Read an enchanting mystery full of magic, murder, and misdirection

Under Lock & Skeleton Key — Gigi Pandian

Under-the-Radar Book of the Week

Under Lock & Skeleton Key by Gigi Pandian

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Content warnings, which contain mild spoilers, listed in the footnote of this newsletter.¹

What It’s About

What is a reader’s ultimate dream? To have a secret bookshelf door open into a secret tower that is all yours. And Tempest Raj’s family makes those dreams a reality.

She’s back at home with her father after a disastrous career mishap, and she’s helping him with his business, Secret Staircase Construction, which specializes in building intricate secret hiding places and magical rooms in the homes of clients. Her father is utilizing her logical brain—she was a famous stage magician with a knack for solving riddles—to help design their next project. But when Tempest’s former stage double is found dead, stuffed inside a secret wall in the company’s current contracting project, all fingers point to Tempest being the true intended victim.

Everyone’s on high alert, but Tempest won’t let that stop her from living her life, and trying to solve the murder on top of how the body was placed in an impossibly constructed space. With the help of her childhood friend, an old magician coworker, and a possible new budding romance, she will stop at nothing to make sure she and her family are safe.

Who Will Like It

It’s refreshing to find a murder mystery that is both compelling in plot and yet not so dark that I can’t escape the real world for a while. The combination of the magical secret rooms and doors, plus Tempest’s magician background, took me back to the days of reading past my bedtime with a flashlight, feeling the magic of reading. I have already read the second book in the series, The Raven Thief, and as a non-series person, that is saying a lot about how absorbed in this world I was.

In addition to the layering of the mysteries about what happened to cause Tempest’s downfall on the stage and the murder of her stage double, there is a longer-running mystery surrounding her mother, which is key to providing a good series setup. Don’t expect a resolution in book 1, but do expect to be as fully engrossed as I was in learning more about her mother and her incredible family. (I need her grandfather to bake me cookies, like, right now!)

Fans of traditional cozy mysteries will like this one, though it is a smidge darker than a traditional “cozy.” If you’re into puzzle-type mysteries like the classic The Westing Game or The Thursday Murder Club, you will also find this enjoyable.

Misc.

While I make my way through more books (still on an excellent run, currently listening to Pizza Girl and just having finished The Connellys of County Down), I’m also very busy taking care of my new best friend. Meet Digby! He’s a rescue who is learning what the good life is all about, which includes lots of treats and naps, especially among the books.

(Also, see any books in the background there that I absolutely need to read right away? Let me know!)

More Books

Can’t get enough, or looking for a different recommendation? Browse the archives, or check out some popular past recommendations: 

• Read about the dark history of an Oregon desert town and the ghosts that haunt it

• Read about a young woman on a quest of her own

• Read about the longest and loneliest horse race in the world—and the woman who won it

I also love hearing from readers! Let me know what kinds of books you’re looking for that you’d like to see featured, or send in your most recent five-star read (or two) and get a recommendation just for you. You might be featured in an upcoming newsletter! Reply to this email to get in touch!

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1. Content warnings include domestic violence (mention and reference only); murder of parent (off-page, pre-story); magic trick gone wrong (pre-story, describe a small amount in detail re: drowning); murder; drugging (sleeping pill in drink).