A Midnight Puzzle

A Secret Staircase Novel

By: Gigi Pandian

Narrated by: Soneela Nankani

Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

"Nankani executes a lovely Scottish lilt and makes each voice easily distinguishable in conversation"—AudioFile on Under Lock and Skeleton Key

In heroine Tempest Raj, modern-day queen of the locked room mystery Gigi Pandian has created a brilliant homage to the greats of classic detective fiction.

Secret Staircase Construction is under attack, and Tempest Raj feels helpless. After former client Julian Rhodes tried to kill his wife, he blamed her "accident" on the home renovation company’s craftsmanship. Now the family business—known for bringing magic into homes through hidden doors, floating staircases, and architectural puzzle walls—is at a breaking point. No amount of Scottish and Indian meals from her grandfather can distract Tempest from the truth: they’re being framed.

When Tempest receives an urgent midnight phone call from Julian, she decides to meet him at the historic Whispering Creek Theater—only to find his dead body, a sword through his chest. After a blade appears from thin air to claim another victim, Tempest is certain they’re dealing with a booby trap… something Secret Staircase Construction could easily build. Tempest refuses to wait for the investigation to turn to her or her loved ones. She knows the pieces of the puzzle are right in front of her, she just has to put them together correctly before more disaster strikes.

Multiple award-winning author Gigi Pandian and her sleuth Tempest Raj return in A Midnight Puzzle, where an old theater reveals a deadly booby trap, secrets, and one puzzle of a mystery.

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books.

©2024 Gigi Pandian (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Pandian triumphs again… with this fiendishly clever, intricately constructed whodunit. It’s another home run from a major talent.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Be warned, this book will have you turning pages well past midnight."–Vivien Chien

"A Midnight Puzzle has troublesome relationships, family secrets and—of course!—a bamboozling impossible crime.”–Catriona McPherson

5 stars

A Midnight Puzzle is an entertaining cozy mystery with engaging characters and a well written plot. I look forward to the next book.

Another great secret staircase mystery!

Love this series so much, and this latest book did not disappoint!
Artful storytelling , colorful characters and rich culture make this a fabulous read!
Gigi Pandian always brings her best when writing these wonderful stories A+
The narrator does a wonderful job and is always on point.

Kept me entertained

Just as I was getting to a point where I wasn’t sure what was going on next and maybe losing a little bit of my enthusiasm you would throw in some great information and add to the story. Truly enjoyed this book.

The mystery is fantastic!

I love the story. Gigi Pandian never disappoints. The intrigue of the mystery always fascinates me. The storytelling is always great. Thanks for such great listening pleasure.

Aerobic reading....

Another fab book from one of my favorite authors. Gigi Pandian is on my pre-order list since reading the first Jaya Jones adventure.
This is one of those delightful "but wait! There's more!" books. Heartbeat slows from racing to somewhat normal and Gigi springs another surprise. I call it 'aerobic reading'. Also the kind of book that will keep you up at night for just one more page..or in my case, almost make me late for work listening to for just a little bit more to see how it ends...but then it doesn't just yet...so I have something to look forward to on the drive home.
I love the premise of this series, with Tempest Raj as a sort of disgraced stage illusionist, coming home to help out with the family business along with trying to solve the mystery of her mother's disappearance and other mysteries from her past. The family business is construction but of the mysterious illusion kind, secret staircases, hidden doors and rooms, puzzle locks...
Plus seeing the crappe kind of people who are out there who love to take advantage of everything they possibly can and the people who are hurt by them. That's part of what is going on in this story with a client suing the family's company for apparently injuring his wife through negligence.
And the reader/listener is off and running, along for the adventure/s.
Magic, boobytraps, illusion, good versus evil...it's all here. And recipes at the end!
I can absolutely recommend this book, series and author.

Glorious Fun!

A Midnight Puzzle is clever, charming, and extremely well told. Gigi Pandian writes characters I want to know, places I want to live, and a rabbit who is invariably my favorite. Highly recommended.

Just couldn’t get into this one.

I’ve enjoyed the series. This one, though, was deadly boring until about halfway thru the audio book. Then it just felt like the same things were repeated over and over.
I love Gigi Pandian’s gargoyle series so much.

I couldn't with the narration

the mystery in and of itself was good, very on brand for the author. but the narration was off. tempest came off more panicked and whiny than some parts called for and didn't set the right tone within the conversation. I've listened to every single book Ms. Pandian has on audible, and love them all but I couldn't get all the way through this book. I'll finish it over time but I can't sit through it how I normally would

Just no

Wanted to give it one more chance after the first book in series disappointment, unfortunately it’s not getting better. Just boring and unimaginative .