Newsweek features Chase and that article results in Derek Bellasar, international arms dealer, offering him an enormous amount of money to paint the portrait of his third wife. Chase refuses the commission and first his home, then his friend’s businesses are purchased by Bellasar and he becomes increasingly isolated. Finally, even the New York gallery is gone and it is at this point that Jeb Wainwright, his former copilot, approaches him. Jeb is now with the CIA and seeks to recruit Chase in their attempt to bring down Bellasar.

Jeb tells Chase that Bellasar has a habit of having each of his wives portraits painted prior to their accidental deaths. The CIA suspects that this is Bellasar’s way of protecting any secrets a wife may have gleaned during the marriage. It is not patriotism, nor any other altruism that finally persuades Chase to take the commission. He is enchanted with the face of Sienna, the former model who is now Mrs. Bellasar.

After a carefully staged confrontation with Bellasar to allay suspicion, Chase joins him at the European fortress that is his home to begin the portrait. Chase soon falls in love with Sienna and Bellasar becomes suspicious. Chase realizes he must get Sienna away from the estate for her protection, and they disappear. Bellasar is enraged and begins his pursuit.

Burnt Sienna is a modern day terrorist novel, replete with arms and biological weapons of mass destruction and enriched with a few plot twists. Nevertheless, it is a fairly predictable story with the action at times being fast paced and brutal.

Although the author describes scenes well, he is much stingier with time spent to develop characters. Consequently they appear one dimensional and fleshed out only to the degree that is necessary to carry the melodramatic plot forward.

When each character is larger than life and is beautiful to the extreme or cruel to the extreme, it becomes hard to take the mounting suspense seriously. One becomes merely a spectator watching events move to their inevitable conclusion. Burnt Sienna is an easy and interesting read but certainly not a challenging one.

--Thea Davis