Tempest Raj, a former magician, starts her life over in her childhood house. After the disaster that caused her to lose her job, she knows that her next step is to work for her family's business- Secret Staircase Construction, an intriguing company that creates magical spaces within people's homes. While on a job with her father, Tempest's stage double is found dead in a wall, with no way for her having gotten in there. How and why did this happen? And was that supposed to be Tempest in the wall?

This book started off as a solid 3 star read for me- no big complaints and nothing I hated, but it was just an average read. However, somewhere along the way, I felt like I got to know Tempest as a friend and I became enamored with the Agatha Christie and locked room mystery references. We started to unravel the mystery more and more, and I couldn't wait to see how it was all pulled off. This is what bumped my rating up to 4 stars. I've always liked the magic shows on TV as a child, and I was always simultaneously stuck between wanting to know how they did it and not wanting to steal the magic from myself. This book was the best parts of that.

Thanks to NetGalley & MacMillan for providing a digital audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I saw this book described recently as "Scooby Doo for Grownups," and I guess that's accurate. It flows like a middle grade children's book. The protagonist, Tempest, is a former magician whose career was ended by an accident that she thinks was caused by her stage double. Her dad owns a company that installs secret staircases, locked rooms, etc. in people's houses. During one of these installs, a corpse is discovered in one of the walled up rooms, supposedly sealed for 100 years - but the corpse is the aforementioned stage double. Dun dun dun!

I mean, it's a great concept. Unfortunately, Tempest is a whiny, self-pitying millennial. It didn't help that Soneela Nankani is the kind of voice actor who overenunciates each word, doesn't do much differentiation between voices (oh, except when she does the voice of Tempest's Scots gramma, of course, or her Indian grampa) and just brings so much unnecessary EXTRA-ness to the proceeding that I had to quit.

I really like the premise of the novel, but it really does read like a kids' book, and man is it s l o w. I just couldn't get into it. It might be better as a regular book or with a better voice actor, but this one was Not For Me.

For those who love magic, this is a wonderful read. I was intrigued by the profession of the father of Tempest (the main character and narrator). He owns a building company which builds hidden staircases and rooms. Throughout the book secret curses, rooms, and other mysteries are introduced in this great family centered book. I really enjoyed the twists throughout the book, as well, as the riddles.

I loved the narrator was great. She conveyed the mystery and personality of the characters very well.

This was everything I hoped it would be. The writing style and development of the characters was perfect. I loved the main characters and how full and real her family members felt. The overarching mystery definitely grabbed my attention from the start and I had no guesses or theories by the end. I also really enjoyed the paranormal element, and hope that continues throughout the series. Definitely recommend for those who love cozy mysteries and love mysteries that have paranormal elements. I cannot wait to read more from this author and this series!!

I didn’t love this one. I thought it was a little immature and had more of a YA feel.

This is definitely a multi layered who-dunnit mystery. I just found the chapters to be annoyingly short and very little character development. Towards the end I couldn’t keep up with the “guilty” parties coming out of the woodwork.

Overall was a fun light mystery but was not one of my favorites.

This book had it all, a mystery, some magic, an interesting back story, family history and great characters. Tempest is such an interesting main character. She is a magician and I love the illusions that are described in the story. She's also just returned home after losing her job as a performer in Las Vegas. Her family all lives on a compound together, so she is coming home to her Dad and her grandparents. The house that they live in sounds amazing with all of the secret stairways and nooks and crannies to explore. This is a unique mystery that had many surprises, but also the characters are so engaging that I didn't want the book to end. The narrator added to my enjoyment of this audio book with the different accents that were used for different characters. A wonderful start to a new series!

I received a complimentary copy of this audio book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Abracadabra!

Tempest Raj is taking a break from her Vegas magic act after a terrible accident happened on stage. Returning to her childhood home, she enjoys eating her Indian grandfather’s delicious meals. However, she feels that she is slowly being pulled into the family business, Secret Staircase Construction. When she visits one of her father’s job sites, she discovers her former stage double dead inside a wall. How did she get inside the wall? Was she murdered? Was Tempest the intended victim? Has the family curse finally come for her?

What I loved: Abracadabra, Tempest’s adorable and sneaky bunny sidekick 🐰. It’s a fabulous name for a magician’s pet! The lengthy food descriptions made my mouth water. Yum!

What didn’t work for me: The audiobook is read very slowly and does not improve when sped up. Instead, it just sounds robotic. It would have been better if there was an option for a custom speed on the NetGalley app between 1 and 1.25. I listened on 1 because it was easier on the ears, but it took longer than I would have preferred to finish it. The plot is reminiscent of a Scooby Doo episode, which lends itself to a YA vibe. This is also highlighted by the fact that it reads like a coming of age novel, even though Tempest is in her twenties. It is also a very slow burn mystery as the real action only started at around 60%.

While the plot wrapped up nicely, this is the first book in the series, so there will be more cozy mysteries to come!

3/5 stars

Expected publication date 3/15/22

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC of Under Lock and Skeleton Key in exchange for an honest review.

Another wonderful narration by Soneela Nankani! This audiobook was so enjoyable with its quirky magicians, secret staircases and Indian background. Not to mention a pet rabbit! The impact of a small town murder on Tempest, her career and family is emotionally driven and well written. I will be recommending this one!

This book had the bones for a great story - a Secret Staircase business run by a family of magicians, a locked room mystery and a curse to boot-but it fell a bit flat for me. Maybe it’s because it’s the first in a series and the author wanted to stretch it out, but the character development and relationships between the characters left a lot to be desired. I didn’t really connect with any characters nor did I feel much connection between the characters with each other. The first half of the book was very slow and I thought about DNFing several times. The mystery was pretty impossible to figure out as there were so many pieces to it so that was good as a predictable locked room mystery isn’t all that fun. However, I was still dissatisfied with how it all played out. Once all the pieces were revealed there was no wow factor, no mind-blowing twist. I’m interested enough in the seeing the characters develop more and in the Secret Staircase company (what a dream job!) to see where else their stories will lead but I hope the next mystery has a bit more oomph to it.

Thank you NetGalley, author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I went out of my typical reading genres and gave this book a try because the cover and the premise appealed to me. I was glad that I did. The mystery is very good even for an avid mystery reader like myself I was not able to predict events before they occurred. I also enjoyed the food descriptions it really helped bring me into the story. Overall I really enjoyed this book and it was a nice break from the darker fiction that I tend to read. Highly recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio who sent me an ARC audiobook of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Enjoyment: 5
Total rating: 4.5

An impossible crime. A family legacy. The intrigue of hidden rooms and secret staircases.

Tempest's family owns Secret Staircase Construction, specializing in sliding bookcases, intricate locks, backyard treehouses, and hidden reading nooks.

Her career is going through a pretty rough patch, so she moves back home and fears she will inevitably end up joining the family biz. On a visit to her dad's latest project, her former stage double is discovered dead inside a wall that's supposedly been sealed for more than a century. Tempest fears she was the intended victim and jumps in to solve the crime before either the killer or the family curse gets her.

Under Lock and Skeleton Key is a modern-day homage to golden age mystery with tons of tongue-in-cheek references. I especially loved the focus on Carr's Dr. Fell, who is one of my fave detectives but not often mentioned. Our heroine and entourage reminded me of Dr. Fell in dialogue, humour and wits.

This book reads like a cozy mystery, but it isn't quite one. It is an easy-to-read mystery that will be the perfect gateway into the genre and still please avid fans.

Pandian stuck to the rules of the golden age mysteries and delivered a tightly and fairly plotted story, with delightful characters and addictive prose. I cannot wait to see more of Maggie, her friends and her family!

Soneela Nankani's narration is out of this world enjoyable. She really brought all the humourous nuances to life and had the perfect pacing and delivery.

Disclaimer: In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing a copy of Under Lock & Skeleton Key.

I was really looking forward to this novel, but it turned out to be quite the disappointment.

Our protagonist, Tempest, is the latest in the long line of magicians, who have been suffering from an unusual curse. After an accident during one of her performances, Tempest loses her contract at the venue, her house, and her confidence in herself. With nowhere else to go, she heads back to her childhood home.

Her father owns a construction company which specializes in hidden rooms, When she visits their latest project, the crew finds her former stage double dead inside a wall. But that wall had supposedly been sealed for at least the past 50 years. Worried that the family curse is finally coming for her and that she was the actual intended victim, she decides to figure out what really happened.

One of the main issues is how unlikeable Tempest is. She is not a protagonist you root for, and despite many opportunities for self-reflection and character growth, Tempest remains the same unlikeable, childish, and petty woman throughout the book. I am not sure if this is supposed to be YA since Tempest is 26, but she is written like a 15 year old.

Secondly, this book is way, way, way too long. It could have been edited down by half, at least, and we should would have gotten too much detail. The prose is not sensical at time, the conversations are not natural, and there is far too much unnecessary detail. The storyline also felt a bit too twee (and unbelievable) - the curse, the family business, the fantastical storytelling her mom used with new clients...It felt very much like a children's book masquerading as a novel. The motive for the murder was not really believable and was paper-thin at best. It all just felt extremely silly.

The last complaint is in regards to all the weird references to Tempest's dad's looks....there are numerous descriptions of how strong he is, how big, his muscles, etc. This is our protagonists' dad, and it felt gross.

Overall, this was an interesting idea that lacked maturity and execution.

What a fun premise for a cozy murder mystery! Magicians, stunt doubles, rabbits, secret rooms , family curses and murder.
Tempest Raj’s is the newest amateur detective on the scene. Hope to see many more mysteries solved in the future!
Highly recommend for all mystery fans.
Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillian audio for the advance copy of the audiobook.

I really wanted to like this book. The premise was interesting. The cast of characters were different than some cozies, which kind of set this one apart. But unfortunately tempest the protagonist was terrible. Within the first few chapters she had already had an outburst that made me immediately want to not finish the book.
Never times were she was acting so entailed and childish she was unlikable. And when she wasn’t having an outburst it was so hard to forget how terribly she was treating other people that she just wasn’t relatable at all. If they’re going to make another book I would give it a try if Tempest addresses her anger issues. Lol. In all honesty in a second book the author could totally change some aspects of her personality and chalk it up to personal growth. For this book to be a successful serious it needs that. The narrator to the flying job it’s not her fault that the writing wasn’t that good. I just want to say once again that Tempest is what is wrong with this book. Everything else was OK even enjoyable at times but having such a terrible protagonist made the book downright dreadful to listen to.

I am a huge fan of the Jaya Jones series by this author so I thought for sure I would love this one, too. What makes the other series work for me is the historical factor, the artifacts Jaya is looking for make it so interesting. In more recent ones, there has been more magic involved and I’ve dealt with it even if it wasn’t my favorite part. This series dives right into the magical aspect and I was not a fan of it. There is an interesting mystery here and it does keep you guessing but there’s so much magic wrapped up in this story that I couldn’t really get into it. The descriptions of the food was a nice bonus for this story, particularly the ube cake! Otherwise, this one was just not for me.

The narration was well done, no issues.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the Audio ARC in exchange for an honest review. Release Date: 3/15/22

Tempest a magician returns home to her parents house after she is fired from her job after being accused of performing tricks that could kill her.
Her family owns secret staircase construction where they install secret spaces in homes. Tempest is used to this because she grew up in a house that was full of secret passageways. While at one of the construction sites Tempest finds her stage double and doppelgänger dead inside a wall. Afraid it could be the family curse mistaking her doppelgänger for her she goes on a quest to find answers.
Lots of things happen throughout the story and Tempest friend Ivy (who also works for the construction company) helps solve the mystery with her.
This book was fun. It’s a lot different than the other cozy mysteries I’ve read. There’s lots of fun secret rooms, quirky characters bunny named abra and food. It’s a nice start to a new series and I can’t wait for the next one to come out!
#NetGalley #Macmillianaudio

Susan Tunis's reviewMar 07, 2022 · edit
it was amazing

4.5 stars. I've been a fan of Gigi's Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt adventures since all the way, all the way back when the first novel was self-published! Therefore, I was pretty excited to get my hands on a copy of the launch of a new series. Let me cut to the chase--it was everything I could have hoped for!

Now let me get more specific. Tempest Raj is a great character to build the series around for a variety of reasons. She's a stage illusionist from a family of magicians. An intriguingly diverse family, and a charming one as well! Fans of her work know that there's a major secondary character in many of her stories and novels who is also an illusionist. You will be delighted to know that the Hindu Houdini is poised to play an even bigger role in this series. It's finally Sanjay's turn to shine. And will there be a Jaya Jones crossover one day? Who can say? Gigi does an excellent job, in this series launch, of surrounding Tempest with a great supporting cast of characters.

I've never attended a magic show in my life, and I haven't felt deprived, but that world of stagecraft and illusion is a fascinating backdrop for a mystery. (Are there any Jonathan Creek fans in the house?) But even cooler than the magic, is the other family business, the one that gives the series it's name. Tempest's mother was an illusionist, but her dad was a carpenter. Together, they formed Secret Staircase Construction, which specializes in hidden rooms, trick bookcases, and yes, secret staircases. Everything about this is so indescribably cool that I desperately need to know if an operation like this exists! Due to the plot of this inaugural novel--which I don't feel the need to get into at all--we get to see a lot of Secret Staircase. We hear about some of their greatest projects, meet the staff, learn of their talents. Does this sound fun? It's all really fun!

Gigi's novels are very light. Truthfully, they'll be too light for some readers. But they're absolutely perfect for me when I just want to read something that isn't going to challenge me too much, and will have me smiling the entire time I'm reading. For me, they are comfort reading in the same way that Rhys Bowen's Her Royal Spyness series is. This is a new series with mostly new characters. It's got a delightfully familiar Gigi Pandian vibe, but with limitless potential. This first one's not out for a week, and I'm already chomping at the bit for book 2!

Thanks to the publisher for providing me an advanced audiobook copy of Under Lock & Skeleton Key by Gigi Pandian.

The narrator of the book was great.

As a long-time lover of fiction, but specifically mysteries, Under Lock & Skeleton Key really took me back to my early childhood years of mystery-loving. I mean the setting of this story is in a home and business where there are seemingly endless options for hidden stairs and hidden doors. Tempest's dad builds them for a living and their own home is full of them.

I love that this is the start of a series because the setting and backstory of the characters lends itself well to mysteries from both the past and new ones. The characters were all likeable and I keep finding myself thinking back on different aspects of the story over and over, which makes the book more memorable than most cozy mysteries are for me.

I will be recommending this book to more people than I usually do since it will appeal to my friends who prefer mysteries that are more of a PG rating than a Rated PG-13 or R. There was very little objectionable material for even the most innocent readers. And I defy anyone to read this story and NOT start imagining all the possible secret spots that there could be in his/her own home!

Thank you netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting and fun book. Also a fast read. The MC was a bit weird and kept doing twirls and back bends randomly... She's mid 20s so I found it odd. But it's who she is I guess. I didn't really love any of the characters but I did enjoy the plot.

A fun, light read with a lot of unique elements.
The mixture of cultural influences from all over the world woven into the story was interesting and fun to read. I enjoyed the big cast of characters, though I had a bit of trouble keeping all of them straight - many didn't get much more than a cursory introduction.
Hidden rooms and secret spaces have always been a fascination for me, and the creativity of the secret places in this story was fantastic.. Rather than the exploration and discovery of those spaces, this book sticks to more of an all-knowing "look this exists" style. Understandable though, considering the story features employees of a company who live in and construct these spaces. I love learning the behind the scenes of magic tricks and illusions, which I expected to see often in this story starring a magician. This book reads more like one written by an outsider, with very few tricks explained. I didn't get the impression the author understood the functioning of the illusions beyond how they appear to an audience. Sad for me, but great for readers who prefer to maintain the veil of secrecy surrounding magic shows.
The mystery/magic/murder plot felt a bit far-fetched and a number of details didn't ring true for me - fairly normal for my nitpicky self reading a fluffy story. There were several scenes that felt as if they were written to be spooky, thought the creepiness didn't quite succeed. The constant slightly dramatic narration style isn't one I personally enjoy, but narrator did a fine job performing it. As far as I can tell, she did an excellent job with an occasional accent.
And oh, the food! I had never heard of most of the dishes and couldn't properly imagine what they taste like. That didn't stop me from wishing for magic treehouse grandparents next door to ply me with delicious homemade food. I'll appreciate them more than Tempest did!