*received for free from netgalley for honest review* 3.5, Took awhile to actually really get into this book but it was good, will likely turn out to be a good cozy-like mystery series

Tempest Raj has found herself living back in her hometown with her family after a near-death accident hinders her stage magician career. She’s done everything to fight against working with her father’s company-Secret Staircase Construction. His company caters to clients who are looking to build secrets rooms and passageways. While visiting her father’s latest project, his crew discovers a body hidden in the wall. When the identity of the woman is revealed-Tempest’s doppelgänger/former stage double-Tempest can’t help but wonder if she was the intended victim.

This story has so many classic mystery, locked room elements. Tempest’s family home is so awesome with secret rooms and staircases. Not only do you get a classic mystery feel while reading this, you also get a magical element with Tempest being a magician.

If this hasn’t made you want to read this by now let me mention the family curse! Maybe it plays a part? I don’t want to spoil too much…

I enjoyed this first installment in the Secret Staircase Mystery. I had the privilege to listen to an early recording of the audiobook (Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher) and it was fine. I enjoyed the narrator and thought the pacing was fine. This story was entertaining and kept me engaged. I will continue with this series!

I really, really liked this book!! It was my first by this author but certainly not the last!! I loved the mix of mystery, family, and magic in this book. I really appreciated the inclusiveness of this book. I get tired of reading books about all white/straight people and am really appreciative of books that include all types of people. I totally loved how Tempest was a take no shit, go-getting kind of girl that was definitely going to get to the bottom of her family's "curse". I can't wait to read the next installment of this series and see the other types of mysteries and creations her family comes up with.

Very intriguing cozy mystery suspense.
With twists and turns and maybe a little magic.
Enjoyed listening to Narrative was very good.
Kept my interest through out the story.
like all the characters
Voluntarily reviewed.

This was a cute cozy mystery. I'm not a huge cozy fan but this one was just right imo. Sometimes I find them over the top corny but I loved the magician theme in this one! I do think it was pretty slow paced for majority of the book and then was way too quick and convoluted at the ending but I still enjoyed it! I will be recommending to cozy fans.

A fabulous first in a new cozy mystery series with a fantastic premise--a stage magician with a family legacy of performing magic, a combination of cultures, and a family business of creating secret passageways and rooms--with a whole bunch of twists and turns and sleights of hand! The narration was also amazing, the narrator doing a phenomenal job!

Under Lock & Skeleton Key by Gigi Pandian is the first book in the Secret Staircase Mystery series. While this is the first book in this series, I enjoyed the appearance of some characters from her previous series. Having said that, you do not need to have read any of her other books to enjoy this story. Tempest Raj was working as a magician in Las Vegas but her last performance was sabotaged by her assistant and she almost died. She is in the midst of a law suit, so she has headed back to her childhood home in California. The home Tempest grew up in is unique to say the least with her family owning Secret Staircase Construction which specializes in hidden and intricate home designs so their home is a model of all the things they can do. As Tempest is settling in, she goes for a visit to her father’s latest project. Things become complicated when they find a body in a room that is supposed to have been closed for years. It is Tempest's assistant/stage double and they have no idea how she got there. Was Tempest the actual target? How did the body get in the closed room? Is this the Raj curse? Tempest decides they need to find the killer fast, so with the help of some friends, Tempest becomes a sleuth determined to answer these questions.

I enjoyed this story. The magic angle is interesting and opens up a lot of possibilities. Diverse characters, wonderful food and Indian Culture all add a different and interesting storyline. I love the family business as well. Adding secret rooms, staircases, passages etc. to an old house sounds quite intriguing and adds some red herrings and clues to the story. I listened to this book and enjoyed the narration. Soneela Nankani does a wonderful job with the story. Her voices, expression, pacing and tone are all well matched to the story. The first book in a new series often contains a lot of character building so it moves a bit slower, but I was still engaged in this story. I will definitely be watching for the next book in this series.

There were lots of things I enjoyed about this book like the concept of designing secret areas in houses, the charm bracelet's secret and the magic (also her cute bunny).

It was a good mystery story and I really enjoyed when the went to the library and discussed the different forms of locked room mysteries, and trying to figure out how she performed the magic trick at her lunch.

I did find that the story dragged in places and the narrator's accents were not my favourite. Overall I still think it was a fun book, and I might check out the next one.

Cozy mystery, filled with magic, colorful characters and a setting that is so captivating, it kept me listening!
The world building and description was my fave, I felt like I was in an M. C. Escher drawing.
Can't wait for the second installment of this series! Can't wait to keep following this journey!

This book birthday was was like a birthday gift to me, since we both shared the date this year. A magical story with magic, murder, misdirection, and a Tempest. This cozy captured my attention right away, from the excellent narration and voice talents of Soneela Nankani, to the blended cultures and even a touch of Irish folklore. Such a unique backstory with the Secret Staircase Construction company and the Raj family curse. So much misdirection but isn't that what magic is all about and there was some serious magic in this mystery. A well developed cast of characters, from Ivy the veritable Velma from the Scooby Doo gang to "Uncle" Robbie who could think on his toes. A super supportive family that sticks together through thick and thin, triumph and loss, and who might just put Tempest until lock and skeleton key to protect her. Ah but she is too good of a magician to be "locked up" and will keep at it until this "locked door" mystery is solved and the killer is behind bars.

Tempest Raj returns home to California after a near-fatal accident shuts down her magic show and tarnishes her reputation in Las Vegas. Her dad runs Secret Staircase Construction, a business that specializes in constructing hidden areas in clients’ homes. When Tempest visits her dad’s latest project, her stage double is found dead inside a wall that has been sealed for a century. Tempest is determined to solve the mystery, afraid that she was the intended victim and that the Raj family curse that the oldest is destined to die by magic is coming for her.

This had the potential to be an intriguing mystery but did not live up to my expectations. Additionally, I did not care for the narrator; I think I would have liked the book better had I read a physical copy rather than listening to the audiobook. The plot was rather slow; it took a while for things to pick up. On the positive side, the characters were mostly well written. The food Tempest’s grandpa Ash made sounded delicious; I wish we had recipes to go with his meals! This book is the first of a series, but unfortunately, I don’t think I will be checking out the next one.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

Thank you to the publisher Macmillan Audio for providing an audiobook ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

I love reading about characters solving convoluted puzzles almost as much as I enjoy doing them myself - which is why Under Lock & Skeleton Key seemed like a fascinating read featuring a stage magician with a family construction business of making quirky hiding nooks in client’s houses. To first preface where my assumptions were wrong going into this book - it is most definitely a mystery and not a thriller. The mystery plays with a speculative element that is given a satisfying and fully realized conclusion. But there is only a single body that appears and the stakes feel low even while the main protagonist Tempest Raj fears her life may be in danger from a family curse that takes the firstborn child.

Oddly enough, I feel like this book would have worked better onscreen. A lot of the explanations for Tempest’s tricks felt either overwritten or just outright confusing, and I think seeing them actually demonstrated would have worked much better in a different medium. The final reveal on who hid the body of Tempest’s former stage double in a wall came as a surprise to me not because of the subtle setup, but because I didn’t remember who the man even was. It was also the result of an egregious assumption one character makes that could have been completely avoided by a very necessary conversation one would think to have with a loved one they suspect of being a murderer. Miscommunication always rankles, especially when it results in something so outrageous.

This book is going to stick in my mind most for the descriptions of the Indian food Tempest’s grandfather is constantly making for the family. While Tempest spends most of the novel fixated on a family curse she believes is lurking over her head, as well as her dead mother’s spirit, the mentions of her Scottish-Indian heritage brought something to her character outside of a typical mystery plotline. I wish her father’s business building hiding spaces in people’s houses featured as heavily in the book as part of her investigation, but that was the puzzle-lover in me wanting this to be explored more.

Overall, I think this book is an interesting but not totally memorable mystery that takes a unique premise and never quite utilizes it to its full potential. But if you are looking for a cozy mystery that features a stage magician as its protagonist, something on a much smaller scale than something like Now You See Me, under Lock & Skeleton Key may be a good bet.

A thoroughly entertaining listen. A recommended purchase for collections where cozy and traditional mysteries are popular.

If I call this book Scooby Dooish would it sound like a compliment? It kind of is. This is not a thriller or even a mystery to take too seriously. It was a set up of a lot of characters which, I assume, will be built upon in a series. After all, who doesn’t love a locked room mystery? It seems like a lot less of a mystery when the people involved are known for being magicians and making hidden rooms and staircases. All you have to do is figure out the key.

I enjoyed the story more than I thought I would at the beginning. Sometimes it seemed to repeat itself or over explain and that annoyed me. I’m not a fan of that. But then it started to feel like a light-hearted, Sunday night prime-time, kind of mystery. There was a little twist at the end that hinted to a larger picture I will have to read more to discover. I look forward to that.

A disgraced magician returns home to her family and the murder of her look alike former assistant. Is her family cursed? Was she the intended victim?
Under Lock & Skeleton Key introduces a charming family, houses filled with secret passages, a locked door mystery, riddles, and magic. It’s so readable and endearing.

I was immediately drawn into this cast of characters. The story is compelling and fulfilling. I really enjoyed every piece of it.

Thank you so much to MacMillan Audio for an advanced listening copy of this audiobook.

This one was really easy to listen to and a great light mystery. It tells the story of a magician, a family curse, a construction company that creates secret rooms, etc. It was definitely unique and one-of-a-kind!

This would be perfect for fans of cozy mysteries and lighter thrillers.

I was hooked right away but it did start to drag on a little but which knocks it down for me.

This audiobook is available now!

This was really all over the place. The narrator kept me intrigued at least. If I had read this instead of listened I think it would’ve been a DNF. Not my cup of tea. Too much drama and not one straight story line. Very confusing

I found this to be a fun new twist on a mystery. Tempest is from a quirky family with a generational career history as magicians. Recently, Tempest has dealt with the disapearance of her mother, the distruction of her stage career as a magician, the ever present family curse that claims the first born to die from magic, and now....a seemingly unexplainable murder. Was she the intended victim? Was the killer sending her a message?

Pros: While it's not classified as a cozy mystery, I did get some cozy vibes but in a more youthful way with a magical twist. The characters were all really interesting and I wanted to learn more about the individual hobbies and quirks that each one has. I also really enjoyed that Pandian put Tempest in such a tight knit group and unique home setting. The references to different real-life magicians and mystery writers and murder mystery stories added a layer of relatability. I think there could be a lot of interesting ways that this could progress as a series, especially since a major pull of the story itself is Tempest and her friends/family meaning that it doesn't have to rely as heavily on the the crime/mystery itself to be enjoyable.

Audio: clear, well-paced, voice seemed to fit with the main character

Con: There are some points in which Tempest can read a little bit younger than I believe is intended so I could see many people viewing this as more of a YA mystery story.

Tempest Raj is back home. Until recently, she was headlining a magic show in Las Vegas, but a near-fatal accident ended her run, and her producers closed down her show. Having to stop early meant that she lost a lot of money, so she had to sell her house to pay everyone. She ended up back in California, moving back in with her father, into her childhood room.

Being back at home, nourished by her grandfather’s cooking, Tempest gets to spend time with her grandparents and father again, and to reconnect with old friends. She can recover from the illusion that left her underwater in a locked box for a length of time just short of deadly while a fire burned on the stage. But Tempest is certain that it was no accident. She wasn’t completely sure of who it was who rescued her, but she knows without a doubt that it was sabotage that caused the illusion to go so incredibly wrong.

But now that she’s home, she can help her father in a new way. He and Tempest’s mother had opened their own business years ago, and since her mother went missing five years ago, the business has been struggling. Her father is a builder, but it was her mother who brought her special magic to Secret Staircase Construction, a company that brings hidden rooms, secret passageways, and sliding bookcases to life. When Tempest was in Las Vegas, she could send money from her show home to help. Now that’s over, Tempest wants to help by adding some of her magic into the designs and the ideas, like her mother used to.

She goes to meet her father on his latest job, an older house that has a strange energy to it. In a small room off the kitchen that could be used as a pantry, they want to change it over to a playroom for the owner’s 6-yera-old son. But there is a coldness in the room that feels unnatural. And when the Secret Staircase team starts to open up one of the walls, they find a body. When they pull it out from the wall, they discover that it’s Tempest assistant from Las Vegas, Cassidy, who worked as Tempest’s body double.

Tempest has no idea who Cassidy ended up in the wall. She didn’t even know Cassidy was in California. And when the team went to investigate the house, to see how she had gotten into the wall, they found no way that she could have been placed there. There were no secret passageways, no openings, no way for someone to have hidden her there. Tempest was baffled. As someone who created illusions for a living, she was frustrated to be stumped on such a puzzle.

Tempest turned to the one person she knew could help with the mystery, her best friend Ivy. Since they were kids, they watched mystery movies and read books together, sharing their love of solving puzzles. Tempest and Ivy set about to figure out who would kill Cassidy and how they hid her body where Tempest would find it.

But at the same time, Tempest has to wonder if she had been the intended target. Tempest had chosen Cassidy for her magic show partly because of her resemblance to Tempest. Is it possible that someone had really wanted to kill Tempest? Or had Cassidy’s death and discovery been a warning for Tempest?

Or could it be the Raj curse, the one that had haunted her family for generations? The curse says that the firstborn in the family would die by magic. Is the curse coming for Tempest, or is it someone closer to home that is creating the danger?

Under Lock & Skeleton Key is the first in a new mystery series by Agatha Award winning author Gigi Pandian. This complex murder mystery blends magic and old-fashioned shoe leather, the wisdom of the crime novels we all grew up on and the modern tools we have now. With complex family issues and a bonus treasure hunt, this cozy offers up so much more than the typical cozy. The layers of the story is like finding a good book with its own hidden room behind the staircase, and it just keeps getting more interesting.

I got to listen to this one audio, with narrator Soneela Nonkani. I’ve listened to her read a couple of other books, and I feel like she is a bit of an acquired taste. At the beginning of the book, I felt like she was extra dramatic and she tamed her enthusiasm over the course of the book. Or I got used to her enthusiasm over the course of the book. That being said, I still really like her as a narrator. I thought she was a good match for Tempest, and she made listening to the book lots of fun. I think this would be a fun book to read, but it was also a lot of fun to listen to. Either way, Under Lock & Skeleton Key is a great addition to the mystery shelves, genuinely unique in its use of magic in solving crimes like this. and I can’t wait to see where Tempest takes us next!

An early copy of the audio book for Under Lock & Skeleton Key was provided by Macmillan Audio through NetGalley, with many thanks.

This one is full of twists and turns and mishaps and murder. Tempest is a magician/illusionist who has literally been run out of Las Vegas by her team and now is back home and trying to help her dad and his construction company, Secret Staircase Construction when who falls out of the wall but her double from her Vegas show. How did she get in the wall? Is there is family curse? Is Tempest doomed to be next? Is her mother haunting her? There are so many twists and turns but try to keep up as Tempest figures out who and where and why.