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Puzzle House 2: The Summoners: A Horror Novel
Los Angeles is on fire. Society is collapsing. And Henry Hall is on the run.
After barely surviving the horrors of Puzzle House, Henry emerges into a city under martial law, consumed by carnage, madness and fear. Ancient entities summoned by the dark rituals performed at Puzzle House are twisting reality to their will, and in the chaos left behind, human monsters run rampant.
Hunted by the police and the sinister Infiniti Enterprises, Henry must again rely on unlikely allies, this time in a perilous journey across a city he no longer recognizes, to find his estranged wife and a reason to keep fighting.
But as the influence of these evil entities spreads across the city, and the vast scope of Infiniti's power reveals itself, Henry finds himself facing a chilling Did he ever truly escape Puzzle House, or is he still playing into their master plan?
From bestselling author Duncan Ralston comes the chilling follow-up to Puzzle House!
Read at your own peril. Survive if you dare.
After barely surviving the horrors of Puzzle House, Henry emerges into a city under martial law, consumed by carnage, madness and fear. Ancient entities summoned by the dark rituals performed at Puzzle House are twisting reality to their will, and in the chaos left behind, human monsters run rampant.
Hunted by the police and the sinister Infiniti Enterprises, Henry must again rely on unlikely allies, this time in a perilous journey across a city he no longer recognizes, to find his estranged wife and a reason to keep fighting.
But as the influence of these evil entities spreads across the city, and the vast scope of Infiniti's power reveals itself, Henry finds himself facing a chilling Did he ever truly escape Puzzle House, or is he still playing into their master plan?
From bestselling author Duncan Ralston comes the chilling follow-up to Puzzle House!
Read at your own peril. Survive if you dare.
- GenresHorror
300 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 3, 2026
43 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
About the author
Duncan Ralston
76 books2,078 followers**CVLT: Lonely Motel Book 3 out now!!!**
**Sequel to the hit novel PUZZLE HOUSE coming Winter 2026**
Author of the cult smash-hit Woom and Ghostland and more than 15 other books that aren't the cult smash-hit Woom or Ghostland. His debut collection was blurbed positively by the legendary Jack Ketchum. His vampire novel, Pedo Island Bloodbath, was nominated for a 2024 Splatterpunk Award for Best Novel. His horror-thriller Ghostland will soon be a board game from Crystal Lake Publishing.
For 10 FREE dark fiction short stories/novellas including the prequel to GHOSTLAND, "The Moving House," signed copies of Woom, bookplates and merch, please visit www.duncanralston.com.
Photo © Josh Silver 2015
**Sequel to the hit novel PUZZLE HOUSE coming Winter 2026**
Author of the cult smash-hit Woom and Ghostland and more than 15 other books that aren't the cult smash-hit Woom or Ghostland. His debut collection was blurbed positively by the legendary Jack Ketchum. His vampire novel, Pedo Island Bloodbath, was nominated for a 2024 Splatterpunk Award for Best Novel. His horror-thriller Ghostland will soon be a board game from Crystal Lake Publishing.
For 10 FREE dark fiction short stories/novellas including the prequel to GHOSTLAND, "The Moving House," signed copies of Woom, bookplates and merch, please visit www.duncanralston.com.
Photo © Josh Silver 2015
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Author
**ARC Review**
Author: Duncan Ralston
Book: Puzzle House 2-The Summoners
Book Rating: 5 Stars
Genre: Horror
“He needed to know she was okay. He needed to make sure she’d survived. He’d done this for her, after all.”
I would like to begin by thanking Duncan Ralston for the opportunity to read an advance copy of Puzzle House 2: The Summoners. It was a privilege to return to this world, and the sequel more than lives up to its predecessor. From the very first page, The Summoners is a relentless, high-octane ride that never lets up, delivering a potent mix of horror, tension, and emotional depth all the way through its explosive conclusion.
Henry Hall barely survives the nightmare of the Puzzle house, only to emerge into a world that has completely unraveled. Monstrous creatures darken the skies, gangs control the streets, and the police are hunting Henry to bring him back to jail. With only one goal driving him, finding his estranged wife, Henry forms unlikely alliances and embarks on a desperate mission to stop Alexei Vasiliev and the shadowy Infiniti Group before chaos consumes what remains of humanity.
While the surface of the novel is drenched in gore, violence, and anxiety, Ralston weaves in deeper themes of hope, forgiveness, and the true meaning of family, which doesn’t always mean blood. This balance elevates the story beyond pure shock value, giving the horror real emotional weight. Where the first Puzzle House leaned more heavily into thriller territory, The Summoners plunges headfirst into humanity’s darkest impulses, and Ralston does not flinch. The brutality is intense, and Ralston throws in some signature shocks, especially early on, but it is all purposeful, reinforcing the stakes and the moral decay of the world.
Ralston’s mastery of tone is on full display here. Moments of humor and quiet humanity are strategically placed, offering brief relief before the tension snaps back with even greater force. These quick pauses don’t hinder the horror but sharpen it, making the dread hit harder when it returns.
Puzzle House was the first Duncan Ralston book I read, and it cemented him as an auto-buy author for me. Puzzle House 2: The Summoners only strengthens that reputation. This is a bold, brutal, and emotionally resonant sequel that expands the scope of the story while deepening its impact.
With the release date of February 3rd, this is a must-read for horror fans. If you haven’t read the first book yet, now is the time. Once you step into the Puzzle House, you will have to fight to escape.
Author: Duncan Ralston
Book: Puzzle House 2-The Summoners
Book Rating: 5 Stars
Genre: Horror
“He needed to know she was okay. He needed to make sure she’d survived. He’d done this for her, after all.”
I would like to begin by thanking Duncan Ralston for the opportunity to read an advance copy of Puzzle House 2: The Summoners. It was a privilege to return to this world, and the sequel more than lives up to its predecessor. From the very first page, The Summoners is a relentless, high-octane ride that never lets up, delivering a potent mix of horror, tension, and emotional depth all the way through its explosive conclusion.
Henry Hall barely survives the nightmare of the Puzzle house, only to emerge into a world that has completely unraveled. Monstrous creatures darken the skies, gangs control the streets, and the police are hunting Henry to bring him back to jail. With only one goal driving him, finding his estranged wife, Henry forms unlikely alliances and embarks on a desperate mission to stop Alexei Vasiliev and the shadowy Infiniti Group before chaos consumes what remains of humanity.
While the surface of the novel is drenched in gore, violence, and anxiety, Ralston weaves in deeper themes of hope, forgiveness, and the true meaning of family, which doesn’t always mean blood. This balance elevates the story beyond pure shock value, giving the horror real emotional weight. Where the first Puzzle House leaned more heavily into thriller territory, The Summoners plunges headfirst into humanity’s darkest impulses, and Ralston does not flinch. The brutality is intense, and Ralston throws in some signature shocks, especially early on, but it is all purposeful, reinforcing the stakes and the moral decay of the world.
Ralston’s mastery of tone is on full display here. Moments of humor and quiet humanity are strategically placed, offering brief relief before the tension snaps back with even greater force. These quick pauses don’t hinder the horror but sharpen it, making the dread hit harder when it returns.
Puzzle House was the first Duncan Ralston book I read, and it cemented him as an auto-buy author for me. Puzzle House 2: The Summoners only strengthens that reputation. This is a bold, brutal, and emotionally resonant sequel that expands the scope of the story while deepening its impact.
With the release date of February 3rd, this is a must-read for horror fans. If you haven’t read the first book yet, now is the time. Once you step into the Puzzle House, you will have to fight to escape.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Action, drama, conflict, suspense; monsters, carnage, puzzles, and rituals - and a world on fire! The horror edition of "American Gods" meets "I Am Legend"! This is not just a sequel - it feels like a whole new book, everything from the first volume reorganized into a fascinating new adventure, grounded on so much energy and non-stop movement! This is an incredibly potent mix of dark urban fantasy and urban/survival horror: with a touch of sci-fi, several all-new faces, new stakes, ultra fast-paced events, all of it crystallizing quicky into an intense and gripping story! It picks up right where "Puzzle House" left off, and goes far deeper into the first book's premise. And the cinematic writing makes this a easy and immersive read!
In "Puzzle House 2: The Summoners," Henry (the survivor of the first book) finds himself in a apocalyptic LA, the (partial) result of Henry's (mostly unwilling) involvement in the occult happenings which transpired in Puzzle House. LA is a dystopian setting, host to monsters and dark deities, hostage to the US army, and prey to the Infiniti Enterprises, the mastermind behind all the intricate preparations for the malevolent entities summoned on Earth. Henry decides to go find his wife, and almost immediately he gets implicated in other people's stories, all of them trying to survive as a group the horrors unleashed on the city. Inevitably, Henry and his new friends will have to face all kinds of monsters (human and non-human) head on - but it's the info revealed in the ending that will shake up our understanding of the story!
Man, trying to keep the review spoiler-free is truly hard! Volume three's gonna be another blast. Highly recommend!
Review of advance copy received from Author
Puzzle House 2 is a staggering romp through genres: part occult horror, part action, part religious apocalypse, and all the way badass.
Picking up where the original left off, albeit far bigger and bolder in every way, this is a story, at its core, about a man possessed with nothing but willpower to get back to his wife in the face of annihilation. Through unfathomable odds and foes, evil deities and aliens, and a few friends he meets along the way, Henry aims to complete his mission by any means necessary.
The story is massive, the stakes beyond comprehension. Fighting against otherworldly forces despite not comprehending the full breadth of what's at stake. And it all boils down to man's will to survive, to stand his ground, to defend his own under threat of death or worse. And even then, it's wilder than expected.
And it's also a tremendously fun read.
Puzzle House 2: The Summoners releases February 3rd through Wicked House Publishing.
Picking up where the original left off, albeit far bigger and bolder in every way, this is a story, at its core, about a man possessed with nothing but willpower to get back to his wife in the face of annihilation. Through unfathomable odds and foes, evil deities and aliens, and a few friends he meets along the way, Henry aims to complete his mission by any means necessary.
The story is massive, the stakes beyond comprehension. Fighting against otherworldly forces despite not comprehending the full breadth of what's at stake. And it all boils down to man's will to survive, to stand his ground, to defend his own under threat of death or worse. And even then, it's wilder than expected.
And it's also a tremendously fun read.
Puzzle House 2: The Summoners releases February 3rd through Wicked House Publishing.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Henry walked out of Puzzle House into the new Hellscape that is LA.
Hell hath no fury than a man looking for his wife, though.
Grab your tin foil hat and join Henry and his new motley crew of survivors as they go against ancient gods and ruins to solve new riddles to defeat the enemy, Alexei.
This world is wild but Henry has a mission, no matter how bizarre or dangerous his days are.
This sequel honestly blew Puzzle House out of the water. Ralston delivers a story of vengeance and survival in a total page turner. The lore from the first connects phenomenally into this new installment. Henry shows you how much he values relationships carrying past into present.
I loved this, from MC development to new enticing characters (The Major is peak character writing). Puzzle House 2 offers non stop action from open to close. Ralston has yet to disappoint me.
5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hell hath no fury than a man looking for his wife, though.
Grab your tin foil hat and join Henry and his new motley crew of survivors as they go against ancient gods and ruins to solve new riddles to defeat the enemy, Alexei.
This world is wild but Henry has a mission, no matter how bizarre or dangerous his days are.
This sequel honestly blew Puzzle House out of the water. Ralston delivers a story of vengeance and survival in a total page turner. The lore from the first connects phenomenally into this new installment. Henry shows you how much he values relationships carrying past into present.
I loved this, from MC development to new enticing characters (The Major is peak character writing). Puzzle House 2 offers non stop action from open to close. Ralston has yet to disappoint me.
5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
February 3, 2026
Thank you to AETHON: Wicked House for providing a review copy
The original Puzzle House was in my yearly top 10 when it came out. I was excited for a sequel from the moment I finished the first book, and I was not disappointed. I might actually like The Summoners a bit more than the original. This book starts immediately after the events of the first book, where we follow Harry's journey to get to his wife under the machinations of Infiniti and some full-on end of the world occult stuff. We get to peer behind the curtain a bit and learn more about what's really going on here. I'm eagerly anticipating the next book in the series! 5 stars
The original Puzzle House was in my yearly top 10 when it came out. I was excited for a sequel from the moment I finished the first book, and I was not disappointed. I might actually like The Summoners a bit more than the original. This book starts immediately after the events of the first book, where we follow Harry's journey to get to his wife under the machinations of Infiniti and some full-on end of the world occult stuff. We get to peer behind the curtain a bit and learn more about what's really going on here. I'm eagerly anticipating the next book in the series! 5 stars
February 4, 2026
This was an action packed page turner, I read it all in one day! I was clearly compelled to keep reading more, it was a fun, strange, and interesting read. Brigdell was by far the best character with his conspiracy theories, sassy remarks and saving everyone in silly ways.
I just wish there had been more puzzle solving, that was my favorite part of the first book. With the way it ends, though, I think book three will bring that back, can't wait!
I just wish there had been more puzzle solving, that was my favorite part of the first book. With the way it ends, though, I think book three will bring that back, can't wait!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Another belter of a book from Duncan Ralston! Spoiler free zone here but all I can say is wow! Next book please sir!
Review of advance copy received from Author
What a read, this was so different than the first Puzzle House. I felt like I was watching a movie inside my head and it did not go anywhere I thought it would. This book is one hell of a brutal adventure for poor Henry, enemies ancient and familiar no matter where he goes.This was crazy and pulled me right in from page one. I cant wait to see what other Puzzle House fans think. This was amazing .
February 3, 2026
Duncan Ralston wastes no time in this brutal continuation of Puzzle House. From the opening pages, the novel feels relentlessly cinematic, thrusting readers into a hellscape version of Los Angeles where demonic creatures roam freely and apocalyptic horror has become disturbingly ordinary. Violence, moral collapse, and desperation unfold as Henry journeys to find his family.
Ralston carries forward the rituals and puzzles of the first installment while introducing new mysteries to be solved. The narrative is dense with action and conflict and moves at a blistering pace. Early passages introduce all-powerful, godlike entities, infusing the story with a heavy sense of existential dread (which is revealed at the end)
At its core, this is a story of vengeance, driven by Henry, whose quest to find his wife quickly entangles him in the lives of other survivors, safe zones, military forces, and other nefarious organizations and individuals.
Ralston once again delivers a Frankenstein monster of a novel that’s hard to put down. The ending is absolutely 5 stars by itself. Lol. It was insane and absurd in a good way. You wont expect it. loved it.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Ralston carries forward the rituals and puzzles of the first installment while introducing new mysteries to be solved. The narrative is dense with action and conflict and moves at a blistering pace. Early passages introduce all-powerful, godlike entities, infusing the story with a heavy sense of existential dread (which is revealed at the end)
At its core, this is a story of vengeance, driven by Henry, whose quest to find his wife quickly entangles him in the lives of other survivors, safe zones, military forces, and other nefarious organizations and individuals.
Ralston once again delivers a Frankenstein monster of a novel that’s hard to put down. The ending is absolutely 5 stars by itself. Lol. It was insane and absurd in a good way. You wont expect it. loved it.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews