A GARGOYLE’S GUIDE TO MURDER by Gigi Pandian
Dorian is a rather lovable living gargoyle, fond of gourmet cooking and solving mysteries. Zoe, alchemist and antique dealer, teams up to solve crimes, and Max, retired detective, is learning to appreciate the wild adventures. This was a fun, twisty mystery, with beautiful descriptions, witty dialogue, literary references, and a delicious recipe — Sticky Toffee Pudding sounds sublime, no wonder Agatha Raisin can’t resist when it’s on the menu. Just deserts to those who intend harm, Delicious desserts to the rest of us.
Travel, safely inside a book, I love it!

A Gargoyle’s Guide to Murder is the 9th Accidental Alchemist mystery by Gigi Pandian. It is always fun to read about Zoe, Max and Dorian. This time they are on a trip to England and what an enjoyable trip it was. This mystery was definitely inspired by Agatha Christie and it was a very lovely homage to her style while adding some modern and interesting twists. Dorian, as usual, is so much fun and I just love reading about that gargoyle! Dorian, Zoe and Max make a great team and really work well together to figure out both a murder and an alchemy mystery. There were a lot of things going on in this book, but Ms. Pandian has such a smooth, enjoyable writing style that I never felt overwhelmed by all the action. I just enjoyed going along for the ride. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for these wonderful characters next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book. All opinions are my own.

ARC from netgalley. Thank you.

I was interested by the title and summary but didn't realize it was the latest in a series (it does say its book 9 in a series I just didn't read closely enough).

It is common in mystery books to be able to "jump in" with any book and for there to be a brief explanation of the recurring characters and this one is no different. So while I do want to know more details (and will probably go back and read 1-8) I didn't feel too lost. I definitely want to know more about Dorian though.

I like how Dorian's notebook extracts are scattered throughout the book and overall it was a nice, fun mystery with a supernatural twist.

Some stories start to lose their luster as the series gets past the third or fourth book. This is NOT one of them! The Accidental Alchemist series just keeps getting better and better.

In A Gargoyle's Guide to Murder, Dorian, Zoe, and Max travel to Oxford for their latest adventure. (There's cute shout out to Deborah Harkness - IYKYK.) Gigi Pandian does an excellent job of describing the setting. You feel as though you're being walked through Oxford, not just seeing it. The reader fully experiences the town.

The story itself continues the greater, alchemy story arc with some twists and turns. There's some locked room mystery aspects. I wouldn't say there are any unreliable characters, but there is an element of perception versus reality that gives the book extra oomph.

I really enjoyed the book and hope there will be more in this series.

I love this book because it wasn’t predictable and it’s all witchy and mystery. I enjoyed it. 10/10. The cover on the art is cute. The writing is fantastic. I just like everything on what happened in this book.