo and the commitment phobic Reena who is afraid that he might be her one and only true love. They conduct their courtship during an arson investigation in which someone is targeting Reena and the people closest to her. Reena is in a race against time to catch the killer before the body count mounts.

Once again Nora Roberts has written a wonderful romantic thriller that is sure to hit the New York Times bestseller list. Her characterization are fantastic, the firefighting scenes are full of action and suspense and the plot moves along at a fast pace. Bo's Dream Girl is better than his fantasy of her and he is determined to woo her no matter how many obstacles she put in his path. Their love scenes are sweet, poignant sometimes downright funny. BLUE SMOKE is an example of why Ms. Roberts is one of the most popular authors writing today.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted October 4, 2005

Summary

From the incomparable Nora Roberts, Blue Smoke is a tale of gut-level fear, human triumph, and the bonds that carry us through our darkest times.

The blaze that night at her family's pizzeria changed young Reena Hale's life. Neighbors and relatives would help the Hales rebuild. The Baltimore authorities would arrest the arsonist responsible. But as Reena beheld the fire's brutal beauty and destructive power, her destiny began to take shape. She would understand and master its terrible force—and one day become an investigator herself.

But she is not the only one fascinated by the flames. Someone else sees their power—and is obsessed not with conquering the fire but with controlling it, owning it, using it to exact vicious revenge . . .

When Reena finally joins the arson unit, her strength and wits are constantly tested—although sometimes the job seems like a snap compared to her love life. But she can't always blame the men—after all, a soot-caked woman barking orders and smelling of smoke isn't the biggest turn-on in the world. Then she meets Bo Goodnight, who seems different. He's been trying to find Reena for years, and now that she is close enough to touch, he has no intention of letting go.

Nor does the man who has begun to haunt Reena's life—with taunting phone calls and a string of horrifying crimes. And as Reena tries desperately to trace the origins—of the calls, the fires, the hatred aimed in her direction—she will step into the worst inferno she has ever faced.