A review by allisonwonderlandreads
Under Lock & Skeleton Key by Gigi Pandian

lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This might just be my new favorite cozy mystery. The story has elements of stage magic, secret rooms, and a family curse. Our intrepid investigator is Tempest, forcibly retired from her Vegas illusion act because of sabotage at her last show that nearly resulted in her death. Back home and in close quarters with her family again, she's directionless and isolated. Until a dead body falls out of the wall. And not just any body, but that of Tempest's former stage double and suspected saboteur. That's when the haunting starts. The mournful fiddle music of the mother who disappeared five years ago keeps Tempest up at night as she tries to figure out the impossible crime of how a recent murder victim wound up in a fifty-year-old wall. There are misdirections so layered and twisty that I didn't know the who, how, or why of the crime until Tempest explained it to me. And to me, that is the ideal, exciting outcome of a locked room mystery.

Beyond the mystery itself, this was a masterful take on cozy elements. I get frustrated by books in the genre that are so cozy as to be insulated from real life. In this take, the characters have multiple dimensions and real problems to contend with. It's also a diverse cast, and the author explicitly comments on racism in the context of crime. I honestly don't think I can be satisfied with a crime story that doesn't address those intersections. Also, the bonds of family and friendship are imperfect and yet welcoming. It doesn't fall flat in trying to show a fake ideal, instead showing us something living, breathing, and loving. It made me want to move to Hidden Creek right now so I can read mysteries in a train car, search for hidden doors at Fiddler's Folly, and stuff my face with Ash's delicious concoctions in the treehouse kitchen. Don't mind me as I see what Google Maps can do.

Thanks to Minotaur Books for my copy to read and review! 
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