Review by: Araminta Matthews, Front Street Reviews

Some of the best mystery novels juxtapose tricky concepts seamlessly with both real life scenarios and great characterization.  Dan Brown's famous book, The Da Vinci Code juxtaposes cryptic messages and fine art with thievery and vanity as readers dissect codes and begin to look at Da Vinci's paintings in a new way.  While primarily a horror novelist, Stephen King has juxtaposed everything from complex viral strains to real estate management in his novels.  The Mills of God does just exactly that with the same deft skill as Brown or King.  Smith's story weaves together new age concepts of dream analysis and reincarnation with the luxuriously described settings of Germany, Switzerland, England, and the United States, as well as with computer programming and mathematical coding.  On top of all of this, the story is flooded with rhythmic, rhyming poetry in the voice of its main character that is both engaging and illuminating all at once.

The story follows a young girl and genius, Constance Fairchild, on the cusp of womanhood.  After being orphaned by her parents, her billionaire grandfather charges a cold and plotting woman to arrange her care.  Constance, called Stanzi and Connie by friends, is shipped off to a school in Switzerland to live out her teen years; but after she settles in, strange things begin to happen.  Her room is tossed and bugged by mysterious villains, she and her roommate find themselves followed almost everywhere they go, and people around her keep dying.

While the story moves at a smooth tempo – for the most part – and most of the characters are believable and engaging, there was much about Constance Fairchild that didn't ring true for a youthful girl – even a genius youthful girl. Her dialogue, her actions, her interpretations, and her relations are definitely not those of a girl her age.  At the same time, her age was rarely a difficulty.  The novel was engaging enough that this blatant discrepancy was rarely given any thought.  In other words, the book was good.   

I would say that I read this book in one sitting, but in fairness, it took me two.  Neglecting my vocational tasks, I opted to settle into my reading chair to plough through The Mills of God, and I was glad that I did.  Smith is a writer skilled at his craft.