MYSTERY in HARARE: Priscilla’s Journey into Southern Africa by M.J. Simms-Maddox – Terrorism Thriller, Historical African Fiction, Travel Adventure Thriller

In M.J. Simms-Maddox’s atmospheric thriller, Mystery in Harare: Priscilla’s Journey into Southern Africa, a former legislative aide’s wedding day turns deadly. 

As the second installment of The Priscilla Trilogy opens, Priscilla J. readies to walk down the aisle in an American church to marry Jonathan. Not the man of her dreams, but the man she believes may be right for her. Love isn’t exactly on the table, but Priscilla hopes it will be in the future.

Before she can even take her vows, her soon-to-be husband is murdered in cold blood in front of her and those in attendance. Priscilla catches a glimpse of the murderer before succumbing to unconsciousness. She’s been drugged, and the kidnappers will confound and surprise readers. 

When Priscilla gains consciousness, she is no longer in the United States but in the hinterland of Zimbabwe, Africa. 

Priscilla is plunged into the murky and precarious world of the oppressive Apartheid regime in South Africa. How and why are the questions readers must discover for themselves. Suffice it to say, her endurance is tested repeatedly, she must learn how to look out for herself even as she struggles to find out the reasons behind the bloodshed in the church.

M.J. Simms-Maddox presents a thoughtful and compulsively readable story complete with a beguiling beginning. The tale spins into several twists and turns that readers will not see coming. The author aptly displays the toughness of the Southern part of Africa and its vibrancy and fluidity. Capturing this duality and melding it with the political atmosphere in America during the 1980s is the summit of this novel. Further, the book has obvious relevance to actual historical events. 

Mystery in Harare comes with exceptionally well-drawn characters and a creatively imagined plot that gives it a resonant and all-embracing echo.

The beautifully evoked African settings and accompanying descriptions make this a real stand-out in cerebral mysteries. Simms-Maddox brings the reader along, making us feel a part of the story, careening down the path with Priscilla in all her experiences. Indeed, the author creates in Priscilla an individual with a formidable spirit and charisma that will appeal to many readers. The book concludes with a satisfying ending, but this is not the end of the series. One more title will complete the Priscilla trilogy.

Mystery In Harare is undoubtedly a successful terrorism thriller novel and a good place to start understanding the underbelly of the period of Apartheid in South Africa and its implications on all of its citizenry.

Mystery in Harare: Priscilla’s Journey into Southern Africa by M.J. Simms-Maddox won First Place in the CIBAs 2019 Mystery and Mayhem Book Awards and comes highly recommended.