Tempest Raj’s career as a master illusionist came to a disastrous end on stage in Las Vegas. With threats of lawsuits and rumors rapidly compounding, Tempest heads to her childhood home in California. There she finds the comforts of her grandfather’s famous cooking, her grandmother’s warm embrace, and her father’s fierce protectiveness. She also finds Ivy, her once-upon-a-time best friend with whom she had a falling out with in high school, who now works for her father in the family business, Secret Staircase Construction. Secret Staircase Construction designs and builds secret rooms, treehouses, and the like for homeowners.

When her dad calls her for help on his latest project, Tempest is glad to be of service. Until her stage-double, Cassidy, makes an appearance. She is found dead in a sealed room, hidden within the walls. Everyone is certain it was supposed to be Tempest. A decades long family curse has killed members of her family for years, including her mother. Tempest isn’t so sure and sets out to find the truth. The truth about Cassidy, and the truth about her family lineage. This is one illusion Tempest will reveal, even if it kills her.

UNDER LOCK & SKELETON KEY is your cozy mystery must read for summer. This book hooked me from page one and didn’t let go until the stunning conclusion. First, the descriptiveness of the secret rooms in this novel would be enough to cover one entire book. Who doesn’t love the idea of opening an armoire and being transported to a secret room? And that’s just one example of many. The characters, oh the characters in this book! They are so diverse, with so many backgrounds and so many stories, they will take ahold of your heart and not let go. My favorite dynamic duo in any series thus far is that of Tempest and Ivy. These two are the perfect mystery solving duo, Tempest with her illusionist mind and Ivy with her vast knowledge of the mystery genre make the perfect crime solving pair. The locked-room mystery, or illusion if you will, was so well-plotted readers will think they have it figured out, only to be hit with a twist, again and again.  

UNDER LOCK & SKELETON KEY is the first book in the new Secret Staircase Mystery series, and let me tell you, you do not want to miss out on this book!