A Midnight Puzzle by Gigi Pandian

A Midnight Puzzle

by Gigi Pandian narrated by Soneela Nankani

I have been impatiently waiting for this audiobook to be released.  I was excited when I learned that I could review the eALC for NetGalley.

First, let me tell you how I learned of this great series.  I am a HUGE fan of the narrator.  I absolutely love the work of Soneela Nankani and I was wanting something to read, but really didn't feel like tackling my TBL pile.  Well, I did a search to see what books Soneela Nankani narrated and came across this series about a stage magician, locked room mysteries and hidden rooms.  I was intrigued.  

Let me tell you that Soneela doesn't disappoint with her voicing of the characters.  From creating the accents for the Indian grandparents to the Scottish grandmother to her American friends, Soneela seems to manage it all without skipping a beat.

As for the story, most cozy mysteries you can skip around in the series without an issue.  However, in this particular book, I advise that you read the first 2 books before reading this.  Thankfully, you have over a month to get that done before this one is published.  The reason that I say this is because the first 2 lay out some much-needed groundwork for the main mystery that takes place in this book.

Tempest Raj's family has been under the impression that there has been a family curse that takes the lives of some of the stage magicians in her family.  First her great uncle, then her aunt and finally her mom, all while performing on stage.  However, she feels that the deaths of her aunt and her mom may not really be a curse, but murder and she is out to prove who killed them.  

Tempest Raj works for her dad's construction crew at Secret Staircase Construction.  This is one of the coolest construction companies around.  If you want to have a secret room built into your home, then they would be the ones to call.  If you want to have some other secret feature built, they would be the one to call.  In each of the books, they would describe some of the different features and my mind would go into overdrive dreaming up the elaborate designs.  I have always wanted to have cool things like that.  In fact, when I was a kid, me and my next-door neighbor wanted an underground tunnel built between our pools.  That way we could swim between the two.  This would be the company that would be called to build such a tunnel.  

However, one of their recent clients has brought a lawsuit against them and has called their very reputation into question.  Tempest goes to work with her friends to find out the truth behind the allegations.  In doing so, she finds out much more than she bargains.

Once again, Gigi Panian has written a wonderfully constructed story of murder, mystery and magic.  I was easily lost in the story and felt that I was right there alongside Tempest as she uncovered all the hidden clues to solve not only the case involving the recent client, but also the murder of her mom and aunt.  

It was so nice to see all of the returning characters who have become like family.  And I really hope that this series continues.  There are so many more adventures that they can take us on.  

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for providing me with a free copy of the audiobook in exchange for an open and honest review.