Book Review: Designed to Kill

Reviewed By: Dawn Dowdle

Designed to Kill     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Denise Osborne
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Woman Main Character
Series: Salome Waterhouse # 3
3/03, 191 pages

Salome Waterhouse is a feng shui practitioner. She is leading a feng shui seminar at a New Age conference at the Star Institute. Toby Ashcroft, Institute owner and former dot.com tycoon, has recently been found murdered in the pumpkin patch on the Ashcroft estate. Star Institute is also on the estate and just feet away from where he was found.

Salome's cousin, Phyllis Waterhouse, is now dating Detective Gordon Child, the lead detective on the Ashcroft murder case. She asks Salmoe to look into the murder while there. Detective Child also has asperations to be Governor of California.

Unbeknownst to Phyllis, Salome has begun a private study of properties where murders have been committed. She is doing this to see if there are similarities that hit at potential violence. When she has studied more properties, she plans to publish her findings. She is hopeful that this will interest law enforcement.

On the way to the Star Institute, Salmoe is run off the road. When she catches a glimpse of the driver, she thinks it looks like her recently made enemy Duncan Mah but can't figure out why he'd be in California instead of DC where he lives.

She later realizes at the conference, that it was Ross Penderville, one of Toby's partners in Toys for Techies (his dot.com business) that ran her off the road. He is quite chummy with Ivy Waterhouse, Toby's sister. She is in charge of the Star Institute now.

I am not a fan of feng shui but I still enjoy this series. The situations that Salome finds herself in are very amusing and this is a very enjoyable series. The author definitely knows a lot about feng shui and has weaved it into the story in a delightful fashion.

This is a great cozy mystery. I recommend it!

Dawn Dowdle

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Dawn Dowdle

Please visit Dawns website at www.mysteryloverscorner.com