Death Understood

When a brutal murder threatens the national security, Intelligence Agent Denise Cleever must follow the bloody trail deep into the Red Heart of Australia. Headed by the charismatic brother and sister team of Becky and Rhys Hiddwing, the powerful Hiddwing Institute is an ultraconservative think tank whose dark tentacles are insinuating themselves into the very core of Australian society. Seven years ago, family patriarch Oliver Hiddwing and his sister Clara disappeared on an expedition in the remote Outback--never to be seen again. Now Becky and Rhys want Oliver and Clara declared dead so they can inherit the vast fortune and invest it in the continued expansion of their right-wing empire. Deep undercover at the Institute, Intelligence Agent Denise Cleever tries to get as close as she can to the truth without becoming entangled in the organization's treacherous grasp...until a shocking discovery brings with it the realization that the truth--and her only chance of survival--lie in the unforgiving harshness of the Australian Outback. Death Understood is the second title in the Denise Cleever thriller series. Originally published by Naiad Press in 2000.