Secret Staircase #3
In the third book in Gigi Pandian’s locked room series her heroine, magician Tempest Raj, seeks the answer to a devastating question: who killed her mother? A supposed “curse” decrees that the eldest born child in the family will die while performing magic. It may sound ridiculous but Tempest’s aunt and mother both passed that way, and Tempest herself has already suffered a narrow escape. The killing that opens the book is that 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.
The litigant tells Tempest to meet him at midnight in the deserted theater she’s rented for her farewell show, but when she heads over she finds him skewered with a sword on the front door. The booby trap that killed him somehow seems to be spreading, nicking a paramedic and injuring another person in Tempest’s orbit, and the internet is soon seething with the idea that Tempest’s mother has come back from the dead to seek revenge.
The book is grounded in Tempest’s rich family and friend group, and she herself is a novel mix of Indian and Scottish. Her grandfather, who cooks for everyone, provides mash ups of traditional recipes and several are shared at the end for the reader to try. The family runs a construction company that adds magical architectural details to their restoration of old homes. Tempest’s own home is on the family compound where each member has their own little unit, outfitted with unique secret architectural details. Her grandparents, for instance, live in a treehouse which is the de facto family kitchen.
Working for a “Locked Room Library” that caters to readers of classic mysteries, Tempest’s buddy Ivy has the ideal job for a mystery reading book lover. Her “crew” includes librarian Ivy, magician Sanjay, and the woodworking artist Gideon. All of them use their various skills to help Tempest unravel the mystery, which includes a sealed hidden stage at the theater and a body that has materialized in a way that seems impossible.
Pandian freshens the many classic tropes she employs with her use of young, interesting and diverse characters, most especially Tempest herself, and her family’s company allows some fantastical elements to be included in more traditional plot lines. These books are not what you would call fantasies but they have an almost otherworldly, fey feel to them that makes them utterly charming. — Robin Agnew