Book Review: The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian (Secret Staircase Mysteries #2)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong characters and a puzzling mystery

Cons: The raven stole all the cons

The Bottom Line:

Impossible death

But Tempest must solve the case

Can’t put this one down

Who Made the Impossible Possible?

I’m not quite sure why I didn’t read The Raven Thief last year.  I enjoyed the first (and the follow up short story) in this series, and the set up for this book definitely intrigued me.  Too many books calling my name, I guess.  But I’m glad I finally read it since I loved it.

This series features Tempest Raj, a former stage magician who has returned home and is now helping her father with his construction company in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Secret Staircase Construction isn’t your normal construction company, however.  They specialize in projects that include a little extra – a secret room, a sliding bookcase, fun things like that.

As this book opens, the company has recently finished a project for family friend Lavinia Kingsley.  It’s a redesign of a space her cheating ex-husband, gothic writer Corbin Colt, used to use before the divorce.  She’s throwing an opened house followed by a séance to rid her life of all that remains of Corbin.  Yes, it’s only ceremonial and it is completely playful.  But Tempest’s friend Sanjay is leading the séance against his wishes and he’s taking is seriously.

The séance only involves a small group of eight.  They are all in a circle holding hands in the dark when a flash of light reveals the impossible – a dead body on the table they are circling.  Yes, the dead body is Corbin’s.  As Tempest takes in the scene, she realizes that there are four impossible things that had to happen for Corbin to be lying dead in front of them.  With the police looking at her grandfather as their prime suspect, she has to figure out not only who did it but how they pulled it off.  Can she do it?

This series is designed to present locked room mysteries, and that was an extra draw for me.  I was especially intrigued by the premise of this one, and couldn’t wait to see how Tempest would unravel it.  Before she does, we get some extremely interesting complications and twists and made me wish I could read it even faster.  The resolution to the how and the who was extremely satisfying, and I was smiling when I turned the last page.

Tempest is the perfect person to lead this series.  As a former stage magician that comes from a line of magicians, she’s familiar with some of the techniques that are needed to create these puzzles.  She has several friends who help with the investigation, one of whom loves the classic locked room mysteries.  Between the two, it makes sense that she could figure out what is going on.

And the cast of characters is wonderful.  I fell more in love with the characters in this book, and considering I already liked them, that’s saying something.  There isn’t too much advancement in their personal lives here, but that’s a minor complaint.

Those who have read the first in the series know that Tempest has quite the backstory, which includes an ongoing mystery she is trying to solve.  We do get some advancement on that in this book, and I’m more intrigued than ever by what exactly is going on.  If you haven’t read the first book, you get enough background here to understand what is happening, so you could jump in here.  And don’t worry, the main focus is on the main case.  I felt the mix in this book was perfect between the current mystery and the ongoing storyline.

Tempest’s grandfather loves to cook.  While I don’t consider this a full on culinary cozy, we get plenty of talk about food in this book.  There are also three tempting recipes at the end.

The third book in this series comes out in just a couple of months.  I’m definitely looking forward to what happens next to Tempest.  If you haven’t yet read The Raven Thief, you’ll be glad you took the time to catch up before the next one comes out.