THE RAVEN THIEF

A former magician uses her expertise to solve an impossible murder.

Call it magic, mentalism, or something else, but a love for all things illusory links Tempest Raj’s family, from Tempest’s past as a Vegas act to her current work with her dad constructing the Secret Staircase series’ eponymous conveyances. After wrapping a job at Lavinia Kingsley’s home, Tempest and her family, including her Grandpa Ash, are invited to the house to celebrate Lavinia’s new beginnings: Her home renovation is going hand in hand with her recent separation from author Corbin Colt, whom she’s divorcing. Lavinia is a bit of a personality, insisting on a full séance to mark the figurative death of Corbin from her life, but, as these things so often do, the figurative soon becomes literal as Corbin appears and dies midséance. How did he materialize, and who knew he’d be there and wanted him dead? Tempest is freaked out and frustrated: She wouldn’t even have been there if her friend and fellow illusionist Sanjay hadn’t been orchestrating the woo-woo action. Worse still is that Grandpa Ash appears to be the police’s primary suspect, which makes no sense because all eight attendees were holding hands throughout the time of Corbin’s murder. But then, things that look like they shouldn’t make sense are really the specialty of illusionists, aren’t they? Tempest applies her knowledge of the tricks of the trade to the puzzle of Corbin’s death, highlighting the howdunit as much as the whodunit.

Heavy dual concentrations on setup and illusion make this installment more tricky than substantive.