Deadly Design: A Deadly Past Mystery

by: Marion Moore Hill

Published by: Pemperly Press

Reviewed by Maria Elmvang

In this sequel to Deadly Will, single-mother Millie Kirchner leaves her home for the summer when she gets the chance to volunteer at an archaeological dig by Poplar Forest, Thomas Jefferson’s secret retreat. As a history buff with special interest in the Founding Fathers, this is the perfect chance for Millie, and too good an opportunity to give up.

But what starts out as the perfect summer soon turns sinister. Shortly before Millie’s arrival, an intern at the neighboring archaeological site, Highgrove, is found murdered, one of Millie’s housemates is being stalked by an obsessive ex, and Millie herself has reason to believe that all is not as it appears to be at Highgrove. But what’s the motive? And who should be a suspect when everybody acts suspicious?

Deadly Design is a clever mix of history and suspense. As a non-American, I don’t know much about American history, and appreciated this insight into the life and time of Thomas Jefferson. However, I did feel that the suspense part of the story lacked some polishing. Everybody seemed to have a motive and/or a secret to keep, and Millie was rather too obvious a wanna-be detective in her musings as she mentally evaluated each person’s motivation.

Still, the history/suspense mix was well balanced and the mix worked well. The plot was interesting enough to keep me well entertained, and I finished the book in just a couple of days, undeterred by the fact that I hadn’t read the first book in the series.

Armchair Interviews says: A stand-alone mystery with a strong mix of history thrown into the fray