MARCH 2023 - AudioFile
Soneela Nankani returns to narrate the second installment of the Secret Staircase series. Secret Staircase Construction has completed their first job. Their client is eager to celebrate by hosting a mock séance to expunge all remnants of her ex-husband from her new life. All is going well until his dead body crashes the party. Tempest Raj needs to solve the murder to exonerate her grandfather, who has been arrested for it. Nankani has a quirky cast of characters to portray. She makes good use of subtle accents for Tempest's Indian grandfather and the Japanese mother of a Californian client who is bold and brash. Familiarity with the series is not required--but may be fun. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
★ 01/16/2023
In Pandian’s excellent sequel to 2022’s Under Lock & Skeleton Key, magician Tempest Raj, whose parents run Secret Staircase Construction, a company that builds houses with such accoutrements as secret passageways and sliding bookcases, witnesses a crime marked by multiple impossibilities at a séance. Lavinia Kingsley is seeking to eradicate all traces of her ex-husband, author Corbin Colt, from her California home. She retains a conjuror, the Hindi Houdini, to lead a fake séance. But in the middle of the proceedings, Colt’s corpse is dropped onto the séance table, a knife sticking out of his chest and black raven feathers scattered about, an apparent reference to Colt’s book, The Raven. But the knife is fake, Colt was on a livestream moments before and miles away from where his corpse landed, and there seems to be no rational way for his body to have reached its destination. Pandian’s clever solution matches the challenge she sets for her endearingly imperfect lead. This brilliant homage to classic golden age authors such as John Dickson Carr augurs well for a long series run. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary (Mar.)
From the Publisher
Praise for The Raven Thief
“Excellent. . . Pandian’s clever solution matches the challenge she sets for her endearingly imperfect lead. This brilliant homage to classic golden age authors such as John Dickson Carr augurs well for a long series run.” –Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Tempest applies her knowledge of the tricks of the trade to the puzzle of Corbin’s death, highlighting the howdunit as much as the whodunit.” –Kirkus Reviews
“A compelling locked-room mystery populated by well-drawn characters and framed by books, food, and magic.” –Booklist
“Genre fans will appreciate Pandian’s many nods to golden age mysteries and their writers, and there are even some delectable recipes at the book’s end.” –BookPage
"Thrilling. . . This plot is as carefully constructed as the classic mystery novel-themed interior it revolves around." –San Francisco Book Review
“Pandian presents us with a tight knit, quirky cast anyone would want to follow – and Tempest herself is a force to be reckoned with.” –Aunt Agatha’s
"A true standout. . . Pandian has done it again: The Raven Thief conjures up the perfect balance of magic, mystery, and mayhem. I couldn't stop reading!" —Juliet Blackwell
"An enchanting locked room mystery with a delightfully unique premise." —Elle Cosimano
"Both Pandian and her protagonist, Tempest Raj, are forces to be reckoned with." —Mia P. Manansala
Praise for Under Lock & Skeleton Key
“Wildly entertaining. . . [Tempest Raj] is fully realized, a brilliant and talented young woman.” —The New York Times Book Review
MARCH 2023 - AudioFile
Soneela Nankani returns to narrate the second installment of the Secret Staircase series. Secret Staircase Construction has completed their first job. Their client is eager to celebrate by hosting a mock séance to expunge all remnants of her ex-husband from her new life. All is going well until his dead body crashes the party. Tempest Raj needs to solve the murder to exonerate her grandfather, who has been arrested for it. Nankani has a quirky cast of characters to portray. She makes good use of subtle accents for Tempest's Indian grandfather and the Japanese mother of a Californian client who is bold and brash. Familiarity with the series is not required--but may be fun. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2022-12-24
A former magician uses her expertise to solve an impossible murder.
Call it magic, mentalism, or something else, but a love for all things illusory links Tempest Raj’s family, from Tempest’s past as a Vegas act to her current work with her dad constructing the Secret Staircase series’ eponymous conveyances. After wrapping a job at Lavinia Kingsley’s home, Tempest and her family, including her Grandpa Ash, are invited to the house to celebrate Lavinia’s new beginnings: Her home renovation is going hand in hand with her recent separation from author Corbin Colt, whom she’s divorcing. Lavinia is a bit of a personality, insisting on a full séance to mark the figurative death of Corbin from her life, but, as these things so often do, the figurative soon becomes literal as Corbin appears and dies midséance. How did he materialize, and who knew he’d be there and wanted him dead? Tempest is freaked out and frustrated: She wouldn’t even have been there if her friend and fellow illusionist Sanjay hadn’t been orchestrating the woo-woo action. Worse still is that Grandpa Ash appears to be the police’s primary suspect, which makes no sense because all eight attendees were holding hands throughout the time of Corbin’s murder. But then, things that look like they shouldn’t make sense are really the specialty of illusionists, aren’t they? Tempest applies her knowledge of the tricks of the trade to the puzzle of Corbin’s death, highlighting the howdunit as much as the whodunit.
Heavy dual concentrations on setup and illusion make this installment more tricky than substantive.
