Elizabeth Ashtree, Into Thin Air

Elizabeth Ashtree, Into Thin Air - The G3 Logistics officer Captain Kelsey O'Roarke is inside an isolated warehouse on Fort Belvoir when she hears strange noises from the machinery. She investigates, only to find a soldier where he should not be. As she goes to help him down, a shot is fired; the soldier falls thirty feet to the ground; his blood is everywhere. Kelsey is knocked unconscious with a blow to the head.

Later that evening, a bewildered Kelsey explains to Criminal Investigation Division Major Julian Fordham what happened, but no corpse or other evidence is at the crime scene. Last year Kelsey and Julian dated; the kisses were incredible, but also carried a forever stipulation that scared the CID cop away. Kelsey knows she still trusts him with her heart and soul, let alone her life, so he reluctantly agrees to investigate though he expects to find nothing out of the ordinary. Neither expected what they find which places their lives in danger from killers and their hearts from one another.

INTO THIN AIR is an intriguing, military, police, romantic mystery in which readers know Kelsey witnessed a murder, but Julian firmly believes she banged her head and imagined the whole thing. The storyline is fast-paced when it concentrates on the present; when the plot looks back at last year's relationship fiasco it seems out of step because Julian, who has all the doubts, resolves them too easily. Still, following the lead couple's efforts to solve the military murder mystery provides a fine R&R for readers.

Harriet Klausner