The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian is a contemporary cozy mystery and the second book in the Secret Staircase Mystery series (4/5 stars)

The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian is a contemporary cozy mystery and the second book in the Secret Staircase Mystery series. I listened to the audiobook, which clocks in at nine and a half hours and is narrated by Soneela Nankani.

Tempest Raj just officially finished her first project with her father’s company, Secret Staircase Construction. The theme: classic mystery novels. To celebrate her new outlook on life without the dead weight of her cheating ex-husband, their client throws a party complete with a mock séance to remove any traces of him from the property. But then the ex turns up dead at the party and Tempest’s grandfather becomes the number one suspect.

I enjoyed the first book in this series, Under Lock and Skeleton Key, and that enjoyment continues with the second installment. We get a few more hints regarding the disappearance of Tempest’s mother, which was initially introduced in the previous book.

I like how Pandian writes banter between her characters, and she has a knack for hitting the sweet spot of whimsy. Speaking of banter, the audiobook narrator does a great job voicing all the different characters, especially the ones that have various accents.

I did end up deducing the true murderer here, but not for lack of obfuscation!

Tropes in this book include: cozy mystery, locked room mystery

CW: death, murder, assault, kidnapping

I received a copy of this book to review. All opinions contained herein are my own. The Raven Thief releases on Tuesday, March 21st, 2023.

If you want to see more from me, check out my bookstagram!