I am really loving this new cozy mystery series featuring Tempest Raj! The latest book did not disappoint with more twists, a great puzzle to solve and lots of delicious recipes. Great on audio narrated by Soneela Nankani too. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review! These books are perfect for fans of Mia P. Manansala.

Really fun premise and the “who dunnit” mystery kept me guessing. I’m new to closed door mysteries (I think that’s what they’re called) and really enjoyed this take on it. The characters were vibrant, the writing is clear, and the narrator was excellent.

A super fun read, Soneela Nankani does a fantastic job with the narration.
This is the second installment in the Secret Staircase Mystery series, but you can absolutely enjoy it as a standalone (I did, and I'll be going back to the first).

In The Raven Thief, the characters are attending a seance held by Secret Staircase Construction client Lavinia who is trying to banish the lingering presence of her ex-husband. The seance takes a turn when Lavinia's ex-husband's body turns up in the middle of the seance with a knife in his chest. After rushing in to check for signs of life - Ash, the grandfather of our main character Tempest, ends up the prime suspect.
Tempest is a retiring magician, from a family of magicians. To try to save her grandfather from being falsely charged for the murder, she turns sleuth to puzzle through the numerous impossibilities. And unveils some dark family history along the way.

I really enjoyed this read, the characters are fantastic, the mystery is silly yet captivating, and the descriptions of food make me hungry (and there are some recipes at the end of the book!!!). I have plans on making the cardamom scones with blackberry jam for tomorrow morning.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Gigi Pandian for the digital review copy!

Tempest Raj would do anything for her family. She loves her father and adores her grandparents, especially since her mother went missing years ago. So when her grandfather is accused of murder, she has to step up and help investigate.

Tempest works with her father for their Secret Staircase Construction company, helping to install secret rooms and hidden passageways and a little bit of magic into the everyday lives of their clients. Their latest client is Lavinia, who is making over her home after kicking out her cheating husband, horror mystery writer Corbin Colt. She has taken back all the spaces that he claimed to write and set up an amazing space for her and her book club to enjoy.

And just to be sure that all of Colt’s bad energy is removed, she decides to hold a séance in her newly decorated book club space. She hires Tempest’s friend Sanjay to run the séance, so Tempest is invited to be there also. Since Sanjay is an illusionist, like Tampest, he doesn’t really enjoy doing séances, but he knows that he can create an atmosphere that will feel spooky and allow Lavinia to move on from her marriage. Her book club is also coming, as well as her mother and Tempest’s Grandfather Ash.

But in the middle of the ceremony, they are interrupted by a body landing on the table in front of everyone. It’s Colt himself, with a knife sticking up. Ash quickly comes under suspicion, as he’s the only one with blood on him from when he checked on the man to see if there was anything that could be done to save him. But the detective in charge focuses on Ash even more when he finds out that Colt had a restraining order against Ash.

Tempest had helped Sanjay set up the room for the séance, so she knows that there had been no body hidden anywhere beforehand. The room had been closed, and everyone at the table had been holding hands when the dead man appeared. And then she finds out that he had been on his new girlfriend’s livestream just minutes before the séance, and at that point he had been almost an hour away. Tempest counts four impossible things about this crime, but she’s going to have to figure them all out to make sure that her grandfather doesn’t go to prison for Colt’s murder.

The Raven Thief is the second in bestselling author Gigi Pandian’s Secret Staircase Mystery series, and these books are packed with information. There is the secrets of magicians, the creativity of the construction company, the family secrets, the fandom of classic mystery novels, and a hint of something supernatural, as Colt’s books pulls information from the Occult. And watching Tempest slowly unravel all the impossibilities of the locked-room mystery and slowly figure out just how a man could have fallen from the ceiling and died in front of them while being several miles away.

I listened to the audio book for this one, and I think that narrator Soneela Nankani is nailing Tempest’s voice. This is a complex, layered mystery with a lot of characters, but I had very little trouble keeping up with them all, despite listening to the book on audio. Nankani managed the cast of characters with intelligence and what felt to me like ease.

I could not stop listening to The Raven Thief. Tempest is a compelling character, and the mystery here is layered with questions and secrets that go deeper than just one man’s murder. There are moments of humor and moments of insight, and it all mixes together as seamlessly as Grandfather Ash’s Cardamom Chocolate Chip Scones and his Blackberry Jam (the recipes are included at the end). The Secret Staircase Mysteries are smart mysteries with likable characters and so much imagination. They’re traditional mysteries and they’re so much more, and I would recommend this series to anyone looking for a modern twist on the popular mysteries of writers like Agatha Christie, Mary Roberts Rinehart, and John Dickson Carr. In short, these books have a lot to love.

A copy of the audio book for The Raven Thief was provided by Macmillan Audio through NetGalley, with many thanks.

This is the second book involving Tempest Raj. She is back home in California and working with her dad at secret staircase construction. Together, along with Tempests childhood friend, Ivy and a couple other team members, they make secret rooms, passages and all around really cool things. They have just finished a secret book club basement for Lavinia, the owner of a local restaurant, Veggie Magic.

They have pulled out all the stops for Lavinia, including a floating boat and a table with hidden compartments. Lavinia has just gone through a brutal divorce and is ready to banish her ex’s presence from her house. That is made difficult by him falling out of the ceiling, dead. Tempest’s grandfather become the main suspect, so Tempest immediately starts digging to prove his innocence.

I liked the first books, but this one really took it up a notch. More starts to unravel regarding Tempests mom and aunts disappearance. I’m really looking forward to more in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Another fine locked-room mystery by Gigi Pandian whose main character is a magician who now works with her father for the family owned business of making hidden stair-cases, etc. Of course, things don't go smoothly when another magician friend is asked to conduct a séance at their latest build to rid the house of the spirit of the man who is now the ex of the owner of the house. The man himself is very much alive and up to some nasty tricks as emotional revenge. But, no one expects the man's body to drop on the table in the middle of the séance and Tempest's grandfather becomes the number one suspect. Well, Tempest isn't going to sit by let him be railroaded for a crime she is knows he didn't commit.

With a lot of nods to classic locked-room mysteries, Pandian puts a modern twist to the Golden-Age great vehicle with characters of much greater diversity. This is the second book in the series and while it isn't necessary to read the first book it gives more insight into some of the characters and how Tempest went from a star act in Vegas to working at her family's business as well as a "curse" that seems to have haunted her family for several generations and is the cause of her mother's disappearance.

The secret rooms and hidden compartments are a lot of fun, there is humor in the book and a hint of romance. The mystery is good with plenty of twists and even a heist to enjoy. Soneela Nankani does a great job as the narrator and provides distinct voices that are easy to keep track of.

I definitely recommend this series, particularly for people who enjoy locked room mysteries. But you don't have to be an enthusiast for that type of mystery to enjoy this story and the characters. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC audio book in exchange for an honest review.

This second installment of the Secret Staircase Mystery series is another fun cozy-style mystery. Although it isn't critical to read the first book in the series before this one, you will get more of a background of Tempest, her family, and their backgrounds if you read Under Lock & Skeleton Key first.

In this book, Tempest's friend Sanjay is tasked with conducting a fake séance to banish the "ghost" of Lavinia's cheating ex-husband, mystery author Corbin Colt. She just wants his aura cleared from her home The ceremony takes place in the new "lair" that Tempest and her family just completed for Lavinia, full of secret passageways and hiding places. However, when the lights go out and come back on during the séance, Corbin's dead body has landed right in the middle of the room. How did he get in the locked room and killed? Suspicion is thrown on Tempest's grandfather Ash, and so she puts on her detective hat once again to try to find the real culprit.

This series is very enjoyable and this book has all of the elements of a classic locked room mystery. I like Tempest as a character and even though I usually don't care for armchair detectives, she mostly just uses her magician's brain to puzzle things out rather than conducting the detective work herself. I say mostly because there was a bit of breaking and entering... Overall the solution was clever and believable and kept me interested to find out how things were done.

There is an overarching mystery in this series, that of the disappearance of Tempest's mother. I'm ready for that to be solved because I feel like things are being too dragged out with that plot thread. I don't think it's necessary to keep belaboring that mystery, just solve it and the series can keep going with the whole secret staircase/magic/hidden room themes and still be fun and intriguing.

I listened to this as an audiobook and although there is a huge cast of characters, narrator Soneela Nankani does an amazing job keeping things moving and distinguishing between the various voices. These books are delightful as audiobooks.

I look forward to the next book in the series for more reveals!

The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian is an intriguing mystery with a cast of characters so culturally diverse that it lends a whole other dimension to the story. It is basically the story of a woman who had been married to a man for many years, until the marriage no longer worked. Both of them had a little trouble moving on until Lavinia decided to hold a séance to purge her house of Corbin’s cheating spirit and burn notes he’d left behind. The séance was interrupted by Corbin’s dead body dropping from the ceiling. Tempest, the amateur sleuth, and friend of Lavinia, worked for her family’s business, Secret Staircase Construction, which was exactly what the name implied: experts in hidden rooms, disguised hiding places, and secret staircases. She was also a magician/illusionist, as had her mother been before her. Her grandfather was arrested for the murder, basically because of the blood found on him. He was a physician and had rushed forward to see if he could help. Everyone knew he was innocent.

This was an entertaining story with many non-mainstream situations and characters. The séance for one, popular once, but nearly unheard of in this day and age. Then, there were the raven feathers found, a trademark of Corbin as the hero in his first, and only successful book, turned into a raven. Tempest’s grandfather was widely respected and even with his ankle monitor, was so beloved he had many visitors; Tempest called it “holding court.” It was indeed a conundrum. The characters are interesting, not your run-of-the-mill and entered the story throughout. There were plenty of side mysteries to keep it interesting. It turned out to be an excellent mystery and a totally enjoyable book.

The reader was Soneela Nankani and she was perfect. She kept the story moving, although a little slowly at times. She was able to make it clear who was speaking with out resorting to ridiculous voices. Nankani was an expert and enjoyable reader. I felt like it was a better listen than read, in part because of the cast of characters.

I was invited to read/listen to the e-ARC/AUDIO of The Raven Thief by St Martin’s Press and MacMillan Audio, respectively, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #StMartinsPress #MacMillanAudio #GigiPandian #TheRavenThief

I’m a sucker for a locked room mystery (even if the room has potential secret passageways into it) and this one was so different. I love Gigi Pandian’s creativity and her use of magicians/magic in her stories. I usually love her characters but there’s something about Tempest that feels off. She’s written as intelligent and being able to reason out issues but there are a few conversations where she seems dim; things have to be spelled out for her and it drew me out of the story because it was so frustrating. Otherwise, the story was well written and I liked the clues sprinkled throughout about what happened to Tempest’s mom. Looking forward to the next.

Thank you @Minotaur_Books and @MacMillan.Audio for the #gifted ARC/ALC of THE RAVEN THIEF!

I’m officially obsessed with THE SECRET STAIRCASE MYSTERY series by Gigi Pandian. Her locked room mysteries are so cozy and clever. Plus I love the addition of a former magician acting as an amateur detective. It’s just too fun! I hope Pandian has many more mysteries for Tempest Raj to solve because I don’t want to stop reading them!

The audiobook is narrated by the fabulous Soneela Nankani who is one of my favorite audiobook narrators. I just love her voice.

After a mock seance ends with a dead body mysteriously in the middle of the table and her beloved Grandpa Ash arrested for the crime, Tempest immediately jumps to action to clear his name. But this murder has several impossible facts which makes the murder seem like an act of magic… or is it just misdirection?

If you are a fan of cozy mysteries or locked room mysteries then don’t miss out on this series. It’s an utter delight!

THE RAVEN THIEF comes out 3/21/23!

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The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian is a contemporary cozy mystery and the second book in the Secret Staircase Mystery series. I listened to the audiobook, which clocks in at nine and a half hours and is narrated by Soneela Nankani.

Tempest Raj just officially finished her first project with her father's company, Secret Staircase Construction. The theme: classic mystery novels. To celebrate her new outlook on life without the dead weight of her cheating ex-husband, their client throws a party complete with a mock séance to remove any traces of him from the property. But then the ex turns up dead at the party and Tempest's grandfather becomes the number one suspect.

I enjoyed the first book in this series, Under Lock and Skeleton Key, and that enjoyment continues with the second installment. We get a few more hints regarding the disappearance of Tempest's mother, which was initially introduced in the previous book.

I like how Pandian writes banter between her characters, and she has a knack for hitting the sweet spot of whimsy. Speaking of banter, the audiobook narrator does a great job voicing all the different characters, especially the ones that have various accents.

I did end up deducing the true murderer here, but not for lack of obfuscation!

Tropes in this book include: cozy mystery, locked room mystery

CW: death, murder, assault, kidnapping

An amazing second book in the Secret Staircase mystery series, Gigi Pandian knocks it out of the park with these locked-room mysteries full of twists, turns, and drama--and dropping more tantalizing clues behind the Raj Family Curse... Excellent narration to boot made this an even more enjoyable tale!

For locked room mystery fans everywhere, this is the series for you. The Raven Thief is the second book in the Secret Staircase Mystery featuring Tempest Raj a self-described mash-up American. The story features a host of family members from India, Ireland, and the United States with a great job of creating diversity organically. The family also has a history of being magicians which plays heavily into the stories and family secrets.
I switched back and forth between audio and book form. The audiobook has an amazing narrator in Soneela Nankani. She brings the characters both female and male alike to life and does a great job of creating accents between characters of different cultural backgrounds.
Like the best of Agatha Christie, a body is discovered in front of multiple people in an impossible scenario. Tempest's father, Darius, is also the owner of Secret Staircase Construction which creates all sorts of hidden rooms or illusions for those wanting his services. Thus, when a body is found, it usually is in a space created by the construction company.
I loved all the secret construction descriptions and illusions detailed in the book. I had to listen closely to try and pick out the clues that were most certainly being given whilst also misdirection was at hand. And, the big reveal TA-DA moment would make Ms. Christie proud.
As I've read and/or listened to both of the books in the series, I would say they are written for adults but really appropriate for most any age.

Thank you to MacmillanAudio for my copy via Netgalley. All opinions are mine.

I loved this second book as much as I did the 1st in this series and now I can't wait for more to come out! I love this entire family and the mystery and fairy tale-ness they help their customers create! I want to be a part of the family! I also can't wait for Tempest to finally solve her mother & aunt's murders/disappearance and break the Raj family curse! Hurry up and write the 3rd installment!

I enjoyed the first book in this series where we meet the characters and learn all about magic and the secret staircase construction company. The second book builds upon the first. We find the characters at a book club seance when the lights go out and someone dies. When Tempest's grandfather is accused of murder, she and her mystery loving friends attempt to clear his name and save the day. An enjoyable magical cozy :) And the narration was terrific!

Tempest Raj and her grandfather are invited to a séance at a home that was recently renovated by Secret Staircase Construction, a company founded by Tempest's father. Lavinia, the owner of the house wants to banish all traces of her ex-husband from the house. Unfortunately his dead body mysteriously appears during the séance and Tempest has a murder to solve.

I enjoyed parts of the book. Tempest, her friends and family are likeable characters but their history is complicated. I'm not sure if some of the backstory was explained in the first book of the series but I felt a little lost.

I don't often read cosy mysteries, so I may not be the target audience for this book. It does have great puzzles. People who enjoy this kind of quirky, twisty mystery will probably love this one and I will recommend it to those library patrons.

The Raven Thief is a great follow-up to last year’s Under Lock & Skeleton Key, which started the Secret Staircase Mystery series. The focus is on a family with a historic connection to magicians, of both Indian and Scottish heritage and whose family business is Secret Staircase Construction, which specializes in creating secret nooks, hidden bookcases, etc. The main character, Tempest Raj, is a magician/illusionist who nearly died in a magic “trick” gone terribly wrong. She is now living at her family home in the San Francisco Bay area, which is filled with all kinds of quirky features, thanks to her parents’ business, and working with the business. In addition to the mystery in this book, a continuing theme is: Is there a family curse, by which the “eldest dies by magic”? This book’s mystery is: how did a famous author wind up dead in the middle of a fake seance, which had been requested by his ex-wife Lavinia? It’s another classic locked room mystery.

In addition to a clever mystery with lots of twists and turns, I loved the emphasis on family and friendship. There were several terrific side characters: her grandfather Ash, who cooks fabulous Indian-inspired food; her dad, Darius; her friend Ivy; and her magician friend, Sanjay, among others.

Bonus: There are recipes at the end of the book.

I bounced between the audiobook and the ebook for this title, which was very convenient. The audiobook was narrated by Soneela Nankani, who did a great job with the various characters and accents.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook and to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

The Raven Thief is the second volume in the Secret Staircase cozy series which is full of illusions and stage magic by Gigi Pandian. Due out 21st March 2023 from Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 320 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

I love stage magic and illusions and I'm completely crazy about old houses with hidden rooms and architectural easter-eggs like bookcases which are secret doors and mantelpieces with hidden catches to open secret panels. This series is absolutely full of them. The plot turns around an ensemble cast of specialty builders, stonemasons, and woodworkers who design and install secret rooms and hidden staircases. This is a locked room cozy with hidden rooms aplenty, secret alcoves, puzzle rooms, and eccentric characters.

Although it's a murder mystery, it felt as though it were written more for a younger (YA/NA) audience. There's a distinct locked room element with a murder victim falling from the ceiling onto the table during a (staged) seance. It has a definite Nancy Drew vibe with a little whiff of Scooby Doo.

Throw in lots and lots of stage magic, a family curse (the eldest child shall die by magic), hidden motives, and crazy architectural prestidigitation, and stir well. Although I'm a few decades beyond the presumed intended audience, I found it engaging and entertaining. I was impressed over the author's expertise describing architecture and scenery; technically that's very challenging and she does it very well. Some of the dialogue is a bit choppy and some of the scenery dressing and illusions are a bit over the top and "Scooby-Doo-ish" but it's all good fun.

I also thought it was cool that that the protagonist's family is multi-ethnic and the requisite cozy recipes at the back of the book reflect that background and are a really eclectic mix of odd and whimsical (Jackfruit pizza topping? Color me cautiously intrigued).

The unabridged audiobook format has a run time of 9 hours 34 minutes and is capably narrated by Soneela Nankani. She has a warm and nuanced voice and does a good job delineating a wide range of characters across a range of ages and both male and female. Sound and production quality are high throughout the read.

Four stars. Looking forward to what's coming next.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I have not read book one in the series and did not feel like I was at a disadvantage so I would say this works as a standalone.

I immediately took to Tempest and her refusal to sit down and shut up when her grandfather was accused of murder. That stubborn attitude made for a fun, twisty cozy mystery that kept me guessing until the end. I didn't feel like the conclusion was over done and the ending felt like a natural conclusion.

Overall great job and I look forward to reading book one.

Thank you so much for access to this audio ARC.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

This was a fun little mystery. I did go back and read the first book as I felt I was missing stuff when I started this but you could probably read it on its own. Good characters and the pacing was decent. The narrator was good as well.