Black Wings by Kathleen Toomey Jabs

LT Bridget Donovan suspects the worst when her former Naval Academy roommate, Audrey Richards, perishes in a botched take-off from an aircraft carrier. The Navy says it's an accident, but facts don't add up. Could it be suicide, or murder? Donovan's unofficial investigation into what really happened, both during their past Academy days and in Richards' final hours, forces her to examine the concepts of honor, justice and the role of loyalty in pursuit of those ideals.

MY THOUGHTS
First, I know almost nothing about the Navy.  When I picked up this book, that soon changed.  Black Wings is flips between present day and past days, where Bridget Donovan attended Naval Academy. Jabs does an impeccable job of keeping the two separate for the reader, but also seamlessly putting them together so it makes sense.

When LT Donovan pays her respects to  the mother of former classmate Audrey, who perished when her fighter plane goes down, she is instantly drawn into a web of epic proportions.  Not only was a pair of black wings in Audrey's pockets, but so was a photograph.  Donovan begins to question the Navy's pat response about her death being an accident. 

So begins the reader's journey from the past, where Bridget and Audrey roomed together at the Academy and the present, where Bridget is unofficially investigating Audrey's death.  It's obvious Jab knows what she's talking about with the Navy speak - she graduated from the Naval Academy in 1988, and her experience makes this novel shine.  Not only is there an intricate web of the investigation, but there is also the strong bond of two women and all they have gone through and how they've strengthened over time.  If you enjoy fabulous mysteries, you'll definitely want to pick up Black Wings.  It's a page-turner with a gloss of military life that is hard to put down!