Murder in Plane Sight: A Sierra Bauer Mystery book 1

In the early 1990s, Sierra Bauer stands out. An airplane mechanic at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, she’s a woman in a man’s world, a world that suits her… until a frozen body turns up in an airplane she’s inspecting. Now she’s a suspect in a murder investigation that threatens to re-open Sierra’s painful past. But what’s worse is her abusive ex-boyfriend is out of prison and stalking her again.

Detective Quinn Moore thought he’d left homicide behind when he left the big city and joined the airport police. Now, a year after his brutal divorce, he finds himself facing a rising body count… and an attractive airplane mechanic who might just be a murderer. As the danger mounts and their growing relationship develops, can Quinn keep his head in the game long enough to catch a brutal killer?

Ms. Holmes crafts a taut, suspenseful mystery with just the right amount of romance, murder, and mayhem. Sierra is a complicated, likeable woman, a fully formed character who is interesting to follow, and Detective Moore is a good counterpart. Most impressive is the author’s ability to convey lots of technical and procedural details clearly and without slowing down the action. Her depiction of a Minnesota winter will leave the reader feeling chilly. While some mystery enthusiasts may wish that Detective Moore was a bit quicker off the mark (there are some rather obvious connections he fails to make before it’s almost too late), this is a tight and very enjoyable mystery.

Janice Martin