Smoke Screen

My priorities are clearly suspect. I only have a few days before moving, a few days with access to English-language books, and I wasted several hours today reading a trashy novel.

I picked up my first Sandra Brown novel years ago when she was still a pure romance writer, and I have stuck with her through her transition into a romantic-thriller writer. Smoke Screen, her latest, is completely formulaic but enjoyable-enough for that very reason.

Journalist Britt Shelley wakes up one morning next to a dead police officer. She doesn’t remember what happened the night before. Naturally, she soon finds herself a suspect in the officer’s death. Enter Raley Gannon. Raley is a disgraced arson investigator and is sure Britt’s conundrum is related to his own.

Of course, Britt and Raley decide to investigate the crimes on their own, find themselves in mortal danger (several times), and make a little love (several times) along the way. Brown throws in several unconvincing red herrings, but anyone with half a brain—or who has read a book before—will guess early on the culprit.

Smoke Screen is anything but groundbreaking, but who really reads popular fiction for mental exercise? The book has some action, a dose of romance, and a little mystery. What more could I want while I’m trying to avoid packing, learning a new language, or doing anything else productive?