I’m so grateful to so many people who helped with this book!
Thank you to my publishing team at Minotaur Books and the St. Martin’s Publishing Group, including Madeline Houpt, Kayla Janas Sarah Melnyk, Mac Nicolas, Gabriel Guma, Benjamin Allen, Ken Silver, and Cathy Turiano, who all do so much behind the scenes. At Macmillan Audio, I’m lucky to have phenomenal audiobook narrator Soneela Nankani as the voice of the Secret Staircase Mysteries, and audiobook producer Elishia Merricks making each book even better than the last. And my brilliant agent Jill Marsal, who’s been with me from the start.
I don’t know where I’d be without my critique readers, brainstorm partners, and writer pals. There are too many folks to name here (the list would fill a book on its own), but special thanks to Nancy Adams, Juliet Blackwell, Ellen Byron, Shelly Dickson Carr, Kellye Garrett, Jeff Marks, Sujata Massey, Lisa Q. Mathews, Emberly Nesbitt, Brian Selfon, and Diane Vallere. And the mystery writers groups where I find so much camaraderie and learn so much: Crime Writers of Color, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime.
Thank you to architectural historian and museum curator Lauren Northup and Cloverdale police chief Jason Ferguson, who generously answered my research questions but also told me not to let how they’d do things get in the way of a good story! And thank you to Catriona McPherson, who set me straight when I misused Scottish expressions. Any liberties and mistakes in these pages are my own.
To the booksellers, librarians, reviewers, podcasters, and bloggers who tell readers about my books, I can’t thank you enough.
My family, you’re truly the best. Thank you for putting up with me as I disappear into my writing cave for long stretches of time—which I’m doing once more as I work on the next Secret Staircase Mystery. Tempest and her Scooby gang have many more mysteries to solve, and I’ve got so many more stories to tell, so you’re in it with me for the long haul.
And last, but far from least, my wonderful readers! It’s because of you that I’m lucky enough to be a mystery novelist. Thank you for your continued enthusiasm for my books. I love hearing from you. You can contact me and sign up for my email newsletter at www.gigipandian.com.