Enjoyed this fourth installment of the Secret Staircase Mysteries series. All of the regular characters are back and solving a seemingly impossible locked room mystery.

Although I did figure out the culprit, I didn't know the means and motive, so I was interested to keep reading to figure it out. There are a large number of characters and I think the book will be much more enjoyable if you read the series in order so you know who's who and all of their connections. That said, the mystery itself stands alone so it's intriguing in its own right.

This novel has a murder, a disappearing and reappearing body, and no apparent way for the murder to take place and the body to be moved.

I listened to this book partially as an audiobook, and the narrator Soneela Nankani has been the same throughout the series, so she knows these characters as well as the reader at this point and does a great job with the voices and inflections.

If you're looking for a great series focusing on books, mysteries, and secrets, then definitely give this one a try.

This is another title in Gigi Pandian's Secret Staircase series. Tempest Raj is a former stage magician who now works in her family’s business, designing magical elements in home renovations. But when a play is scheduled to be performed in one of their newly completed homes, something goes seriously wrong when one of the actors is found dead.
This is a classic locked room mystery with many plot twists and turns, but Tempest and her friends ae up for the challenge.

This is book 4 in the Secret Staircase Mysteries series. It can be read without reading any of the other books, but it is helpful in understanding the characters to read book 1 (Under Lock and Skeleton Key) but not totally necessary. Tempest and the crew at Secret Staircase Construction were asked to convert an old house to a new library where there can be mystery dinners and an escape room. There is opposition, hard feelings, a body vanishing along with an invisible intruder which kept me guessing. I enjoyed reading this book!

Thank you to Gigi Pandian, NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: March 18, 2025

Another fun adventure with Tempest and her friends. I loved the locked room aspect of this mystery and the clever solutions they came up with to solve the case. I was a little annoyed at all the emotional outbursts, which might have been fitting as they worked through the solution, but they were constant and took me out of the story with their childishness. Other than that, I loved this newest installment in the series and look forward to more.

This is my first read from the author and this series. The story immediately grabbed my attention. There was always something else to keep pulling me in. There was the rabbit named Abra, her grandparent’s tree house and the magic. I had no problem keeping up even though I didn’t read the previous books. Tempest is a great MC. She is strong, willful and always up for the challenge. I cannot wait to go back and read how it all started.
 
 
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book of this series that I have read. The characters are fun. I especially like Tempest grandparents and her Scooby gang. The hook for the library is what attracted me at first and I enjoyed the quirky locked door mystery. Since I never have gotten into locked door mysteries I followed along with the characters as they found the solution. Lots of fun. I will probably read more of this series.

This book was right up my alley I love escape rooms. This is book 4 in the series but can be read as a standalone. This is a murder mystery that I couldn’t put down…it was fun, fast paced and very entertaining.

My thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books/St. Martin's Publishing for the ARC of 'The Library Game' in exchange for an honest review.
First let me say I would dearly love to move to the little town where this book takes place. Because it's the operations center for the Secret Staircase Construction Company. Tempest Raj and her creative industrious crew go about their work of turning people's home into popular public libraries......not just ordinary libraries but mystery libraries that evoke the very books they stock, built with hidden passageways and yes, secret staircases. The kind of place you might bump into Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple.....or Nancy Drew..
I had visions of this town resembling the Vegas strip, except with specialty mystery libraries on every corner instead of casinos.
But Tempest and company run afoul of murder most foul in their newest project at the Grey House. A planned murder mystery play to kick off the grand opening gets derailed when one of the actors kicks off himself. And this murder victim's body has an unnatural habit of disappearing and reappearing.....almost like magic.
N0 shortage of clues and potential suspects pile up, (including the ghost of Grey House's owner and library benefactor) but the question is, can Tempest reach that pivotal 'whodunit reveal so the show (and the library) can go on?
A whole bunch of page turning fun's in store for mystery fans here, particularly those who can never gobble up enough of those 'impossible locked room' puzzles. Yes, it's fourth in a series but you can still enjoy it even if you've yet to sample the previous books. My guess is those readers will immediately want to play catch up with Tempest's first three cases.

The Library Game is book 4 in the Secret Staircase Mysteries, this was my first read of this series and it can be read as a stand alone. However, sometimes I was a bit lost with all the mentions of what happened in the previous books.

I loved all the food descriptions in this book, only downside is that it made me hungry for sweets the whole time Honestly, I usually do not connect when books overly explain smells and tastes but I thought in this book it worked so well and I loved that we got a recipe at the end of the book as well. As someone who loves to bake, I wanted to attempt and eat most of all the sweets mentioned and I will definitely try the Blackberry Crumble Cobbler recipe.

I liked the Abracadabras, I really enjoyed their dynamics and even though this was a single POV book I liked how the main character, Tempest, relied on her friends to go over all her theories together. Tempest's family dynamics were also a plus.

I will definitely check out the rest of the Secret Staircase Mysteries, as I enjoyed this book and I also added two other books to my TBR, due to Ivy's description of them.

I truly enjoyed this book and rate it 3.5 but rounding it to 4 as there are no half stars here.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tempest and Secret Staircase Construction are working on a new library containing classic detective fiction. Hidden Creek is having an event called the Summer Stroll, which will feature the house with the proposed library as a place for a play and escape room event.
Then someone dies at the dress rehearsal. There are plenty of possible suspects and lots of red herrings involved in solving this locked room mystery.
Tempest gathers the Scoobies and they set out to solve the murder before the Summer Stroll opens.
I enjoyed reading the Library Game. I do think if this is your first Secret Staircase novel you may feel a little lost. Although The Library a game is meant to be a new phase in the series, there are plenty of references to prior events that have bearing on current reactions of the main characters.
I love the food Grandpa Ash makes. I think readers will be delighted by Fiddler’s Folly and Abra the rabbit.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book.

Tempest and her family's Secret Staircase Construction Company are working on turning a private home into
a free library of classic mysteries. To garner more support for the library's permit, a murder mystery dinner is featured.
When one of the actors is murdered, the recording from a neighbor's security camera shows no one else entering the
home in addition to the current inhabitants. As they were all locked in, how did the murderer enter?
Tempest and her family and friends set out to solve the murder to help the library's permit move forward.
#TheLibraryGame #StMartinsPress #MinotaurBooks #NetGalley

This is one of my favorite series. I love these characters, the classic detective stories, the amazing characters and the mysteries inside this series.
A charming and engaging cozy mystery that kept me glued to my kindle.
The characters are well-developed and endearing.
The writing is intriguing.
I was hooked from the beginning!!

Thank you Netgally and Gigi Pandian for the arc!

This was such a fun romp of a murder mystery. As a lover of theatre as well as a good mystery this really hit all my buttons. Honestly I dont want to spoil anything because that's the point of a good mystery. I love the books in this series this author writes as they are a cozy good time.

Thank you Netgalley & Minotaur Books for an eARC ❤️❤️❤️

Tempest Raj is back(❤️❤️❤️, and this time she's tackling a dream project: transforming a home into a public library that celebrates the greatest fictional detectives in history. But when a murder mystery dinner rehearsal takes a deadly turn, Tempest finds herself at the center of a seemingly impossible crime.
As she investigates, Tempest and her team must navigate a complex web of clues, suspects, and motives. With the help of her grandfather's delicious Scottish and Indian meals, Tempest fuels her sleuthing skills to uncover the truth.♥️

Why I Love This Series😍

I'm absolutely obsessed with Gigi Pandian's Secret Staircase Mysteries! Every time I finish a book, I'm already counting down the days until the next installment. This series has it all: richly atmospheric settings, colorful characters, and clever twists.
Tempest is a brilliant and relatable protagonist, and I love watching her navigate the ups and downs of her life. The supporting cast is equally well-developed, and the author's writing is witty and engaging.😍😍😍
Already can’t wait for a new book 😭😩

4.5 stars

This series is such a comfort to me and I really enjoyed this installment! I love the gang and the mysteries tied in with illusions are always tricky and fun to figure out. I'm glad that this book went back to its usual formula after the last one being a little tense and personal.

The mystery was intriguing and I had no idea what was going on until the reveal. Which I kinda love when that happens. I was a little bummed with Tempest's choices on her romantic front but that was a very small part of the book and series itself. I absolutely cant wait for the next one!

Pub date: 3/18

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for an Advanced Reader Copy - pub date 3/18/2025. Whoops, this is the fourth book in a series of mysteries and I haven't read the previous ones. Luckily, the mystery is well contained and, while there are many references to previous books, they are not necessary to enjoying and understanding this one. Mostly you need to know is this - Tempest Raj was once a top stage magician but something went horribly wrong and she is now living at her childhood home and helping with the family home reno business Secret Staircase Construction which is the AWESOME result you get when a magician falls in love with a top tier carpenter. She is surrounded by friends/co-workers/relatives in a delightful mix of found family, blood family, and artists of various types. Other than that, you just roll with it.

In this book, you get a library-in-progress and a murder mystery play where someone actually ends up dead. The author is clearly a fan of locked room mysteries (to the point where she literally locks up the characters in a potentially poisonous room) and she plays with a lot of tropes as well as using the basics of stage magic - especially misdirection. It is a great premise with a fun and lively cast (I dare you not to fall in love with Grandpa Ash and his stress baking). There is some nice banter. The author clearly has done her work in regards to both classic mystery novels and stage magic; she peppers the book with plenty of references and details that make it feel grounded and real. Plenty of red herrings, hidden backstories, and an adorable rabbit named Abracadabra.

On the less fun side, there is such a thing as TOO MANY incomplete references to previous books/events in a series. I understand that she wants us to have read the previous books or be intrigued enough to go back and read them (I probably will!) but it got a bit like a drinking game as the author repeatedly offered sideways references to what happened to Tempest, what happened to her mother and aunt, what the family curse is about. And, well... I knew who the murder was by the middle of the book (if not earlier) so the rest of it just became a matter of "exact motive and method" for the rest of the book. Which, I felt, resulted/required a bit of OOC pushing.

It was a fast read, though, and full of really lovely, sweet characters. I would totally spend another couple hours with them.

Modern and hip cozy mystery with a cast of unforgettable characters who feel like friends in this fourth book in the series! Tempest Raj, former stage magician, is back in Hidden Creek working for her family construction company and this time has her hands in an escape room performance for the opening of a new local library of crime fiction. When it all goes wrong - a dead body, a ghost voice, mysterious break-ins and locked rooms with poison- it’s up to Tempest and her friends to solve the mystery before anyone else gets hurt! Fun, lighthearted and entertaining!

This didn't do it for me. I almost didn't finish but had to power through. I think this is one of those books where you need to read the others in the series to "get it." The character dynamics were confusing. I wasn't invested in the mystery. This just was a miss for me.

I loved the concept and idea of this book. It started well but then became very slow. The last quarter reveals were great. When I was invited to read this, i did not realize it was part of a series. I felt i would have gotten more out of it if I had read the previous books. Especially around the relationships. I really liked the character of Mrs Hudson. She was a trip.

Tempest Raj is a former magician who now works with her father's business the Secret Staircase Construction. She and her friends are transforming an old mansion into a mystery library. An escape room style game is set to take place in a few days, and as they work to finish things up, weird things are occurring as if someone does not want the mansion to be transformed. Then one of the murder mystery actors ends up dead, but the body disappears, so there is more going on than meets the eye.

I was unaware The Library Game was part of a series, but that will not really hinder the reader much as it could be a book on its own. Some character development may be more extensive in the other installments, but the mystery kicks events into motion, and you quickly get to know each character well enough and their quirks.

This was a fun, campy who dunnit that follows the locked room theme that is all the rage now for entertainment. There are plenty of suspects to keep you guessing, which makes this an entertaining read. Since this is the fourth book in the series, they writing style is enticement enough to want to check out the others and to look forward to a 5th.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the ARC. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.