A former client has blamed Secret Staircase Construction for the “accident” that nearly killed his wife, but Tempest knows the company is being framed. When she is asked to meet the client at the local theater and finds him dead, things go from bad to worse. Determined to clear the company’s name, with the help of her friends, she conducts her own investigation.

I like Tempest and her family and friends, and the way they work together and support each other. There are several nods to Golden Age mystery authors like Agatha Christie and John Dickson Carr, which are fun. Once again, Tempest uses her former career as an illusionist to help solve the crime, while at the same time giving her an excuse to be involved in the investigation. As in the previous two books, the descriptions of the setting make it seem idyllic, but I’m still not sure about the family home with all of its secret staircases and doors, and complicated locks.

The mystery here was just as twisty as in the earlier books in the series, with several serious suspects to consider for the murder. Throw in a few red herrings along the way, and you get a puzzle that is difficult to solve until the clues point to only one obvious character. Along the way, we learn the solution to a question that has been lurking since the first book in the series, which makes me wonder if this might be the last book of the series. I hope not, because I would really like to read more about Tempest, her family and friends, and their adventures.

Former illusionist Tempest Raj finds her new career building hidden rooms and trick architecture into people's homes surprisingly fulfilling. Then a litigious jerk of a client is stabbed by a booby trap--like a magician might make--at the theater that Tempest was renting--where her mother vanished five years ago. Somehow, Tempest is not the prime suspect despite the clear attempt to frame her. She leans on her wide array of friends, family, colleagues, and potential love interests to crack both the current mystery and the one that has vexed her family for so long. This modern cozy frequently strains credulity but it's still enjoyable. Thanks, Netgalley.

This was a fun book. I enjoyed the first books in the series, and this one followed suit, although I felt this was a little darker, and not quite such a light read as the first ones.

Tempest is working for the family business, Secret Staircase Construction, which is struggling after a former client, Julian, tried to blame them for his wife's death, despite the fact that he had attempted to kill her. When Tempest gets a note asking her to meet Julian at the theatre. she finds him dead, the victim of an apparent booby trap. When a second person dies, Tempest is hot on the case.

Filled with the usual misdirections, booby traps and secrets, this is a good quick moving twisty plot. We meet the same friends and family, and I am always delighted with the mixture of Scottish and Indian traditions and yummy food. Tempest finally gets some details of her aunt's death and her mother's disappearance years before.

This was a fun read

Secret Staircase Construction's newest client Julian Rhodes accuses them of shoddy work that caused the accident that seriously injured his wife Paloma. Tempest gets a call to meet Julian at the Whispering Creek Theater & finds his body stabbed to death with a sword hidden in the building door. Who built that bobby trap & who was the intended victim?

Links with the unsolved deaths of Tempest's mother & aunt are key to the story. This was a weaker story than the previous Secret Staircase mysteries.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and St. Martin's Press. All opinions are my own.

This is the third book in the series and the first I have read. I had a very hard time connecting with any character. It could have been from the layout of the intricate & twisty plot that I wasn’t sure what was going on.

Tempest Raj is the main character. She was a stage magician. She now works in the family business, which is home redesign/modeling with a magical flair. Tempest enjoys making puzzle boxes, large or small. She becomes the prime suspect when a customer is killed at the theater in a very intricate manner that implicates her. The family begins to wonder if this murder is connected to previous tragedies the family has endured.

The family and friends seem to have a very close relationship. The plot is twisty and at times I felt lost in the subplots.
This book is okay and I’m sure I would have enjoyed it more had I read books 1 and 2 prior to attempting this one. I place my inability to connect to the characters on my not reading the previous first two books.

I was given an Advanced Readers E-Copy. These are my own opinions.

A Midnight Puzzle is the third book in the Secret Stair house series by Gigi Pandian.

I love this series. It is so creative and a unique twist on a locked room mystery.

Tempest and her family have a business, Secret Staircase Construction. They build rooms that are referred to as architectural misdirection, basically hidden rooms.

This book has the theme of magic, and that is really unique. There are some things revealed and questions answered.

Great characters and a great mystery. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

DNF at 55%. I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was excited to get resolution to some ongoing series questions - but I just found myself bored. This story is moving too slowly and I think maybe I’m just not a cozy mystery reader. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook and audiobook to review.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read and review A Midnight Puzzle on NetGalley.

Published: 03/19/24

Stars: 2.5

This was a difficult read. The biggest problem I had was repetitiveness: the author said Secret Staircase Construction, Tempest and lines regarding her mother as well as booby trap so many times I thought I was being spun like a top. I found that the writing was immature.

With regards to the storyline I have no words. The architectural puzzles built into homes sounded incredible and fresh. Unfortunately all I heard was water dripping while I watched grass grow as I inched through the book. It was incredibly frustrating not being able to skim over the text.

Tempest is the main character. I didn't like her, nor have I ever enjoyed anyone with her traits. She undermines law enforcement, twists words to her advantage placing innocent people in harms way and she argues childishly in serious situations. That's not entertainment. I couldn't unapologetically recommend this to young readers moving into adult clean mysteries.

Credit: I don't recall any profanity.

Awesome mystery suspense, great characters.
Love the intrigue and always surprises.
I can never pick the villain ,usually it is easy to do but not with this series..
Really kept me guessing and a complete surprise.
Voluntarily reviewed.

A Midnight Puzzle is the third book in the Secret Staircase Mystery series. Tempest Raj, a former stage magician, finds her family’s construction company, Hidden Staircase Construction, is under attack. One of their clients is suing them with false claims about their construction. When this client turns up dead, Tempest has to do everything in her power to make sure the police get the right person.

I have loved this series since the very beginning and this was a great new addition to the series. Tempest is a great main character and I love following along with her friends and family as Tempest uncovers the secrets around her. This book is full of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. The way this book wraps up at the end is perfectly done and I loved how everything fit together to answer the questions revolving around the murder as well as the secrets Tempest had been trying to unravel for years. I fully enjoyed this book and really hope this isn’t the end of the series! If you are a fan of magic mixed with mystery, give this series a chance!

The third book in Gigi Pandian’s locked room series finds her heroine, magician Tempest Raj, seeking the answer to a devastating question: who killed her mother? The family “curse” decrees that the eldest born child will die by magic - as Tempest’s aunt and mother have, and Tempest herself having had a narrow escape. The killing that opens the book is the mysterious death of the wealthy bully who has been suing Tempest’s family construction company, insisting that the staircase that collapsed and put his wife in a coma was the result of shoddy construction.

When the man calls Tempest to meet him at the deserted theater she rented (she’s planning to hold her farewell show there) she heads over at midnight only to find the man skewered on the front door by a sword. Worse, the booby trap that killed him seems to be regenerating – nicking a paramedic and injuring another person in Tempest’s orbit. The internet is soon seething with the idea that Tempest’s mother has come back from the dead, seeking revenge, and using this booby trap as her method.

The book is grounded in Tempest’s rich family and friend matrix – she herself is an interesting mix of Indian and Scottish, and her grandfather, who cooks for everyone, provides mash ups of traditional recipes (there are several included at the end for the reader to try). The family runs a construction company that adds magical architectural details as they restore old homes. Tempest’s home is on a family compound where each family member has their own little unit, outfitted with secret architecture features unique to each one. Her grandparents live in a treehouse which is the defacto family kitchen.

Tempest’s “crew” includes librarian Ivy, magician Sanjay, and woodworking artist Gideon. Ivy’s job sounds absolutely dreamy: she works for a “Locked Room Library” that caters to readers of classic mysteries. If there is a more fantastical job for a mystery reading book lover, I’m not sure what it might be. All of them use their various skills as they help Tempest unravel the mystery, which includes a sealed hidden stage at the theater and a body that has appeared in a way that seems impossible.

While relying on many classic tropes with this series, Pandian also freshens them with her use of young, interesting and diverse characters, most especially Tempest herself. The secret staircase company allows some fantastical elements to be included in the plot lines. These books are not in any way fantasies but they have an almost otherworldly, fey feel to them that makes them uniquely charming.

The Secret Staircase Construction company makes magic for its clients by building secret doors, bookcases, and staircases into existing structures. The chief designer of these features is magician Tempest, who seems to fall upon mysteries on each project. In this third outing of Gigi Pandian’s series, a client winds up murdered, and Tempest must hunt down the killer.

Pandian has created a fascinating universe of rich characters, and her use of magic as a plot device is brilliant. The book is, in turn, eerie, fun, and cozy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.

A Midnight Puzzle is the third in a mystery series that follows a magician. Tempest works for her dads construction company that builds secret rooms and things like that. When someone is trying to sue the company and ends up dead, Tempest is on the hunt for the killer. She is also still trying to figure out who killed her aunt and what happened to her mom.

I liked this book but not as much as the other two in the series. I love the characters and the magic aspects throughout. It is fun to read about the stuff behind magic performances. The mysteries were interested and I did want to figure out what happened.

I think my biggest complaint is that it seemed to take forever to reveal what happened. I feel like it drug on a lot in the middle. It felt a bit repetitive as well. I’m not sure if I’ll continue on this series or not.

Thanks so much to netgalley and St. Martins Press for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is Pandian’s best book yet. Equal parts eerie, spooky, cozy, fun, and mysterious, A Midnight Puzzle will have you hooked on its every word. Pandian brings back all your favorite characters of Tempest and Sanjay, Ivy and Gideon, in a mystery that will have you second-guessing at every page turn.
I couldn’t put this book down once I started reading, and the mystery itself is incredibly twisty and well-crafted. As Tempest uncovers clues surrounding the death of Julian Rhodes, her aunt, and her mother, secrets will be spilled and the results will leave you clamoring for even more books from this delightful cast of characters.

Tempest Raj and the rest of the Secret Staircase Construction company are back in the newest cozy mystery novel in the Secret Staircase series.

Following the events on the previous book, The Raven Thief, Tempest and her family are battling with Julian Rhodes. One night though while going to the theater Tempest is set to do her magician debut, Julian is killed. Fingers are immediately pointed Tempest's way as she's the one to discover the body after Julian asks her to meet at the theater. Who else has something out for the ruthless Julian Rhodes?

In this series I think it's essential to read the books in order. It has storylines that carry out throughout these three novels and it's important to know who's-who and what's going on. At a minimum The Raven Thief should be read before A Midnight Puzzle. As with the previous novels I enjoyed the Indian heritage and culture that is magically interwoven throughout the novel and series. The secret compartments from the Raj family's company are also a highlight. Compared to the other books this one was a little slower for me and took me awhile to get invested in the story. This is one cozy mystery series that I look forward to a new book from each year.

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for a copy in exchange for review consideration.

Confession - I skipped reading The Raven Thief, as I wasn't sure I was going to continue the series after the first book, Under Lock and Skeleton Key because I just wasn't all that interested in Tempest. I found her a bit bombastic and immature with the whole "I am The Tempest" stage bit, and I was probably unjustly comparing her to Pandian's other heroines, who I love.

But I got an invitation to read A Midnight Puzzle, saw that it was an "impossible mystery," and gave it a go, and I am so glad I did. I did miss some backstory and character development by not having read the second book, but it didn't take away from my reading experience.

I do still enjoy the secondary characters, such as Tempest's grandparents and her best friend, a bit more, but I like how Tempest has worked on herself and grown since the first book. I like how we see a bit of how her grandfather has made friends with people from all over their community and hope we get more glimpses into her family and friends.

This is also a great nod to John Dickson Carr and all impossible mysteries. I had the whodunnit narrowed down to one of two characters fairly early on, but the howdunnit stumped me pretty much to the end. I love that!

Why you should read this: If you like a more cerebral cozy, this is your series. There are red herrings, twists, turns, and all sorts of misdirection.

Why you might not want to: Tempest has a LOT of internal monologue. Because of the nature of the mysteries she solves, that's kind of unavoidable, since she has to work through multiple puzzles, but it make for a lot of telling and not showing.

I received an advance copy from Minotaur Books via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

4.25 out of 5 stars. Recommended

The third book in the Secret Staircase Mysteries was another twisty puzzle of a mystery.

Tempest Raj is enjoying her new career as a designer for her family's construction business. But all is not well with the business. A former client Julian Rhodes is suing the company for shoddy craftsmanship after his wife fell down the new staircase. Tempest and her family are sure that Rhodes attempted to murder his wife and damaged the staircase himself. But his fleet of lawyers may force the company to settle.

Then Julian Rhodes is murdered and left hanging, sword in chest, from the venue where Tempest has been planning the finale to her career as a stage magician. A booby trap in the same place injures a paramedic who is ministering to Rhodes and also damages the hand of Tempest's mentor Nicodemus the Necromancer when the two go to check out the site.

When Nicodemus's assistant Brodie is also found dead in a locked room mystery - found on the dust covered floor of a hidden stage at the theater - Tempest and her group of friends have another mystery to solve.

Tempest has a long-ago mystery to solve which has great impact on her life. A supposed curse has claimed the oldest child in a magical accident back to the days of her great-grandparents. It cost her the life of her aunt in Scotland who suffered a tragic accident while performing a new trick at her magic show. And it cost the life of Tempest's mother who disappeared in the same theater where Tempest was planning her final show because her mother was going to reveal who killed her sister.

It has always been Tempest's goal to find out who killed her aunt and her mother and this story lets her finally reach that goal and solve the two new murder too.

I enjoyed the twisty plot and the magical tricks in this story. I love the setting and Tempest's new career. I like her close family and interesting assortment of friends. While this book resolves the mystery that Tempest has been working on through the first three books, it isn't the end of the series. Her next case walks in the door at the end of the book.

The premise of "A Midnight Puzzle" is what initially drew me in and bumped this book towards the top of my TBR but the author's writing style kept me flipping pages eager to solve the mystery!

This is book three in the Secret Staircase Mysteries and just like the first two this book was equally bingeable and intriguing.

If you like a Cozy whodunnit Mystery filled with magic, illusion and memorable characters I would definitely check this book out!

Thank you Gigi Pandian, Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of this book.

BIPOC DIY Cozy Mystery featuring a former magician-turned-designer turns sleuth after a former client who's suing her family for his wife's "accident" is killed with a booby trap.

5/5 stars: This is a favorite series and it's a joy picking up Pandian's third entry in the Secret Staircase Mystery series, which is a DIY Cozy Mystery that takes place in California and features an Indian American former stage magician who now works for her family's home renovation company designing hidden doors, floating staircases and architectural puzzle walls. With plenty of twists and turns, Pandian has crafted a mystery that deftly balances the suspects, clues and red herrings and will leave you pondering the whodunit until the final reveal. I really enjoy how Pandian interweaves such a variety of magic tricks and illusions into the plot. Pandian's use of flashback POV chapters really enhances the resolution of the overarching plot involving Tempest's unsolved mystery family. Additionally, Pandian's writing and character work is stellar; the characters are well-rounded and complex while remaining incredibly likable. Tempest's smart and tough and has a unique, eclectic friend group; I especially love her friendship with Nicodemus and the description of his paper cutouts sounds so cool. And of course I can't forget to mention Abracadabra AKA Abra, Tempest's ten-pound, lop-eared rabbit. But wait, you'll for sure want to try out the absolutely yummy Indian recipes that are included. While you could read this as a stand-alone, you'll gain so much more by reading the series from the beginning; so be sure to pick up book one, Under Lock & Skeleton Key.

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC of this book available to me.

This was a satisfying conclusion to the initial trilogy of books in this series. (Yes, more are in the works.) The major ongoing mysteries are neatly wrapped up with a nicely complex set of reveals at the end of the book. Some of the twists I saw coming, but a couple of them took me by surprise even though there were nicely laid clues that could have led me to them. If you are a fan of magic, secret rooms, or somewhat complex families then this book is for you.