Under Lock & Skeleton Key: A Secret Staircase Mystery (Secret Staircase Mysteries, 1)

Wildly entertaining." The New York Times Book Review A Lefty Nominee for Best Mystery Novel Known for her wonderfully addictive characters, multiple award-winning author Gigi Pandian introduces her newest heroine in this heartfelt series debut. Under Lock & Skeleton Key layers stunning architecture with mouthwatering food in an ode to classic locked-room mysteries that will leave readers enchanted. An impossible crime. A family legacy. The intrigue of hidden rooms and secret staircases. After a disastrous accident derails Tempest Rajs career, and life, she heads back to her childhood home in California to comfort herself with her grandfathers Indian home-cooked meals. Though she resists, every day brings her closer to the inevitable: working for her fathers company. Secret Staircase Construction specializes in bringing the magic of childhood to all by transforming clients homes with sliding bookcases, intricate locks, backyard treehouses, and hidden reading nooks. When Tempest visits her dads latest renovation project, her former stage double is discovered dead inside a wall thats supposedly been sealed for more than a century. Fearing she was the intended victim, its up to Tempest to solve this seemingly impossible crime. But as she delves further into the mystery, Tempest cant help but wonder if the Raj family curse thats plagued her family for generationssomething she used to swear didnt existhas finally come for her.