Amber Beach H

A wild-goose chase for the legendary Amber Room--a collection of 18th-century Russian artifacts that vanished after WWII--provides the backdrop for Lowell's (Winter Fire) fun but forgettable contemporary romantic thriller. Gem trader and suspected murderer Kyle Donovan is missing, along with a panel rumored to have been part of the Amber Room, and officials from Russia, Lithuania and the U.S. are hot on his trail. His sister Honor--a sassy, naive jewelry designer--is determined to find Kyle first and prove that her brother is neither a thief nor a killer. When Honor hires one J. Jacob Mallory to teach her how to ""fish"" the Puget Sound, he pretends not to know that she actually wants to learn how to pilot her brother's boat well enough to search for Kyle on the surrounding islands. And Honor is clueless that hunky Jake is her brother's business associate, who is suspected of conspiring to appropriate the stolen amber. Constant bickering doesn't stave off their mutual attraction, and they end up in the sack only hours before Honor realizes she's been duped. Meanwhile, a busload of incidental international players has arrived at the scene, complicating the already convoluted political intrigue. Still, the moderately paced plot, solid main characters and an up-to-the-minute premise fortify a satisfactory, if unexceptional, romance. (Oct.)