The Quiet Storm

One moment Elizabeth Quinn can radiate fire and the next moment she radiates cool composure. When she appears at the precinct hoping to convince someone to reopen a case, however, Detective Beau Riley wants nothing to do with it. Elizabeth inadvertently snubbed him a year earlier at a party, and Beau has never forgotten. He does not know that her deliberate speech and cool exterior masks a slight speech impediment caused by brain damage at birth. As a result, for years Elizabeth has endured cruel taunts and vicious criticism causing her to mask her feelings in rigid indifference.But Elizabeth feels anything but indifferent when she asks Beau to investigate Tina's death. She is certain that her friend Tina would never have committed suicide, especially when she was looking forward to having her five-year-old son Alex back. Alex had been living with Elizabeth and her housekeeper, the boy's grandmother. Elizabeth loves and identifies with Alex, who is deaf. As a favor to his former partner who referred Elizabeth, Beau agrees to poke around in his off time, little expecting Elizabeth's assertions to be correct.Author Raeanne Thayne upholds her reputation for penning exciting intrigue in THE QUIET STORM. Elizabeth proves herself a vulnerable and insecure heroine, hiding her weaknesses behind a cool exterior. Her subsequent mixed signals are not enough to entirely discourage this sexy hero, however! Secondary characters are likewise delightful, especially the irrepressible Alex. Making children believable without upstaging the main characters is difficult, but Thayne pulls off the challenge with style. Indeed, Thayne's talent for unconventional characters and a fascinating plot makes THE QUIET STORM a keeper. Very highly recommended.