Pandian’s sixth Jaya Jones mystery (after
The Ninja’s Illusion) begins with historian Jaya receiving an unusual and intriguing offer. Her favorite author, the reclusive Rick Coronado, has asked for her help with writing his next novel and solving the real-life mystery on which it’s based. The premise: a Parisian family is cursed after an ancestor loots a rare sculpture called the Serpent King from Cambodia. Over the span of seven decades, three unsolved murders have befallen family members, routinely occurring two nights before Christmas. After the most recent murder, the Serpent King went missing. Is it a malevolent ghost or a real person out for revenge? Determined to discover the answers, Jaya embarks on a search that will take her from San Francisco to France to Cambodia.
VERDICT Charming and eclectic characters populate this Indiana Jones-esque adventure, which comes highly recommended for fans of locked-room mysteries in the manner of Agatha Christie and Elizabeth Peters.
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