A QUIET DEATH

In the chaotic moments following a horrific train crash, Hannah reaches out to a dying stranger, with unpredictable and deadly consequences.

Hannah is returning from a charity luncheon in Washington, DC, when her train is involved in a horrific crash. Although injured, Hannah remains at the side of her seatmate, reassuring the critically injured man until emergency workers free him from the twisted wreckage.

Nursing a broken arm, Hannah is discharged from the hospital with her ‘belongings,’ including a distinctive shopping bag she last saw in the hands of the stranger on the train. Inside, she finds letters and photos that document a decades-long love affair between Lilith, a free-spirited young artist and her married lover, Zan.

A wily imposter, a bullying attorney, a seedy PI – everyone wants to lay hands on Lilith and Zan’s letters. Hannah’s attempt to reunite the bag with its owner unwittingly sets in motion a chain of events that could put her own life in danger. Unintimidated, her search gradually narrows to a remote cottage on Maryland’s eastern shore, where Hannah discovers how fine a line there is between love and hate, forgiveness and betrayal, and how easy it is to cross over that line to murder.

"A Quiet Death begins with a bang . . . actually a train wreck. Marcia expertly weaves a viper's nest of secrets into a plot with political shading in the Annapolis/DC territory that is home to the charming sleuth. Letters, postmarks, cell phones, photos, security tapes - all methods are on board for this puzzle and even the ending will leave you thinking." - Mystery Lovers Bookshop News

" . . . the author can write. Her description of the horrific train wreck that kick-starts the novel is frightening and first-rate. The characters are well drawn, even the minor ones." - Washington Independent Review of Books

"[Hannah has] a snooping instinct second only to Miss Marple's. If you've a taste for love denied, love reunited . . . you'll have plenty to swoon over here." -- Kirkus Reviews

"A keep-'em-guessing plot, plenty of humor (despite the danger), and a whimsical, charming heroine make this one appealing on multiple levels. --Booklist.

A Quiet Death – Severn House, May, 2011,
ISBN: 978-0727880413