Oh my goodness how did I not know about Gigi Pandan before?? I had seen references to The Accidental Alchemist and thought it looked interesting but now that I have read this book there is no way I will not race to read everything she's written...

This was such a clever and fun story! The characterizations were great - everyone is just a little bit flawed but utterly believable for it. Plot and misdirection where as engaging as a stage show. I loved the references to famous tricks and magicians past.

But without a doubt one of my favorite elements of this book, and the one that made it stand out from other mysteries, was the magic of the construction and the glory of Fiddler's Folly and the Knights' house. The secret room building business should definitely be one that makes its way to my part of the world - I cannot imagine how glorious it would be to live in a house with secret staircase construction!

I loved the blending of Indian and Scottish culture, the recipes at the end, and the descriptions of food throughout - as well as the mixing of mythologies and cultures. It made for a wholly original and very engaging read for me. I cannot wait for the next book in the series!

This is a locked room mystery with food. Tempest finds herself playing detective when a body is found in a hidden area of a building her father's company is constructing. Foodies will love this book. Lots of food references and their recipies. What's not to love???
Thanks to NetGalley for providing this copy. The opinion in this review is solely my own.

This is an absolutely charming cozy mystery with a cast of characters I long to spend more time with.
I loved Tempest's family, especially her grandparents. And there was such whimsy throughout all aspects of the settings, and meals, and relationships. There are recipes included in the back of the book for many of the delightful items included in the story. This was a rare mystery read where once it concluded I wanted the next book immediately, not just because there's a larger mystery to be solved, but because spending time with these characters felt like a happy whimsical hug that I wanted to keep basking in.
There are a lot of mystery books/authors are referenced, making it a fun read for mystery buffs.
The only thing keeping it from being a five star read for me is that sometimes its a little repetitive, with the same thoughts and sentiments repeated from one chapter to another. And because this is the first book in a series, there are plenty of stories that are teased, but not fully explored in this novel that I assume will play larger roles in future novels.

Nancy drew meets Now You See Me, Under Lock and Skeleton Key is a cozy, mysterious and intriguing locked-room mystery ! It was soooo much fun to read. The plot was engrossing and Tempest was easy to root for.

Similar to Arsenic and Adobo, Under Lock & Skeleton Key has food references galore. It even includes some delicious recipes that I will need to try out. One criticism I came across with Arsenic and Adobo is that it had too many food references. I found the food descriptions in Under Lock & Skeleton Key to be just the right amout.

Tempest Raj comes from five generations of magicians and has become a prominent stage magician in Las Vegas. After an onstage disaster that puts her life in danger, Tempest is forced to move back home to Hidden Creek, California. Tempest takes a job helping her father with his company , Secret Staircase Construction, which focuses on building secret rooms with hidden entrances. Soon after her arrival, Tempest finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation after her father's construction crew finds her stage assistant Cassidy inside one of the homes they are working on.

I received an arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley.

Family intrigue – check, Murder and Mystery – check, finding a way back home literally and figuratively – double check! Tempest Raj is a magician whose career is derailed after a horrible accident. Tempest heads back home to Fiddler’s Folly to let home, family and friends heal her. But when her stage double, Cassidy Sparrow is found dead at the construction site of her Father’s company, Tempest wonders if she was meant to be the victim of a crime or of the family curse. Luckily for Tempest, she has family including her Father Darius, Grandpa Ash and Grannie Mor and friends plus a magical house complete with hidden doors, secret staircases and doors that open with no keys to help her solve the mystery.

This story was well written and I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and the twists and turns in solving it. I couldn’t figure out who was behind the mystery, pulling all the strings until it hit me smack in the face. This is my first time reading this author and I found her storytelling to be engaging, the story flowed with a suspenseful plot and interesting characters. I enjoyed the relationship between Tempest and her family, finding each character endearing and likeable. I look forward to the next story involving Tempest and her mystery busting circle.

UNDER LOCK AND KEY by Gigi Pandian is an incredible locked-room mystery that enthralled me from start to finish. Tempest Raj is a stage magician from a long line of (some say cursed) performers. A near-deadly mishap during a performance costs her a lucrative Las Vegas contract and few believe her when she says her assistant set her up.

Tempest returns home to regroup, enjoy her grandfather’s incredible Indian fusion cooking, and figure out what went wrong. When she visits her father’s latest project, creating a secret room in a historic house, things take an even darker turn. Tempest’s assistant’s body is found in a sealed-up room. She’s going to need every bit of knowledge gleaned from classic locked room mysteries and all of her stage magician know-how about misdirection to figure out how the body got there and why. More importantly, was Tempest the intended victim? Did she just miss being the latest casualty of the family curse that claims the firstborn of each generation?

This ticked so many boxes for me!
Love for classic mysteries, especially locked rooms
Secret rooms and passageways - Tempest’s family home sounds like a dream come true
Hauntings - especially if there’s potential for a Scooby Doo unmasking of a faker
Family curses
Reunions with estranged BFFs
Glorious food - the descriptions of her grandfather’s cooking had my mouth watering
A diverse cast of characters

Tempest was so relatable in her determination to not be defeated and to get to the bottom of what was going on. Her loyalty to her family and friends was heartwarming. The extended family that her father created with his business made me happy.

So many quirky characters that I wanted to hang out with. A library with a train car! A secret garden! So many amazing places. The author’s gift for writing captivating and lush descriptions is incredible.

And the mystery kept me guessing right up to the end.

A strong debut in a new series from Gigi Pandian! Fans of classic locked room mysteries will find tons to enjoy here.
Tempest Raj arrives back at her family home with her career as a stage magician in ruins. With no clear plans for her future, one morning she half-heartedly goes to visit the latest site where her Dad's company is contracted to renovate. Secret Staircase Construction is a family business that's made a name for itself crafting whimsical, riddle-laden rooms, gardens, passages, and more. But within moments of arriving at the site, Tempest witnesses a seemingly impossible situation that will test all her knowledge of misdirection and illusion.
Once the action started, it was difficult to put this book down. The mystery was intriguing, eerie, and puzzling, with dashes of Gothic atmosphere and lots of callbacks to mystery writers of the past. There are also a number of really cool locations all tied in with Tempest's family's love of hidden places, and a slowly unraveling set of back stories that make Tempest a compelling character.
Fans of Pandian's Jaya Jones series will enjoy the recurrence of Sanjay, who looks set to become an important part of this series. And there's a strong setup for future mysteries in the unresolved stories surrounding Tempest's mom and aunt.
Looking forward to future additions to the series.

Wow what a fun book! Do you love cozy mysteries? This is a "gothic cozy" and it was dark and delicious with recipes and murder rolled into a small town girl makes good, suffers setback, and returns.

The great Tempest Raj is a highly paid illusionist with parents hailing from India and Scotland. A very large scale illusion goes wrong publically and it causes her to return home to her small town unemployed and embarrassed. While there, she becomes embroiled in a murder mystery when an associate of hers is found behind the wall of a building project.

Will she solve the mystery? Is her life in danger? Can she make good on her previous mistakes as an entertainer and potentially find love?

Gigi Pandian is an excellent writer and controls the narrative like a conductor in front of a symphony. It was a true pleasure to read this book, I didn't want it to ever end. I look forward to reading more about Tempest and trying some of the delicious recipes.

If you love a locked room mystery, get to this book as quick as you can! #NetGalley #UnderLockandSkeletonKey

I found this very difficult to get into. It took me 2 months to read. The premise is great and quirky that instantly drew me in, but the writing didn't grab me. The constant mentions of food got old after a bit. As far as the mystery goes, I felt the killer was very obvious from the get go. I also didn't care for Tempest and her arrogance at times. She always knew better than everyone but constantly put herself in danger.

How exciting that Gigi Pandian, an award-winning author with two successful mystery series, has launched an intriguing new series featuring locked-room mysteries!

Tempest Raj, who comes from five generations of magicians, has become a prominent stage magician in Las Vegas. Her act has launched her into stardom because her illusions are enhanced by the fascinating stories she weaves. But after almost perishing onstage, she is wrongly blamed for negligence, stripped of her job, and forced to move back home, suspecting her envious former stage double/assistant, Cassidy, of sabotage.

While trying to figure out how to resolve her situation, Tempest takes a job helping her father with his company, Secret Staircase Construction, whose goal is to bring magic to their clients' homes. While on the job, the crew discovers a dead body inexplicably hidden behind a wall that has been in place for a hundred years--and the body is Cassidy's.

What I love most about the book is the descriptions of the homes that have been built or altered to include fantastical elements such as secret rooms, hidden passageways, creative means of entry, and special gardens. Some of these belong to Tempest's family, including her grandparents' two-story "treehouse" and her parents' bungalow that they have morphed into a 4500-square-foot magical abode. Secondary characters such as Tempest's friends, fellow magicians, and crew coworkers are beautifully portrayed, as is the back story of the family curse and how it has played out over the generations. The author has also painstakingly plotted the "impossible" story with intricate twists and turns until the exciting conclusion.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Gigi Pandian is a new author to me, and I'm so glad to have found her! Under Lock & Skeleton Key is a well-written, thoroughly engrossing mystery that I could barely put down.

Tempest Raj is a magician, from a family of magicians. The alleged family curse, that the eldest child dies by magic, didn't keep her from following in the footsteps of other family members. But now she's come back home in disgrace after an illusion goes horribly wrong, facing lawsuits and the possibility of never performing again. She finds comfort in her grandfather's home-cooked meals and in the quirky house her parents designed and created. She also finds her family determined to protect her from what they see as the curse at work.

But when the body of Tempest's former assistant, Cassidy, is found seemingly walled up at the latest job site for her father's construction company, and when she thinks she sees and hears the ghost of her mother, Tempest knows she's got to figure out what's really going on. Is it the alleged curse? Was she meant to be the dead body, or was Cassidy's body put there for her to find for some reason?

I love Tempest! As her name implies, she's headstrong and often quick to jump into action. This sometimes gets her in trouble. Thankfully, she's got friends and family who have her back.

And I want to move in with her family. Grannie Mor is delightful, and I want to eat some of Grandpa Ash's home cooked meals. I think it's wonderful that he goes around delivering lunches to people on his bicycle. And a house with all those secret rooms and nooks and crannies! That would be such a neat place to live.

If you're a fan of the locked-room mystery, you will love, love, love this book. It pays homage to several masters of the genre, and Pandian does a fine job setting up her own locked-room puzzle. I certainly didn't see the reveal coming. Since this is #1 in a series, I hope we'll see more of Tempest and her friends and family.

Magician Tempest Raj returns home to Hidden Creek, California after a disastrous accident puts an end to her Las Vegas show. Her hope of salvaging her reputation and rebuilding her career hits a major snag with the discovery of the body of her doppelgänger assistant from her stage show hidden within a wall. Was Tempest actually the intended target of a murderer?

Unsettled, Tempest sets out to find some answers. How did Cassidy’s body get inside the wall? Is Tempest fated to become the unwitting victim of the family curse, the one that says the eldest child in the family dies through magic? And did the curse play a part in her mother’s long-ago disappearance?

Can Tempest, surrounded by a family determined to protect her, find the answers?

=========

This Secret Staircase Mystery hits all the right notes. Secret Staircase Construction, a business owned by Tempest’s father, creates hidden rooms for clients; here the locked room story receives a fresh twist with the inclusion of magic within the telling of the tale. Secret rooms, hidden staircases, treehouse homes . . . the distinctive setting is well-drawn, believable, and fascinating.

With readers pulled into the telling of the tale from the outset, the unfolding narrative pays homage to mystery authors, both classic and present, while the unique story keeps the pages turning. And recipes are included so that readers can recreate the mouth-watering dishes Tempest’s grandfather whips up throughout the story. [Cardamom cookies, please.]

Strong, nuanced characters populate the narrative; Tempest’s quirky, compassionate family is delightful and a perfect counterpoint to Tempest’s spirited nature. The plot offers several surprises as the unfolding story reveals the truth while leaving a question or two for readers to ponder, especially as it relates to Tempest’s mother. The denouement is perfect and is sure to please readers.

First in a series, this unique and enchanting “gothic cozy” is sure to be a reader favorite.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley
#UnderLock&SkeletonKey #NetGalley

Magic and mystery, I absolutely loved it! I love Tempest as a character and had so much fun reading this novel! I definitely highly recommend this read to all mystery lovers! I can't wait until another book in the series is released. I love Gigi’s other series also.

I'm a big fan of Gigi Pandian's books, so I was very excited to dive into the first book in her new series! It features a new amateur sleuth, magician Tempest Raj, but longtime readers of her work will recognize Sanjay "The Hindi Houdini" Rai from several other stories and novels by Pandian.

Tempest was a successful illusionist with an elaborate Las Vegas show until a mysterious accident derailed her career and blackened her reputation. She heads home to the San Francisco Bay Area, where her father runs a business called Secret Staircase Construction, specializing in building hidden rooms, mysterious locking mechanisms, and other unique features. He founded the company with Tempest's late mother, whose imaginative ideas made the company a hit; lacking her special touch, it's become financially unstable. (We don't learn much about Tempest's mom's death, which makes me wonder if it'll play a larger role in a future novel. Sometimes it's referred to as her "disappearance," so perhaps she's not actually dead at all? Time will tell!)

The Raj family is allegedly cursed, going back several generations. The curse decrees that the eldest child will die by magic. Apparently that threat wasn't enough to make Tempest choose a different line of work, but after her near miss in Vegas, it is very much on her mind. When the stage double from her Vegas show is found dead in a locked room, Tempest believes that she may have been the intended victim.

I've often had dreams about discovering a hidden room in my house, so all of the details about Secret Staircase Construction were such fun to read about! Pandian frequently calls back to the classic locked room mysteries of old (Tempest's best friend Ivy works in a library dedicated to the form), but as someone who has read a lot of Golden Age novels, I have to say that I prefer her modern spin on the genre; she presents us with both a tricky case AND a cast of quirky, sympathetic characters. Many thanks to Minotaur Books via NetGalley for the chance to get an advance peek at this enjoyable new series!

Tempest, an illusionist/magician returns home after a near-death experience during a performance that also left her career and finances in ruins. It's not long after she returns that she finds herself involved in a murder investigation. The murdered victim- her former assistant and doppelganger. With a family curse and her mother's mysterious disappearance years ago, Tempest wonders if she was the intended target. Though I have not yet warmed up to the main character, it was an enjoyable read. I love her thinking that magic is not just about tricks but more about telling a story.

What a delightful book Gigi Pandian has written! Charming in so many ways, Under Lock & Skeleton Key was a treat. The secondary characters were almost all so well written: I hope Tempest's family has room for me in their secrets-filled home!

My only significant criticism was of Tempest herself. She wasn't a bad protagonist....she just never felt like a character, merely a narrator, if that makes sense? Her family and community are so vibrant that she became washed out and more dull in comparison.

That being said, I *very* much liked the setting and world-building. The whimsy of secret rooms and trick locks was lovely and I loved the homages to the classic greats of mystery writing. I also enjoyed the plot
Pandian has a deft hand and it showed.

Thanks to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the ebook ARC in exchange for my review. All thoughts are mine alone

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

Great fall read. I buddy read this with a girlfriend and we had so much fun with it.

I have never read a book by this author. The title was intriguing so I thought I would give it a try. Way beyond my imagination was this mystery about Tempest.. it draws you into the world of magic ,the treehouse and the death of a friend. Tempest is searching for her mother who died some years ago but reappears to her..Details and an ability to describe each part of the mystery pulls the reader in. Loved it!

This gothic cozy mystery ticks every box for gripping, adventurous, exciting reading experience for me!

Nancy Drew meets with my favorite magician movies including Prestige and Now You See Me ( or Bollywood’s Dhoom 3)!

The characters were lovely especially the Magician family of our MC Tempest Raj!
The ideas of vanishing in secret rooms and hidden entrances, the family curse were temptingly intriguing!

The pacing was capturing. The action parts balanced with love triangle.

The story development was unique and the mystery picks your interest!

The conclusion was also satisfying enough for you to want to read more books of this brand new installment!

Let’s take a look at the plot and make introductions of characters and this impressively well constructed world building!

Tempest Raj returns back to family home located at Hidden Creek, California after having nearly death experience during stage performance which is the main reason why her career just sank. Now she has to rebuild her reputation and work for fresh start!
Her family’s construction business focused on building secret rooms with hidden entrances.

Instead of rebuilding her career, Poor Tempest finds herself in the middle of murder investigation. Her doppelgänger stage assistant is found death at the site of her father’s one of the construction projects. Did somebody target her and accidentally kill the poor assistant?

And she also hears about the curse that kills the eldest child in the family! Could the curse affect her? What about her deadly stage accident? Did her mother and aunt kill because of the curse?

She has to team up with magician friend Hindu Houdini and her best friend to dig out more to find out who’s the culprit by taking us an action packed adventure takes place hidden entrances of unique buildings!

Well this was so much fun! I loved the magician family and those mouth watering Indian and Scottish food recipes at the book.

I’m looking forward to read the next books of the series!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Minotaur Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

This read was definitely a departure from the run of the mill mysteries I've been reading. The characters and setting were novel and the mystery unwrapped in a way one wouldn't expect. That's my only quibble, that the reader can't actually solve the mystery.

Looking forward to the next book to see how life unfolds for Tempest.

I received a copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.