1986, business-partners, golf, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture, investigations, laugh-out-loud, local-law-enforcement, multiple-murder, private-investigators, read, women-in-history, women-s-equality*****

WASP was a special contingent of women in WW2 who flew targets for the military but were not allowed to be in the military. The mystery story is fiction but pays tribute to the real women of the past.
Who really believes in coincidence? Not Cat Caliban and Moses Fogg, Private investigators. They became acquainted with one of the women of the WASP and she asked them to investigate and old suspicious death and a couple of recent ones that the local PD didn't think were worth the time. The investigation is convoluted and the solution surprising. Less instances of verbal humor than earlier books, but enough to balance some of the realities. Loved it!
National WASP WWII Museum and the Women Airforce Service Pilots check it out. ( )

After a plane crashes a family picnic she's attending, Cat Caliban is in for her toughest case yet. The pilot of the plane, a former Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) named Toots Magruder, suspects that someone tampered with her engine. Suspicions grow when they discover that two other WASPs from her former air base died within days of each other. With a WASP reunion coming up shortly, more WASPs could lose their lives if Cat doesn't catch the killer in time.

I love how Borton incorporates historical events and issues into her mysteries. With its examination of the history of WASP program in the US, Eight Miles High explores the WASP's fight to be recognized for their wartime efforts. I truly enjoyed learning more about the history of the WASPs. As always, it's clear that Borton's books are well-researched and thoughtfully written.

Unlike previous instalments, this book is a little less focused on solving the mystery itself. However, I liked that the book spent so much time with the wonderful WASPs, developing several strong female characters.

I also liked how this book had more action than previous instalments. Without giving away too much, Cat and her friend Moses go on what's arguably their biggest and most dangerous adventure yet! It made for a suspenseful page-turner.

On top of that, this book has a unique structure, with chapters alternating between the present and a future event. With some authors, this could be a recipe for confusion. This isn't the case for Borton, who handles these transitions well. I constantly wondered how the future scenario would come to pass. I devoured this book in one sitting in my excitement!

Overall, this was was a great send-off to a great series. I definitely wouldn't be opposed to reading more about Cat and her adventures in the future!

Thank you to D.B. Borton for providing me with an ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This book contains mild violence and foul language but is otherwise clean.

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