About this item
From multiple award-winning author Gigi Pandian comes a series debut starring Tempest Raj, a strong new heroine who returns home to work at her father's Secret Staircase Construction company.
An impossible crime. A family legacy. The intrigue of hidden rooms and secret staircases.
After a disastrous accident derails Tempest Raj’s career, and life, she heads back to her childhood home in California to comfort herself with her grandfather’s Indian home cooked meals. Though she resists, every day brings her closer to the inevitable: working for her father’s 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 dad’s latest renovation project, her former stage double is discovered dead inside a wall that’s supposedly been sealed for more than a century. Fearing she was the intended victim, it’s up to Tempest to solve this seemingly impossible crime. But as she delves further into the mystery, Tempest can’t help but wonder if the Raj family curse that’s plagued her family for generations—something she used to swear didn’t exist—has finally come for her.
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.
About the Author
Gigi Pandian is a bestselling and Agatha Award-winning mystery author, breast cancer survivor, and accidental almost-vegan. She's the child of cultural anthropologists from New Mexico and the southern tip of India, and spent her childhood traveling around the world on their research trips. She now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and a gargoyle who watches over the garden. Gigi's novels have been described as a cross between Indiana Jones and Agatha Christie. She writes the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt mystery series (Artifact, Pirate Vishnu, Quicksand, Michelangelo's Ghost, The Ninja's Illusion, and The Glass Thief) , the Accidental Alchemist mysteries (The Accidental Alchemist, The Masquerading Magician, The Elusive Elixir, and The Alchemist's Illusion) , and locked-room mystery short stories (many are collected in The Cambodian Curse & Other Stories) .Her debut novel was awarded a Malice Domestic Grant and named a Best of 2012 Debut by Suspense Magazine, and her mysteries have also been awarded the Agatha, Rose, Lefty, and Derringer awards.
