Quicksand

Written by Gigi Pandian

Narrated by Allyson Ryan

Historian Jaya Jones finds herself on the wrong side of the law during an art heist at the Louvre. To redeem herself, she follows clues from an illuminated manuscript that lead from the cobblestone streets of Paris to the quicksand-surrounded fortress of Mont Saint-Michel.

With the help of enigmatic Lane Peters and a 90-year-old stage magician, Jaya delves into France's colonial past in India to clear her name and catch a killer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Aug 18, 2015
• ISBN: 9781494584573

Gigi Pandian

GIGI PANDIAN is the USA Today bestselling and multiple-award-winning author of the Secret Staircase mysteries, inspired by elements from her own family background. She is also the author of the Accidental Alchemist mysteries, the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt mysteries, and more than a dozen locked-room mystery short stories. Pandian has won Agatha, Anthony, Lefty, and Derringer awards, and was a finalist for an Edgar Award. A breast cancer survivor and accidental almost-vegan who adores cooking, she lives with her husband in Northern California.

Reviews for Quicksand

[redhead.with.book · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the first book I've read by Gigi Pandian and found it to be so much fun! It is #3 in the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery but can easily be read as a stand-alone. I plan to go back and read the first two novels in the series.

Jaya Jones receives a mysterious letter and airline ticket to Paris from a former love interest who she hasn't heard from in months. She is torn between her new teaching assignment and pursuing the mystery of the French occupation in India. What she doesn't expect is the danger that awaits her!

It was a fast-paced Indiana-Jones style story that kept me glued to the pages. It's a clean cozy mystery with plenty of excitement, romance and intriguing characters. I love history, especially anything about India and France and found the subject to be interesting and educational. I really liked Jaya's character as a historian (I like smart female leads). The writing style was friendly and personal and I could really relate with what Jaya was thinking. Plenty of plot twists keep you interested until the end of the book.

This series would make a great TV series!

[murderbydeath · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Halfway through this one I was thinking 3/3.5 stars because the beginning, the premise, was far-fetched, even for a cozy series that has a strong Indiana Jones feel to it. Once I got beyond that though, the story was fun. It's a cozy adventure... a treasure hunt complete with clues in the form of illuminated manuscript scraps and bad guys racing to get there first. If you're looking for dead bodies, you'll be disappointed. The plot concerns a secret room underneath an old abbey, rumoured to contain vast treasure appropriated from India just before the French Revolution and hidden by the monks to protect it from being looted. As seems to be then norm with Gigi Pandian's writing, a lot of the story here is tied to historical facts and any liberties she takes with actual people or events she details in an author's note at the back. How can you not like a treasure hunt story that teaches history at the same time? It was fun, it was well-written, and it kept me entertained well enough to distract me from having a cold. I can't ask for much more than that from a story.

[kevn57-163679 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I just love how the author has used her real life experiences and true historical events to craft am action adventure novel. If you like Indiana Jones, Dan Brown, kick ass heroines or history this is the book and series for you.

I love that the author was present IRL when the Louvre was robbed and worked it into this novel, that is so cool. I wonder how close Jaya is to Gigi?

[mariad. · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received as complimentary copy of this book as a part of a book tour for a fair and honest review. I rated it 4 out of 5 stars.As I started reading Quicksand by Gigi Pandian, I was somehow reminded of the beginning of the song Que Sera Sera, mostly because when I was a little girl I wanted to be a globe-trotting historian who solved mysteries and was the female version of Indiana Jones. While I became something else when I grew up, I still get to live out my fantasies through books and even though I had not read the two previous books in the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery series, I was able to read and enjoy this book on its own. If you like quirky characters, solving mysteries and a touch of romance, then you’re going to want to read this book.Settled in San Francisco and hoping on the tenure track at a local university, historian Jaya Jones knows she should be happy but she still feels as if something is missing. When a letter with first class ticket to Paris arrives from Lane Peters, a somewhat recent fling, she’s not sure if she should go but lets her friends, and her boss, talk her into going for “research” purposes. Only when she arrives in Paris things are worse than she could have imagined and she finds herself being blackmailed into helping commit a crime. Ms. Pandian does a good job developing her characters throughout the story; I easily connected with Jaya and found her smart, funny and adventuresome, which can sometimes lead to trouble. The secondary characters were also well developed and I found Jaya’s friends colorful and a good fit for her intellect and personality (one even plays a Sitar, though she states he does it badly). While I liked Lane Peters character, and the touch of romance was nice, his past led to all sorts of issues (hello blackmail!) and I’m not sure he’ll ever be able to walk away from it. The two mysteries were well developed and took plenty of twists and turns and kept things interesting. The story’s pace was good and there was plenty of action, both verbally and physically. The villains were colorful and added just the right amount of tension to the story. I enjoyed reading Jaya’s exploits as she stumbles across clues and discoveries while trying to make sure she and Lane come out of this adventure alive and free from the police. Will Jaya uncover the mystery behind the stolen item? Will she make an important archeological discovery at the same time? You’ll have to read Quicksand to find out, I enjoyed it and plan to go back and read the previous books, Artifact and Pirate Vishnu to see what other adventures Jaya has gotten into.

[melinda_hence · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

One incredibly smart narrative with highly intelligent characters. I found both narrative and characters quite appealing. The plot has an interactive feeling with undeniably charismatic characters, you try to solve the mystery with them every step of the way. Fabulous historical elements cement the solidity of the storyline.Sébastien quickly became my favorite, his zest for life, his vibrant personality jumps off the pages. Jaya possesses all the ingredients for a standout female protagonist. I like Lane but I am rooting for Sanjay. Lane’s past seems impossible to escape, truthfully he comes across as insincere in turning over a new leaf, I sense hesitation. Ghosts from his past will manage to track him down and their demands place those in his life at risk. Jaya doesn’t seem the type attracted to bad boys, she’s far too pragmatic, Sanjay’s her best man.Exciting, fast paced, loads of fun. Very enjoyable sharp mystery.

[rhonda1111 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4 stars I like Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mysteries. Quicksand does keep up with the other two adventures. The setting wants to make we go and explore Paris, and other places it mentions in the story. Lots of drama, mystery, action & history thrown together to draw you into the action. Plus it is a clean read. Jaya Jones teaches history at the University for the second year. She has not seen or heard from Lane for five months. The new term has just started and she receives a plane ticket to go to Paris and meet him at a hotel. Jaya has no way to talk to him but to go. Lane has had to lay low and not contack Jaya. Lane used to be a thief. He has been trying to quit. He was teaching art when Jaya first met him. When Jaya gets to France and she sees someone holding a sign with her name on and does not trust him so she ignores him and finds her own way to the hotel. Jaya finds when she knocks on the room door that Lane was not expecting her. Someone else sent her the tickets. He is blackmailing Lane and Jaya to rob art at the Louvre. Lane & Jaya can't even talk alone because there room is bugged and camaras. They are never alone. It is fast paced story. The settings are Louvre, Mont Saint- Michel that is a fortress with quicksand around it. Lane & Jaya use their knowledge and skills to stop a thief from stealing a treasure and ruining the church. I did not want to put the book down. I will look for more books by Gigi Pandian in the future. I was given Quicksand to read so I could give it a honest review of it.