The Rabbit's Paw Book Reviews

The Midnight Puzzle, by Gigi Pandian, is a creative mystery novel centered around some very unusual personalities that almost give this story the feel of being a fantasy. But then, these characters are stage magicians who live and breathe their craft in various ways.  Since this was my first Secret Staircase Mystery, I was unfamiliar with these personalities, so  it did feel that there were a lot of characters and backstories to keep track of. For instance, Tempest Raj, the protagonist, has had her stage career ruined by a tragic accident, but it was never clear to me exactly what occurred. I felt the same way about the fates of her mother and aunt. Actually, there were several  stories tucked into this book, perhaps too many to fully describe.  In the end, motives might have been revealed, but many details were not.  Tempest’s mentor, Nicodemus, is a fascinating character, and the concept of a construction company with the mission of bringing a bit of...

This novel, which is both historical fiction and thriller, was an entertaining and somewhat informative read for me. It begins in Cuba, in the year 1933. This scenario did confuse me at first, since I had not realized that Winston Churchill had a writing career, and actually observed the Cuban War of Independence, as a journalist. This was before he became the British Prime Minister in 1940.  The character development of Walter Thompson, who served as Churchill’s heroic bodyguard, was particularly engaging. In this story, Thompson tracks and chases would-be assassin Marcus Riley, an Irishman who wants revenge for the mistreatment of his people. Riley’s plans to kill the future prime minister involve several other men from different backgrounds, all demonstrating the various reasons why Churchill was not very popular. The plot of this story was suitably intricate, but I did find the pacing to be uneven. For instance, Marcus Reilly is center stage during the beginning of the book, ma...