Under Lock & Skeleton Key

If you’re interested in locked-room mysteries, cozy crime, or magic, then you need to read this book.

Gigi Pandian is one of the best in the business, and with Under Lock & Skeleton Key she launches a brand new and exciting series. Gigi is excellent at creating charming characters that the reader cannot help but care about – this makes the mysteries themselves all the more compelling – and this book captures everything that’s great about her writing. 

After a Las Vegas stage accident nearly kills the magician named Tempest Raj, the public turns on her, her manager drops her, her friends abandon her, but Tempest moves back to her California childhood home to find the truth. And what a home!

In addition to the central mystery, you'll want to devour all of Grandpa Ash's delicious food (don't worry, recipes at the end) and explore the secret staircases built by her parents, a carpenter (dad) and a stage magician (mom, who has disappeared under the Raj family curse).

Gigi Pandian is an open fan of John Dickson Carr, misdirection, and locked room puzzles, and her quirky characters have already earned her a devoted following. In this new series, Tempest Raj, a disgraced Las Vegas magician, returns to her family’s business of building secret staircases, only to discover her body double murdered in a sealed room. What follows is a classic locked-room puzzle, with a lot of tempting vegan recipes along the way.