Features The Big Thrill Recommends: A MIDNIGHT PUZZLE by Gigi Pandian

The Big Thrill Recommends: A MIDNIGHT PUZZLE by Gigi Pandian

Recommendation by G A Rivers

USA Today bestseller and multiple award-winning author Gigi Pandian presents Tempest Raj and her gang of sleuths for another exciting Secret Staircase Mystery.

Tempest, now living in her childhood bedroom after her career as a Las Vegas stage illusionist fell apart the previous summer, receives a midnight call to meet the man who tried to kill his wife before blaming the near miss on a staircase built by her father and threatening the family business with an expensive lawsuit. He demands Tempest meet him at the abandoned theater, and when a worried Tempest arrives, the man is dead, pinned to the theater’s door by a sword launched from an apparent booby trap. Police and EMTs arrive to investigate, and another blade and booby trap wound an EMT. Troubles mount when a note is found pinned to the door, written by Tempest herself.

Tempest explains that the note must have been torn from one of her notebooks, but the reason the killer left it is a mystery, one that compels Tempest to search for the murderer. With help from family and friends, she follows a series of clues and twists and turns in a tale that is as engaging and multi-dimensional as the characters themselves. The writing is excellent, and author Pandian skillfully weaves in a backstory regarding the haunting and unsolved death of Tempest’s mother, setting the stage for an unexpected and satisfying ending.

What’s not to like about a mystery that unravels a murder and a legendary family curse while showcasing career magicians and illusionists, and homes with hidden staircases and complex puzzles built into their ceilings, all served up with generous portions of Southern Indian food (recipes included)? It’s a true delight. Don’t begin reading A MIDNIGHT PUZZLE too late in the day—you’ll be up past midnight puzzling through Tempest and the gang’s quest to find the killer.

A MIDNIGHT PUZZLE by Gigi Pandian