Death by Design

by Marjorie McCown

Faye Symington is a feature film costume designer who has just been nominated for an Academy Award, and that’s when the trouble begins. An escalating campaign of anonymous harassment drives Faye’s daughter to hire private detective Maggie McGrath, but Faye is a woman generally disliked—and with good reason. She’s arrogant, obsessively self-centered, and capable of cruelty. And Maggie comes away from her first interview with the designer with the uneasy feeling that death threats may be a ploy instigated by Faye herself to drum up publicity for her campaign to win the Oscar. But then Faye is actually murdered in her office at Sony Studios, bludgeoned to death with her Emmy statuette, and along with the glitter of Tinseltown comes more darkness than Maggie ever bargained for.

Genres: Mystery

172 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2000

About the author

Marjorie McCown has spent her entire professional life in the story-telling business, though she started out on the visual side of the craft. She designed costumes for theater and opera companies all over the country, including the NYC Opera at Lincoln Center, before she moved to Los Angeles to work on feature films.
Marjorie spent 27 years as a key member of the costume design teams for a string of successful movies that includes "Forrest Gump," "Apollo 13," "The Firm," "A Bronx Tale," "Wag the Dog," "Hairspray," "The Aviator," "Angels and Demons," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," and "X-men Days of Future Past."
She brings her background in film to her writing, setting her mysteries behind-the-scenes in the everyday working world of movies.
She has a BA in Theater from the University of Virginia, and an AAS in Fashion Design from FIT in NYC. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America.

Reviews

[Jean Carlton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it. The pace kept me reading but I did get a bit confused about who was who toward the end. I had a pretty good idea 'whodunit' but there was a curve thrown in. I liked the 'voice' of the main character (private investigator) and distinct personalities of several others. I hope MC appears in future books by McCown. Oh....and I really liked the details at the beginning of behind-the-scene costume designers, the 'draping' and pinning and sketches of the clothing we take for granted in films. Unsung heroes for the most part.

[grundoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Reasonable for the most part plotting-wise, and featuring an enjoyable and mostly female cast, but considering it's the only thing she's published there's really not much of a case for recommendation. I was, however, impressed at her ability to really communicate the feel of unsung Hollywood workings through use of a PI character who is equally ignorant. It's not even in my roundhouse of interest, so maybe for that alone...

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little mystery about Hollywood