Puss Reboots: Blog: October 2022: The Secret Staircase

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Batman: Detective Comics, Volume 2: The Victim Syndicate by James Tynion IV, et. al.
Bird & Squirrel All or Nothing by James Burks
Blanche on the Lam by Barbara Neely and Lisa Reneé Pitts (Narrator)
The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman and George Guidall (Narrator) (re-read)
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman and Emily Rankin (Narrator)
Candy Slain Murder by Maddie Day and Laural Merlington (Narrator)
The Dachshund Wears Prada by Stefanie London
Ellen Outside the Lines by A.J. Sass
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Final Sentence by Daryl Wood Gerber
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
Harlem Sunset by Nekesa Afia and Shayna Small (Narrator)
Heartstopper: Volume Four by Alice Oseman
Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed
Huda F Are You? by Huda Fahmy
Into the Woods by J. Torres and Faith Erin Hicks (Illustrator)
The Marvelous by Claire Kann
Murder Is No Picnic by Amy Pershing and Patti Murin (Narrator)
My Dress-Up Darling, Volume 3 by Shinichi Fukuda
Noragami: Stray God, Volume 14 by Adachitoka
Osmo Unknown and the Eightpenny Woods by Catherynne M. Valente
Our Tragic Universe by Scarlett Thomas
Pint of No Return by Dana Mentink and Stephanie Nemeth-Parker (narrator)
Poultrygeist by Eric Geron and Pete Oswald (Illustrator)
The Sacred Bridge by Anne Hillerman
The Secret Staircase by Sheila Connolly and Emily Durante (Narrator)
Spy x Family, Volume 6 by Tatsuya Endo
The Suite Spot by Trish Doller
This Is a Book for People Who Love Birds by Danielle Belleny and Stephanie D Singleton (Illustrator)
Yokohama Station SF National by Yuba Isukari, Tatsuyuki Tanaka (Illustrator), and Stephen Paul (Translator)

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September 2022 Summary

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The Secret Staircase: 10/30/22

The Secret Staircase by Sheila Connolly and Emily Durante (Narrator) (2021) is the final book in the Victorian Village mystery series. Work is finally beginning in earnest on the Barton Mansion. Kate Hamilton has hired an electrician and crew, but on their first tour of the house they discover a walled up staircase and a mummified body.

Like the second book, a huge chunk of this final mystery is focused on Kate Hamilton trying to figure out how she wants to realize her vision for a restored mansion and town. With the wall torn down and a newly discovered staircase, she's further confused by possibilities.

The Secret Staircase also addresses the question of who was Mary Barton. Her story is finally revealed, thus completing the question of who the Bartons were and why the house was left essentially to the city.

Like in Crowned and Moldering by Kate Carlisle (2015), the cold case is later tied to a present day murder. This present day mystery is fairly pedestrian. It serves mostly to keep the book on a schedule. Without the modern day murder, the entire book would be Kate Hamilton being unable to make up her mind about project details.

Four stars