The death of General Abraham Scott, killed in a glider accident in Germany would not normally require a member of the OSI to be sent from the US to investigate but General Scott is no ordinary officer by virtue of the fact that he is married to the daughter of the Vice President of the United States. The loose cannon Major Vin Cooper is chosen to fly over to Germany, not the choice of his immediate superior but apparently Vin has some supporters higher up the chain who requested that he be the man.

From early on we are given a few clues about Vin's past through the dreams that haunt him and the fears that he carries as a result of his time in combat. But he presents it to us hidden in his humorous delivery.

I'm not good with flying. Not any more. Not since Afghanistan. But they're into it with a passion in the USAF, as you might expect.

When Cooper touches down at Ramstein Air Base he is met by Special Agent Anna Masters, the OSI investigator who originally had the case. The animosity between the two is palpable, a situation that Cooper seems to go out of his way to intensify. It's hard to miss the obvious rumblings of sexual tension that is likely to build as the story progresses.

Vin Cooper is the kind of guy who doesn't mind annoying others, particularly if it means that his investigation will run more smoothly as a result and he revels in the fact that he is allowed to ask superior officers tough question without the threat of immediate reprisals. Given this knowledge it's not surprising that within a couple of hours of arriving he manages to get the new acting head of Ramstein Air Base offside. He also finds out pretty quickly that General Scott's accidental death was no accident and that the opposition being displayed to their investigation by the General's wife is more than just wifely concern for her husband's memory.

Their digging reveals that Scott's son, Peyton, was killed in action in Iraq 12 months earlier but the autopsy report didn't match the actual cause of death. Peculiar. Further investigation reveals another alarming fact: everyone who had come in contact with Peyton Scott post-mortem had wound up dead, the victim of a very nasty accident. That Vin and Anna had now also come in contact with the younger Scott had not escaped their notice...nor had it escaped the notice of those responsible for the "very nasty accidents".

Told in the first person from Cooper's viewpoint, the story is carried by a breezy, light tone which is occasionally at odds with the case in front of him and his outward demeanour. From the word go you get a strong feeling that there's something not quite right about the case - some vital piece of information that is missing - and as Cooper and Anna dig deeper and deeper the tension grows. Rollins does a good job of feeding the clues a little at a time, coaxing us along.

But the action comes thick and fast punctuated by various flights to far-flung destinations, confirming Cooper's fear of flying all over again. With that and the toothache, he really does have a miserable time of it, although his acceptance of his predicament speaks volumes for his character and casts him in a very endearing light.

The first Vin Cooper thriller is chock-a-block with humorous quips, a protagonist who is as sharp as a tack and a murder that hides a much deeper and jealously guarded secret. Wading through military jargon and protocol plays a significant part of the story and fans of the genre will read this and go looking for more.