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 magic into people’s lives is fabulous. Those are
a couple things I will certainly remember for a long time. It was a fun read.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this opportunity.
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