Review: “Airs Above the Ground” by Mary Stewart

Thumbs up for Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart. Suspense.

After reading Nancy Pearl’s glowing recommendation of Mary Stewart in More Book Lust, I had to try one. Airs Above the Ground caught my eye as it had to do with the Lipizzaner horses, of whom I read much as a young gal. (Your bonus book recommendation of the day: The White Stallion of Lipizza by Marguerite Henry, for kids and adults.) Well, Ms Pearl did not fail me; I loved it and can’t wait to read more of Stewart’s work. The heroine is smart and capable, and her narrative voice has a good wit to it. The other characters are well-drawn, as well, and I stayed up late to find out what happened to them all as they tried to disentangle themselves from the suspense that began with the heroine’s missing (or rather misplaced) husband, but didn’t end there. To say more would give it away, but I won’t. If you’re looking for Lee Child-level suspense, this isn’t for you, and if you want romance, this isn’t it either: but if you like a lightweight suspense novel, with some lovely Viennese scenary thrown in, this is a great choice.

“But not to tell me! So underhand! That he should have secrets from me, his mother…!” Her voice throbbed. “I feel it, Vanessa, I feel it here.” She groped for where her heart presumably lay, somewhere behind the ample curve of her left breast, failed to locate it, and abandoning the gesture, poured herself another cup of tea. “You know what it says in the Bible about a thankless child? ‘Sharper than a something’s paw it is,’ or something like that…? Well, I can tell you as a mother, that’s exactly how it feels! Sharper than the whatever-it-is…But of course, I can’t expect you to understand!”