An old woman is dead and Detective Claudia Hershey suspects this is not just an accidental death. The problem is she can't really explain to Chief Suggs why an investigation is needed. On top of that, she's been saddled with the chief's nephew, a bouncy, aggravating teen with the outlandish name of Booey who wants to try police work for a couple of weeks. As if that weren't enough, her love life leaves a lot to be desired and her ex-husband has showed up and wants to take their daughter off to DC for the summer. Then there's a second death and now Chief Suggs is really on her back for causing trouble.

Claudia Hershey, who relocated from Cleveland to the backwoods of Florida and can't figure out why on earth she did such a thing, returns to delight fans of the detective who's too tall, dresses badly, can't control her personal life and sticks out like a sore thumb in the good-old-boy police department. Author Laura Belgrave has delivered another well-crafted mystery with marvelous character and plot development and a quality of writing that makes "Quietly Dead" a real pleasure to read.

"Quietly Dead" is a winner and a welcome addition to any mystery reader's bookshelf.