This romantic suspense title was written in 1965. I first read it about that time, and it has been sitting on my keeper shelf ever since. When Chirp offered some of Mary Stewart's classic romantic suspense title for wonderful sale prices, I decided to revisit some books I remembered fondly from the past.

Vanessa March is a twenty-four-year-old veterinarian who has given up her work to marry. She and Lewis have been married for a couple of years and are hoping to start a family. However, Lewis has one more job from his employer before he can switch to a position that has a lot less traveling. He tells her that his current job is in Stockholm but, when a friend of her mother's sees Lewis in a newsreel which shows him to be in Austria, Vanessa needs to see for herself. She is especially concerned since they argued bitterly before he left on his last trip and now she's seeing him with his arm around another woman.

Vanessa travels to Vienna with the Timothy who is the 17-year-old son of her mother's friend. He's supposed to be meeting his father there. But both he and Vanessa are lying about their reasons for traveling to Vienna. Tim just wants to get away from his over-bearing mother for a while. His father doesn't know he's coming, and Timothy arrives to make a third wheel in his father's new romantic relationship.

Timothy ends up traveling with Vanessa to check out the circus where her husband was last seen. Lewis doesn't know she's coming either. Vanessa and Tim find all sorts of secrets when they arrive. There has been a fire which claimed two lives - one of which was a colleague of Lewis's. Lewis is there under an assumed name investigating the fire and the circus. Vanessa is surprised to learn that Lewis is a part-time spy. He does side jobs for the government that his prime employer doesn't know about.

Vanessa does surgery on a horse that belonged to one of the victims. Since the horse was just the man's pet, there isn't a place for a non-working horse in the circus. It turns out that the horse was stolen from the Spanish Riding School and is one of the famous Lipizzaners. Vanessa and Tim want to get the stallion back to his home since those horses are national treasures.

Someone is very interested in the horse's saddle and it isn't for the glass jewels that have been used to decorate it. There is some smuggling going on which Lewis, Vanessa and Tim manage to thwart but not before a harrowing chase up a mountain and an encounter with a cog railway train.

I really enjoyed this story again which must now be considered historical fiction. Lewis smoking in bed after an intimate encounter (which occurs off the page) is one clue. Vanessa giving up her career to marry is another clue. Reading paper maps in a dark car is still another clue. And lots would have been different had cell phones been available.

It was a very suspenseful story. I had some brief recollections of the story but soon found myself engaged and entertained as Antonia Whillans narrated. ( )

Not bad suspense. Anyone who likes horses might get into this one, as a Lipizzaner stallion is part of the mystery and responsible for probably my favorite part of the book.
One big difference between this and some of Mary Stewart's other books is that the heroine is already married. Her husband is just as lordly as Stewart's usual alpha males. The girls in these stories are allowed to be reasonably intelligent, but only the men get to have all the puzzle pieces. One gets the sense that the heroines are slightly annoyed but resigned. :) ( )

Airs Above the Ground has every single element that is needed to make a marvelous Mary Stewart novel work: an enchanting and somewhat exotic setting, a plucky heroine navigating dangers under her own steam, a handsome and strong man just when you need him, an evil antagonist and one of Stewart’s charming boys. Add to that the charm of a traveling circus and a glimpse into the beauty and elegance of the Lipizzaner stallions, and what could you do but settle back and enjoy the ride.

I always feel as if I am there with Stewart’s characters, in an exact place--not a general place, a specific one.

Sacher’s Hotel was all that I had imagined, with its brilliantly lit scarlet and gold drawing rooms, the Turkey carpets, the oils in their heavy frames, the mahogany and flowers and spacious last-century atmosphere of comfortable leisure. The Blue Bar, where we were to meet Graham Lacy and his lady, was a smallish, intimate cave lined with blue brocade and lit with such discretion that one almost needed a flashlight to find one’s drink.

I swear if I close my eyes, I can smell the slightly musty, ancient upholstery, see the heavy, masculine woods in the bar, smell the richness of the clientele. And, in the following quote, I can see this woman’s constant scowl and look of disdain. Which of us has not known someone of exactly the personality she describes?

This, it seemed, was one of those angry natures that feeds on grievance; nothing would madden her more than to know that what she complained of had been put right. There are such people, unfortunates who have to be angry before they can feel alive. I had sometimes wondered if there were some old relic of pagan superstition, the fear of risking the jealousy and anger of the gods, that made such people afraid of even small happinesses.

There is a sense of adventure that one envies, and a sense of danger that one obviously does not, that permeates the story from beginning to end. There are multiple mysteries to keep you guessing and a few red-herrings that have to be dealt with. I would go anywhere with Mary Stewart, but I’m so glad she took me to Vienna in the springtime this round.

Airs Above the Ground is a marvelous romp and a delicious read, as every Mary Stewart novel is. I’m sure I shall dream tonight of strong men rescuing me from imminent danger with panache and wit--just as I must have done when I was a teenager and this novel was new. I hope I do not call Lewis’ name in my sleep--that would take some explaining.
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This book took me right to Austria. The descriptions were marvelous and the mystery was just right. I loved it completely. This is the first Mary Stewart book I've read, but I want to read more. ( )

Not her best work, but a fun read nonetheless. More a straight up mystery than romantic suspense, and while the plot villain seemed obvious, Stewart at least had some fun misleading the reader about the plot itself.

Aside: I bought this years ago at a FOTL sale for a dollar; when I finished reading it, I saw that it was published and printed 3 blocks from where I live now. On its site now sits a 'home improvement store' - Bunnings, the Aussie answer to Home Depot. A place a spit and swear about every time I have to visit it. Now, it seems, I have even more reason to dislike it - I'd rather the book publishers were still there. ( )