BOOK REVIEW: The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian

What starts with a broken typewriter ends in murder....

If I ever built my own house, it would be the most absurd looking structure…ever. Maybe that’s part of the allure of this series for me. I love that the backdrop to everything is the Secret Staircase Construction Company, which Tempest, our main character, works part time and which is owned by her father. What book lover wouldn’t want that secret bookshelf hidden passage and secret rooms?

Under Lock and Skeleton Key, which was book 1 of the series, felt a little calmer in the construction aspect, this one took it to a whole other level with the construction of “Lavinia’s Lair” a hillside basement completely reconstructed to house a newly divorced and bitter woman’s, home office, reading nook, and book club meeting space. I mean, come on, the little “cozy pub” created is called The Oxford Comma!!!!!

The summary in a nutshell: In a metaphorical attempt to rid her house of her ex-husband, Lavinia hosts a fake séance with her nearest and dearest friends. The only issue is that in the middle of it, said ex-husband seems to fall out of the sky and onto the table, dead. What ensues is the unsanctioned investigation by Tempest to identify the killer and clear her grandfather’s name after he is arrested for the murder.

I won’t say that it is a complicated or challenging read, or that it is even complex. I will, however, say that it is a fun, cozy read that I highly enjoyed. I love the main cast of characters including Tempest, Sanjay, Gideon, Ivy and Tempest’s family. Her grandparents are sassy and important characters, both in Tempest’s character and in the plot. Pandian does a great job of character development. As this is a series, the development is more of a slow arc as there is time to explore and progress; not everything has to be revealed right away. Tempest is still the Tempest she was created to be in book 1, but she is beginning to settle into her new life back home.

The inclusion of new characters mixed with old characters allows for interactions that support our already developed characters to show new sides and increase their depth. Tempest isn’t one who just sits back and listens to the advice on what is best for her. She takes matters into her own heads and simply acts before she thinks. She’s also a total bad influence on her friends, but, alas, it does make it all more fun. It’s also pretty easy to jump to wrong conclusions when there are already so many misdirections the further they get into their murder investigation.

The plot itself in this one was more sophisticated than that of the first book. I really enjoyed all the nuances and twists this one took. As with most books that have that element of mystery, I was constantly cataloging the why, how and who of Corbin Colt’s very unusual murder as the characters discovered new information. There are enough transitions and developing events that move the plot along without it slowing or getting predictable. There are several people who come to have motives and thus the goal is to decipher who had the motive, means and lack of moral fiber to carry it out. As with any good cozy, locked room, impossible mystery there are plenty of misdirections and overlooked details.

There come to be four impossibilities that Tempest must work through and as she and her friends slowly solve each one, it draws you in even more. I didn’t feel rushed to try to figure out the answers on my own. It’s not because I wasn’t invested in the story or cared, but the opposite. It was because I was invested in all aspects of the characters’ lives and storylines. Pandian achieved this, in part, by her detailed descriptions, the ease of her structure, and the creativity of how it all works together. 

This is a story focused on the love of family, of loyalty and the lengths people will go through for those they love to find the truth and protect the innocent. We see this not only in all the choices that Tempest makes, but also in the developments surrounding the unsolved disappearance  and suspected death of Tempest’s mother years ago. These developments come about through the actions of other family members as an o-going subplot woven throughout all the books in the series. It’s all motivated through that love of family and need for closure.

Where does this land on my bookshelf?

It’s on the top shelf. Not at the tippy top, but I enjoyed this book and will continue to read all future books in the series. I loved the multiple literary references, especially those to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, but there are many others throughout the story. The freakiness of the Ravens and how they fit into everything and trying to maneuver through all the misdirections and impossibilities are just a few of the reasons that this book and this series in general is fun and so worth the read. I highly recommend giving this a go. It’s a perfect summer read. Bonus - there are recipes at the end of the book!

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