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Puzzle #1
The Puzzle Master: A Novel
Reality and the supernatural collide when an expert puzzle maker is thrust into an ancient mystery—one with explosive consequences for the fate of humanity—in this suspenseful thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Angelology
“This novel has it all and more. In the nimble, talented hands of Trussoni the pages fly.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci
All the world is a puzzle, and Mike Brink—a celebrated and ingenious puzzle constructor—understands its patterns like no one else. Once a promising Midwestern football star, Brink was transformed by a traumatic brain injury that caused a rare medical acquired savant syndrome. The injury left him with a mental superpower—he can solve puzzles in ways ordinary people can’t. But it also left him deeply isolated, unable to fully connect with other people.
Everything changes after Brink meets Jess Price, a woman serving thirty years in prison for murder who hasn’t spoken a word since her arrest five years before. When Price draws a perplexing puzzle, her psychiatrist believes it will explain her crime and calls Brink to solve it. What begins as a desire to crack an alluring cipher quickly morphs into an obsession with Price herself. She soon reveals that there is something more urgent, and more dangerous, behind her silence, thrusting Brink into a hunt for the truth.
The quest takes Brink through a series of interlocking enigmas, but the heart of the mystery is the God Puzzle, a cryptic ancient prayer circle created by the thirteenth-century Jewish mystic Abraham Abulafia. As Brink navigates a maze of clues, and his emotional entanglement with Price becomes more intense, he realizes that there are powerful forces at work that he cannot escape.
Ranging from an upstate New York women’s prison to nineteenth-century Prague to the secret rooms of the Pierpont Morgan Library, The Puzzle Master is a tantalizing, addictive thriller in which humankind, technology, and the future of the universe itself are at stake.
“This novel has it all and more. In the nimble, talented hands of Trussoni the pages fly.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci
All the world is a puzzle, and Mike Brink—a celebrated and ingenious puzzle constructor—understands its patterns like no one else. Once a promising Midwestern football star, Brink was transformed by a traumatic brain injury that caused a rare medical acquired savant syndrome. The injury left him with a mental superpower—he can solve puzzles in ways ordinary people can’t. But it also left him deeply isolated, unable to fully connect with other people.
Everything changes after Brink meets Jess Price, a woman serving thirty years in prison for murder who hasn’t spoken a word since her arrest five years before. When Price draws a perplexing puzzle, her psychiatrist believes it will explain her crime and calls Brink to solve it. What begins as a desire to crack an alluring cipher quickly morphs into an obsession with Price herself. She soon reveals that there is something more urgent, and more dangerous, behind her silence, thrusting Brink into a hunt for the truth.
The quest takes Brink through a series of interlocking enigmas, but the heart of the mystery is the God Puzzle, a cryptic ancient prayer circle created by the thirteenth-century Jewish mystic Abraham Abulafia. As Brink navigates a maze of clues, and his emotional entanglement with Price becomes more intense, he realizes that there are powerful forces at work that he cannot escape.
Ranging from an upstate New York women’s prison to nineteenth-century Prague to the secret rooms of the Pierpont Morgan Library, The Puzzle Master is a tantalizing, addictive thriller in which humankind, technology, and the future of the universe itself are at stake.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published June 13, 2023
864 people are currently reading
24628 people want to read
About the author
Danielle Trussoni
23 books1,540 followersDanielle Trussoni is the author of The Puzzle Box (October 8, 2024), The Puzzle Master, The Ancestor, Angelology, The Fortress and Falling Through The Earth. Danielle is an internationally best-selling author whose work has been translated into over 30 languages.
Please get in touch with Danielle by writing her at danielle@danielletrussoni.com
Please get in touch with Danielle by writing her at danielle@danielletrussoni.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,843 reviews
July 7, 2023
Dreams, rituals, codes, riddles, porcelain dolls, prayer circles, a dual gendered god, the God puzzle, and before you know it the future of the universe and mankind is at stake.
I haven’t finished - an extraordinary superpower, a maze of clues, secret rooms, cryptic ancient mysteries- no wonder I was ‘puzzled’ - this was just too much, too convoluted and unnecessary over the top ‘puzzle art’ that didn’t come together and remained entangled in its own labyrinth of subplots, twists and messaging.
The plot
I thought the book started well and an early quote got my attention - “Sometimes a secret remains out of reach for a reason”.
Keeping the suspense going, we have a brutal murder, a woman convicted of the crime but won’t speak out, and the puzzle master who now possesses an extraordinary skill, after a traumatic brain injury, known as ‘acquired savant syndrome’. There are few known cases around the world but it enables the person to solve puzzles and see patterns that no one else can.
Having been sought out by Jess Price, Mike Brink must solve the ‘puzzle’ to free this woman he is becoming obsessed with and protect her until he does. However, with dead bodies turning up with no obvious connections to the case, Mike doesn’t know who to trust among the many enemies he seems to be accumulating.
Then the book went off into the twilight zone with so many weird aspects to the story, events and people that did not come together or align unfortunately. We went down so many rabbit holes explaining ancient myths and texts, Hebrew writing, and the so called ‘God puzzle’. I lost the plot, and it was game over for me!!!
Review and Comments
I am a huge fan of puzzles, complex and even cryptic storylines but this was an example of trying too hard to write something clever and enigmatic, and then it becoming too convoluted.
A pattern of a different kind formed for me and it was this. The story was a little repetitive at times and the thrill was missing from this thriller despite the numerous twists and endless supernatural and mysterious threads.
However, some of the individual parts of the story and scenes were well written and I was intrigued. Yet in terms of the overall story and in contrast to the well known phrase, in this case, the sum of the parts was better than the whole - now that puzzles me !!!!
I wanted to love this, even the book title had me excited to read it, but was sadly disappointed.
I haven’t finished - an extraordinary superpower, a maze of clues, secret rooms, cryptic ancient mysteries- no wonder I was ‘puzzled’ - this was just too much, too convoluted and unnecessary over the top ‘puzzle art’ that didn’t come together and remained entangled in its own labyrinth of subplots, twists and messaging.
The plot
I thought the book started well and an early quote got my attention - “Sometimes a secret remains out of reach for a reason”.
Keeping the suspense going, we have a brutal murder, a woman convicted of the crime but won’t speak out, and the puzzle master who now possesses an extraordinary skill, after a traumatic brain injury, known as ‘acquired savant syndrome’. There are few known cases around the world but it enables the person to solve puzzles and see patterns that no one else can.
Having been sought out by Jess Price, Mike Brink must solve the ‘puzzle’ to free this woman he is becoming obsessed with and protect her until he does. However, with dead bodies turning up with no obvious connections to the case, Mike doesn’t know who to trust among the many enemies he seems to be accumulating.
Then the book went off into the twilight zone with so many weird aspects to the story, events and people that did not come together or align unfortunately. We went down so many rabbit holes explaining ancient myths and texts, Hebrew writing, and the so called ‘God puzzle’. I lost the plot, and it was game over for me!!!
Review and Comments
I am a huge fan of puzzles, complex and even cryptic storylines but this was an example of trying too hard to write something clever and enigmatic, and then it becoming too convoluted.
A pattern of a different kind formed for me and it was this. The story was a little repetitive at times and the thrill was missing from this thriller despite the numerous twists and endless supernatural and mysterious threads.
However, some of the individual parts of the story and scenes were well written and I was intrigued. Yet in terms of the overall story and in contrast to the well known phrase, in this case, the sum of the parts was better than the whole - now that puzzles me !!!!
I wanted to love this, even the book title had me excited to read it, but was sadly disappointed.
July 10, 2023
I first became aware of bestselling author Danielle Trussoni a decade ago when my eldest brother said, “I’ve got a wild and wonderful book for you to read.”
I devoured her debut novel Angelology and found my brother’s description accurate. She has since released a couple of others, but when I saw her latest, The Puzzle Master, I pulled the trigger.
Mike Brink, our eponymous puzzle master, suffered a traumatic brain injury on the football field that left him with acquired savant syndrome — in his case, a remarkable ability to see patterns in everything.
More than just a party trick, Mike’s found a way to support himself as a puzzle constructor, work for which he has gained national renown — Time magazine ran a story on him and he’s been a guest on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."
When a New York State prison psychologist asks him to look at a puzzle drawn by Jess Price, a young writer who hasn't uttered a word since being arrested for killing her boyfriend, he has trouble deciphering it.
What begins as a desire to crack an alluring cipher, quickly becomes an obsession, both with the puzzle — an ancient prayer circle known as The God Puzzle —and with freeing Jess.
And so our puzzle master finds himself entangled in a dark conspiracy going back to the 13th century and “an underground collective of futurists and trans-humanists who believe that ancient esoteric methods could be combined with technology to create eternal life.”
Trussoni weaves an intricate web of puzzles within puzzles, Jewish mysticism and arcane ritual, metaphysics, and cutting-edge technology.
Despite taking us on a fast ride into esoteric territory, delving into some complicated religious and scientific concepts, Trussoni is adept at suspenseful and propulsive Chinese box style storytelling and using multiple narrators to unspool a complex plot.
For most of the book, she uses third-person narration, but major portions come from Jess’ journal; a 1909 letter written by a celebrated French dollmaker who tells a remarkable tale of his encounter with a Jewish rabbi in Prague; and an audio file Jess made with the help of the prison psychologist.
Trussoni deftly blends elements of mystery, horror, Gothic thriller, and historical narrative, as she muses on things philosophical and theological.
Fans of Dan Brown, Steve Berry, and Daniel Silva will enjoy The Puzzle Master and pondering the puzzling nature of existence.
Trussoni is already working on a sequel set in Japan and scheduled for a 2024 release.
I devoured her debut novel Angelology and found my brother’s description accurate. She has since released a couple of others, but when I saw her latest, The Puzzle Master, I pulled the trigger.
Mike Brink, our eponymous puzzle master, suffered a traumatic brain injury on the football field that left him with acquired savant syndrome — in his case, a remarkable ability to see patterns in everything.
More than just a party trick, Mike’s found a way to support himself as a puzzle constructor, work for which he has gained national renown — Time magazine ran a story on him and he’s been a guest on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."
When a New York State prison psychologist asks him to look at a puzzle drawn by Jess Price, a young writer who hasn't uttered a word since being arrested for killing her boyfriend, he has trouble deciphering it.
What begins as a desire to crack an alluring cipher, quickly becomes an obsession, both with the puzzle — an ancient prayer circle known as The God Puzzle —and with freeing Jess.
And so our puzzle master finds himself entangled in a dark conspiracy going back to the 13th century and “an underground collective of futurists and trans-humanists who believe that ancient esoteric methods could be combined with technology to create eternal life.”
Trussoni weaves an intricate web of puzzles within puzzles, Jewish mysticism and arcane ritual, metaphysics, and cutting-edge technology.
Despite taking us on a fast ride into esoteric territory, delving into some complicated religious and scientific concepts, Trussoni is adept at suspenseful and propulsive Chinese box style storytelling and using multiple narrators to unspool a complex plot.
For most of the book, she uses third-person narration, but major portions come from Jess’ journal; a 1909 letter written by a celebrated French dollmaker who tells a remarkable tale of his encounter with a Jewish rabbi in Prague; and an audio file Jess made with the help of the prison psychologist.
Trussoni deftly blends elements of mystery, horror, Gothic thriller, and historical narrative, as she muses on things philosophical and theological.
Fans of Dan Brown, Steve Berry, and Daniel Silva will enjoy The Puzzle Master and pondering the puzzling nature of existence.
Trussoni is already working on a sequel set in Japan and scheduled for a 2024 release.
June 8, 2024
I wanted to try something different from my usual preferred genres, and had high hopes for this when I read the blurb. I hoped it would have the same vibe as Dan Brown’s work, but unfortunately I felt none of that heart-thumping anticipation while listening to the puzzle master. The characters felt flat, I didn’t really want to know what would happen next and I know it will fade from my memory fast.
May 30, 2023
The Puzzle Master is a race against time. It has its fair share of dramatic moments, atmosphere, action, and even creepy dolls.
After suffering a traumatic brain injury, Mike Brink’s life drastically changed. The injury resulted in a rare medical condition known as acquired savant syndrome. Now, Mike is known for solving and creating complex puzzles that leave others stumped.
His life changes again when he meets Jess Price, a woman convicted of murder who hasn’t spoken for five years since her arrest. When Price draws a perplexing puzzle with Brink’s name below, her psychiatrist invites him to visit Price to determine if it will shed some light on her case. But Price reveals to Brink that the puzzle is dangerous, and she fears who might be watching. Soon, Brink goes on a risky pursuit to solve this puzzle that carries religious intonations.
This story has multiple POVs and alternating timelines. It incorporates letters, journal entries, and transcriptions.
I really enjoyed the parts that showcased Brink’s mind at work as he tried to figure out this puzzle while trying to get out of sticky situations. Things became slightly muddled for me amidst all the lengthy religious and scientific discussions.
This was the first book I read by the author, and I think I’ll go back and check their backlist.
Thank you to Random House for providing an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
https://booksandwheels.com
After suffering a traumatic brain injury, Mike Brink’s life drastically changed. The injury resulted in a rare medical condition known as acquired savant syndrome. Now, Mike is known for solving and creating complex puzzles that leave others stumped.
His life changes again when he meets Jess Price, a woman convicted of murder who hasn’t spoken for five years since her arrest. When Price draws a perplexing puzzle with Brink’s name below, her psychiatrist invites him to visit Price to determine if it will shed some light on her case. But Price reveals to Brink that the puzzle is dangerous, and she fears who might be watching. Soon, Brink goes on a risky pursuit to solve this puzzle that carries religious intonations.
This story has multiple POVs and alternating timelines. It incorporates letters, journal entries, and transcriptions.
I really enjoyed the parts that showcased Brink’s mind at work as he tried to figure out this puzzle while trying to get out of sticky situations. Things became slightly muddled for me amidst all the lengthy religious and scientific discussions.
This was the first book I read by the author, and I think I’ll go back and check their backlist.
Thank you to Random House for providing an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
https://booksandwheels.com
May 15, 2023
The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni
Synopsis /
All the world is a puzzle, and Mike Brink—a celebrated and ingenious puzzle constructor—understands its patterns like no one else. Once a promising Midwestern football star, Brink was transformed by a traumatic brain injury that caused a rare medical condition: acquired savant syndrome. The injury left him with a mental superpower—he can solve puzzles in ways ordinary people can't. But it also left him deeply isolated, unable to fully connect with other people.
Everything changes after Brink meets Jess Price, a woman serving thirty years in prison for murder who hasn't spoken a word since her arrest five years before. When Price draws a perplexing puzzle, her psychiatrist believes it will explain her crime and calls Brink to solve it. What begins as a desire to crack an alluring cipher quickly morphs into an obsession with Price herself. She soon reveals that there is something more urgent, and more dangerous, behind her silence, thrusting Brink into a hunt for the truth.
The quest takes Brink through a series of interlocking enigmas, but the heart of the mystery is the God Puzzle, a cryptic ancient prayer circle created by the thirteenth-century Jewish mystic Abraham Abulafia. As Brink navigates a maze of clues, and his emotional entanglement with Price becomes more intense, he realizes that there are powerful forces at work that he cannot escape.
Ranging from an upstate New York women's prison to nineteenth-century Prague to the secret rooms of the Pierpont Morgan Library, The Puzzle Master is a tantalizing, addictive thriller in which humankind, technology, and the future of the universe itself are at stake.
My Thoughts /
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Firstly, my sincere thanks to the Author, Danielle Trussoni for providing my gifted advanced readers copy for review. The Puzzle Master is slated for publication by Random House, 13 June 2023.
Is it too early in the year to say that I've just finished my favourite read of 2023?
Cue the dramatic music, it starts off soft and as you listen gets louder and louder, the tension is building, and you know something special is about to go down.
Now that I have your attention.
The Puzzle Master is the place where reality and the supernatural collide and the result is a totally unique and refreshing reading experience.
This is my first Danielle Trussoni read and it's truly blown my expectations. If you think this book will help you with the answers to your daily newspaper crossword; or get you perfecting your completed Rubik's Cube in less than a minute; it won't. But what it will give you is a unique and refreshing take on the history behind mathematical puzzles and a little about the part they played from a religious sense. I'm being honest when I say, I'm absolutely rubbish at puzzles (with the exception of jigsaws which I do enjoy). I might be one or two words in a crossword, and absolutely nothing in Sudoku. But you can always dream, right?
Thirty-two-year-old Mike Brink is no ordinary puzzle constructor, Time magazine christened him the most talented puzzleist in the world. He was often referred to as a genius when interviewed, but he thought of himself as just a regular guy with a singular gift. A gift for solving puzzles. He wasn't always this good with puzzles, back when he was in high school in Ohio his thoughts were of winning the high school state football championship. Football came easy to him, and he was good. So good in fact, that he was looking at a full scholarship ride from any of the top football colleges come the end of the championships.
Except, as fate would intervene, he received a devastating head knock which left him unconscious. Coming around in the ambulance there didn't appear to be anything wrong and the doctors in the ER told him he'd suffered a concussion and to rest. At home, recovering, that was when he noticed everything around him seemed different.
Acquired savant syndrome is a rare, but real, medical condition in which a normal person acquires extraordinary cognitive abilities after a traumatic brain injury. There are fewer than fifty documented cases of acquired savant syndrome in the world.
With dual timelines, Paris, France 1909 and Ray Brook, New York 2022 the story moves seamlessly between the old - a story about a dollmaker, porcelain and it's beginnings and how it became a highly prized commodity; ancient religious beliefs (golems); secret societies; and (of course) puzzles - to the now - with its haunted house; creepy (porcelain) dolls; unexplained deaths and mysterious tattoo like markings - and puzzles, lots and lots of puzzles.
If you listen to Mozart's Overture to Don Giovanni (1787) the music takes you on a journey - from the quiet rumblings to the deafening highs, the music resonates. Trussoni's writing in The Puzzle Master sees you riding the highs and lows along with Mike Brink. The way the story unfolds is like watching a timelapse video of a flower unfurling its petals until it's in full bloom. The author unfurls another piece of the puzzle at just the right time and place until, at the end of the book, the whole thing comes together.
Synopsis /
All the world is a puzzle, and Mike Brink—a celebrated and ingenious puzzle constructor—understands its patterns like no one else. Once a promising Midwestern football star, Brink was transformed by a traumatic brain injury that caused a rare medical condition: acquired savant syndrome. The injury left him with a mental superpower—he can solve puzzles in ways ordinary people can't. But it also left him deeply isolated, unable to fully connect with other people.
Everything changes after Brink meets Jess Price, a woman serving thirty years in prison for murder who hasn't spoken a word since her arrest five years before. When Price draws a perplexing puzzle, her psychiatrist believes it will explain her crime and calls Brink to solve it. What begins as a desire to crack an alluring cipher quickly morphs into an obsession with Price herself. She soon reveals that there is something more urgent, and more dangerous, behind her silence, thrusting Brink into a hunt for the truth.
The quest takes Brink through a series of interlocking enigmas, but the heart of the mystery is the God Puzzle, a cryptic ancient prayer circle created by the thirteenth-century Jewish mystic Abraham Abulafia. As Brink navigates a maze of clues, and his emotional entanglement with Price becomes more intense, he realizes that there are powerful forces at work that he cannot escape.
Ranging from an upstate New York women's prison to nineteenth-century Prague to the secret rooms of the Pierpont Morgan Library, The Puzzle Master is a tantalizing, addictive thriller in which humankind, technology, and the future of the universe itself are at stake.
My Thoughts /
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Firstly, my sincere thanks to the Author, Danielle Trussoni for providing my gifted advanced readers copy for review. The Puzzle Master is slated for publication by Random House, 13 June 2023.
Is it too early in the year to say that I've just finished my favourite read of 2023?
Cue the dramatic music, it starts off soft and as you listen gets louder and louder, the tension is building, and you know something special is about to go down.
Now that I have your attention.
The Puzzle Master is the place where reality and the supernatural collide and the result is a totally unique and refreshing reading experience.
This is my first Danielle Trussoni read and it's truly blown my expectations. If you think this book will help you with the answers to your daily newspaper crossword; or get you perfecting your completed Rubik's Cube in less than a minute; it won't. But what it will give you is a unique and refreshing take on the history behind mathematical puzzles and a little about the part they played from a religious sense. I'm being honest when I say, I'm absolutely rubbish at puzzles (with the exception of jigsaws which I do enjoy). I might be one or two words in a crossword, and absolutely nothing in Sudoku. But you can always dream, right?
Thirty-two-year-old Mike Brink is no ordinary puzzle constructor, Time magazine christened him the most talented puzzleist in the world. He was often referred to as a genius when interviewed, but he thought of himself as just a regular guy with a singular gift. A gift for solving puzzles. He wasn't always this good with puzzles, back when he was in high school in Ohio his thoughts were of winning the high school state football championship. Football came easy to him, and he was good. So good in fact, that he was looking at a full scholarship ride from any of the top football colleges come the end of the championships.
Except, as fate would intervene, he received a devastating head knock which left him unconscious. Coming around in the ambulance there didn't appear to be anything wrong and the doctors in the ER told him he'd suffered a concussion and to rest. At home, recovering, that was when he noticed everything around him seemed different.
Acquired savant syndrome is a rare, but real, medical condition in which a normal person acquires extraordinary cognitive abilities after a traumatic brain injury. There are fewer than fifty documented cases of acquired savant syndrome in the world.
With dual timelines, Paris, France 1909 and Ray Brook, New York 2022 the story moves seamlessly between the old - a story about a dollmaker, porcelain and it's beginnings and how it became a highly prized commodity; ancient religious beliefs (golems); secret societies; and (of course) puzzles - to the now - with its haunted house; creepy (porcelain) dolls; unexplained deaths and mysterious tattoo like markings - and puzzles, lots and lots of puzzles.
If you listen to Mozart's Overture to Don Giovanni (1787) the music takes you on a journey - from the quiet rumblings to the deafening highs, the music resonates. Trussoni's writing in The Puzzle Master sees you riding the highs and lows along with Mike Brink. The way the story unfolds is like watching a timelapse video of a flower unfurling its petals until it's in full bloom. The author unfurls another piece of the puzzle at just the right time and place until, at the end of the book, the whole thing comes together.
January 23, 2023
One word: Fantastic.
Perhaps the greatest puzzle in Danielle Trussoni's new book, The Puzzle Master, is the puzzle she expertly weaves into the book itself.
The Puzzle Master touched on just about every genre I enjoy. It had aspects of mystery, thriller, horror, science fiction, and science all wrapped in a mix of reality and the supernatural that kept me turning pages. Everything is thoroughly researched and deftly written. I finished the book feeling like I needed to know more on several topics because she piqued my interest in areas that I don't have a background in.
The book is built around Mike Brink "a celebrated and ingenious puzzle constructor" who "understands its patterns like no one else." Mike's abilities will be tested in ways he can't imagine--as will the readers. It's a ride that spans centuries, belief systems, and dimensions.
The Puzzle Master is, again, fantastic. Highly recommended. It's set for release in June of 2023--preorder it now, you won't regret it.
Perhaps the greatest puzzle in Danielle Trussoni's new book, The Puzzle Master, is the puzzle she expertly weaves into the book itself.
The Puzzle Master touched on just about every genre I enjoy. It had aspects of mystery, thriller, horror, science fiction, and science all wrapped in a mix of reality and the supernatural that kept me turning pages. Everything is thoroughly researched and deftly written. I finished the book feeling like I needed to know more on several topics because she piqued my interest in areas that I don't have a background in.
The book is built around Mike Brink "a celebrated and ingenious puzzle constructor" who "understands its patterns like no one else." Mike's abilities will be tested in ways he can't imagine--as will the readers. It's a ride that spans centuries, belief systems, and dimensions.
The Puzzle Master is, again, fantastic. Highly recommended. It's set for release in June of 2023--preorder it now, you won't regret it.
June 14, 2023
"Puzzles are composed of patterns. They are meant to be solved."
Mike Brink, a football player, suffered a traumatic brain injury that caused a rare medical condition called acquired savant syndrome. He can now solve puzzles in ways that others cannot. This gift will come in handy when he meets Jess Price, a woman imprisoned for a murder.
"After the injury, the guy I thought I was totally disappeared. The old Mike Brink was dead, and I had to figure out who this new person was."
Jess Price has not spoken a word since her arrest for murder. After she draws a puzzle, her psychiatrist calls in Mike Brink as he believes the puzzle may explain her crime. After meeting her and becoming intrigued by her and her puzzle, Mike goes on a search for answers.
What follows is a quest to solve a puzzle like no other. This book is a mash up of several genres: science fiction, romance, mystery, thriller, supernatural, etc. The book also has various puzzles throughout which the author credits to the creators in her "Note to the Reader" section at the end of the book.
At first, I wasn't sure what I had gotten myself into. This book was a little puzzling to me, but I soon found my footing. I was intrigued with the characters (especially Mike Brink), the action, and the God puzzle. The story was original and interesting.
Original, thought provoking, and well written.
3.5 stars
#ThePuzzleMaster #NetGalley #RandomHouse #Danielle Trussoni
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
Mike Brink, a football player, suffered a traumatic brain injury that caused a rare medical condition called acquired savant syndrome. He can now solve puzzles in ways that others cannot. This gift will come in handy when he meets Jess Price, a woman imprisoned for a murder.
"After the injury, the guy I thought I was totally disappeared. The old Mike Brink was dead, and I had to figure out who this new person was."
Jess Price has not spoken a word since her arrest for murder. After she draws a puzzle, her psychiatrist calls in Mike Brink as he believes the puzzle may explain her crime. After meeting her and becoming intrigued by her and her puzzle, Mike goes on a search for answers.
What follows is a quest to solve a puzzle like no other. This book is a mash up of several genres: science fiction, romance, mystery, thriller, supernatural, etc. The book also has various puzzles throughout which the author credits to the creators in her "Note to the Reader" section at the end of the book.
At first, I wasn't sure what I had gotten myself into. This book was a little puzzling to me, but I soon found my footing. I was intrigued with the characters (especially Mike Brink), the action, and the God puzzle. The story was original and interesting.
Original, thought provoking, and well written.
3.5 stars
#ThePuzzleMaster #NetGalley #RandomHouse #Danielle Trussoni
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
October 22, 2023
The Puzzle Master is an enigma.
After patiently working my way up the holds list for this audiobook since June, The Puzzle Master meets the Dan Brown and David Baldacci comparisons, but falls short of fully completing the puzzle it seeks to solve.
This book includes all of the ingredients needed to grip me as an avid reader of psychological thrillers and gothic fiction. It features creepy haunted dolls, complicated puzzles, and a complex mystery spanning multiple genres. I must also mention that Edoardo Ballerini is one of my favorite audiobook narrators, whose voice compelled me to keep listening until the end. (He also narrated The Fourth Monkey trilogy IYKYK).
Mike Brink suffers from a rare traumatic football injury called acquired savant syndrome. It altered his brain chemistry which enables him to create and encode complicated puzzles and immediately visualize their solutions. While trying to understand his newfound superpower and processing his inability to connect with others, his presence is requested by a convicted murderer named Jess Price. She is facing thirty years in prison and hasn’t spoken a word since arriving there.
But she wants to speak to Brink. Why?
Jess presents Brink with a puzzling cypher that he feels compelled to solve. Why is he suddenly obsessed with her? The God Puzzle will lead Brink down a dangerous hunt for the truth. Can Brink save humankind from evil before it’s too late?
Relying on themes of quantum physics, religion, technology, and gender issues, Trussoni explores the proverbial kitchen sink of possibilities. She gripped me with the intriguing mystery from the very first page. However, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that there were several plot holes that gaped like giant crevasses. When the book turned in the direction of science and religion, I struggled to understand all of the details. In this way, she lost the average reader with mystifying concepts and theories. I also wish that I could have visualized the cypher being described in the book. Maybe the print version includes the image, but this is impossible with the audio version. The book also ends on what appears to be a cliffhanger. Or is it?
In the end, I mostly enjoyed Mike Brink’s story and his furry companion Conundrum (Connie). Hopefully, all lingering questions will be answered in another installment.
3.5/5 stars rounded up
After patiently working my way up the holds list for this audiobook since June, The Puzzle Master meets the Dan Brown and David Baldacci comparisons, but falls short of fully completing the puzzle it seeks to solve.
This book includes all of the ingredients needed to grip me as an avid reader of psychological thrillers and gothic fiction. It features creepy haunted dolls, complicated puzzles, and a complex mystery spanning multiple genres. I must also mention that Edoardo Ballerini is one of my favorite audiobook narrators, whose voice compelled me to keep listening until the end. (He also narrated The Fourth Monkey trilogy IYKYK).
Mike Brink suffers from a rare traumatic football injury called acquired savant syndrome. It altered his brain chemistry which enables him to create and encode complicated puzzles and immediately visualize their solutions. While trying to understand his newfound superpower and processing his inability to connect with others, his presence is requested by a convicted murderer named Jess Price. She is facing thirty years in prison and hasn’t spoken a word since arriving there.
But she wants to speak to Brink. Why?
Jess presents Brink with a puzzling cypher that he feels compelled to solve. Why is he suddenly obsessed with her? The God Puzzle will lead Brink down a dangerous hunt for the truth. Can Brink save humankind from evil before it’s too late?
Relying on themes of quantum physics, religion, technology, and gender issues, Trussoni explores the proverbial kitchen sink of possibilities. She gripped me with the intriguing mystery from the very first page. However, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that there were several plot holes that gaped like giant crevasses. When the book turned in the direction of science and religion, I struggled to understand all of the details. In this way, she lost the average reader with mystifying concepts and theories. I also wish that I could have visualized the cypher being described in the book. Maybe the print version includes the image, but this is impossible with the audio version. The book also ends on what appears to be a cliffhanger. Or is it?
In the end, I mostly enjoyed Mike Brink’s story and his furry companion Conundrum (Connie). Hopefully, all lingering questions will be answered in another installment.
3.5/5 stars rounded up
May 15, 2023
“the puzzle master” is so many genres at once that it is difficult to place it. mike brink has been a savant capable of solving incredibly difficult puzzles in his mind ever since he was in an accident that left him with a traumatic brain injury. when a psychiatrist at a prison reaches out to him with a puzzle one of her patients has presented, he decides to travel there merely to help someone in need. mike cannot leave any puzzle unfinished, and he is quickly dragged into a complex game of puzzles that may just threaten his life.
the problem for me is that this novel is not in the least cohesive. it was a fun story to read, and held my attention throughout (if only to hate it more and more with every chapter and feel incredibly annoyed). however, it’s trying to do too much. puzzles, a murder, creepy porcelain dolls, haunted houses, complex mathematics, computer science, jewish mysticism (kabbalah), demons, succubi, etc. are all in this novel. it’s everywhere. it’s all over the place.
brink doesn’t solve anything, actually, it feels as if the entire novel is him being confused and asking a question and then someone else randomly thrown in explaining some very detailed concept.
if his stupid little dog doesn’t like you, then you’re a bad person. the little dog is always right.
there is a romance that is so extremely forced and uncomfortable from the very start of the novel. it’s insta-love, it makes no sense, and it’s pretty gross. it is quite literally disturbing.
i feel that trussoni has a very, very loose grasp on jewish mysticism and kabbalist study. there were parts of this novel that felt incredibly antisemitic to me. look, i have no clue if she is jewish or not, but you don’t start studying the kabbalah until you are at least forty years old. it takes decades to study.
just… god this had so much shit thrown into it for no reason. the real puzzle is wondering how this unedited nightmare got published in the first place.
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
the problem for me is that this novel is not in the least cohesive. it was a fun story to read, and held my attention throughout (if only to hate it more and more with every chapter and feel incredibly annoyed). however, it’s trying to do too much. puzzles, a murder, creepy porcelain dolls, haunted houses, complex mathematics, computer science, jewish mysticism (kabbalah), demons, succubi, etc. are all in this novel. it’s everywhere. it’s all over the place.
brink doesn’t solve anything, actually, it feels as if the entire novel is him being confused and asking a question and then someone else randomly thrown in explaining some very detailed concept.
if his stupid little dog doesn’t like you, then you’re a bad person. the little dog is always right.
there is a romance that is so extremely forced and uncomfortable from the very start of the novel. it’s insta-love, it makes no sense, and it’s pretty gross. it is quite literally disturbing.
i feel that trussoni has a very, very loose grasp on jewish mysticism and kabbalist study. there were parts of this novel that felt incredibly antisemitic to me. look, i have no clue if she is jewish or not, but you don’t start studying the kabbalah until you are at least forty years old. it takes decades to study.
just… god this had so much shit thrown into it for no reason. the real puzzle is wondering how this unedited nightmare got published in the first place.
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
May 14, 2023
The Puzzle Master
By Danielle Trussoni
OMG, what a wild ride read this! I loved the way the author presented the storyline. It was presented by way of a diary, letters, dreams, and live action. All while going back and forth in timelines, yet it was not confusing! Brilliant!
There's the wonderfully crafted characters too. A girl that has seen too much that can't be real and in prison for a crime she didn't commit. Also, a puzzle master that sees things different than the average human. All of the other characters here are well developed too!
The main plot centers around a puzzle, A God Puzzle. Maybe some puzzles need to be left unsolved! Immortality?
The plot and world building is also terrific! The book reminds me of a supernatural, science fiction Dan Brown novel! It's fast paced when it needs to be and slow and terrifying when the need arises. Its a thriller, horror, science fiction, action adventure, with a touch of fantasy and romance. It's a complex story. The kind you can really sink your teeth and brain into! The ending has a special twist I didn't see coming!
I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this amazing novel! It's one of my favorite books I have read this year.
By Danielle Trussoni
OMG, what a wild ride read this! I loved the way the author presented the storyline. It was presented by way of a diary, letters, dreams, and live action. All while going back and forth in timelines, yet it was not confusing! Brilliant!
There's the wonderfully crafted characters too. A girl that has seen too much that can't be real and in prison for a crime she didn't commit. Also, a puzzle master that sees things different than the average human. All of the other characters here are well developed too!
The main plot centers around a puzzle, A God Puzzle. Maybe some puzzles need to be left unsolved! Immortality?
The plot and world building is also terrific! The book reminds me of a supernatural, science fiction Dan Brown novel! It's fast paced when it needs to be and slow and terrifying when the need arises. Its a thriller, horror, science fiction, action adventure, with a touch of fantasy and romance. It's a complex story. The kind you can really sink your teeth and brain into! The ending has a special twist I didn't see coming!
I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this amazing novel! It's one of my favorite books I have read this year.
June 7, 2023
While I was at #ThrillerFest, every single author and publishing rep was talking about this book and how much they enjoyed it. Every.single.one. How am I NOT going to read it after such glowing praise? Danielle Trussoni warned me that it’s not like the usual thriller that I read, and she’s definitely right about that, but it’s one of the most multi-faceted, unique, and compelling supernatural thrillers I’ve ever read.
When Mike Brink, an expert puzzle maker is thrust into a mystery posed upon him by an inmate at a women’s prison, a mystery that could have explosive consequences, we are on a journey that I’d never expect. The story takes place in an upstate New York women’s prison through nineteenth-century Prague, to secret rooms in Piermont Morgan Library, but ultimately the biggest journey you’ll take is with your mind. This book is very smart and at times, I felt pretty stupid while reading it, so take your time with this book! That being said, I binge read this one because it was so fun. 😝 Danielle Trussoni is changing the landscape of thrillers with THE PUZZLE MASTER.
When Mike Brink, an expert puzzle maker is thrust into a mystery posed upon him by an inmate at a women’s prison, a mystery that could have explosive consequences, we are on a journey that I’d never expect. The story takes place in an upstate New York women’s prison through nineteenth-century Prague, to secret rooms in Piermont Morgan Library, but ultimately the biggest journey you’ll take is with your mind. This book is very smart and at times, I felt pretty stupid while reading it, so take your time with this book! That being said, I binge read this one because it was so fun. 😝 Danielle Trussoni is changing the landscape of thrillers with THE PUZZLE MASTER.
Read
June 13, 2023The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni
Other Books by This Author I Read/Enjoyed: The Ancestor
Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/978059374...
Release Date: June 13th, 2023
BISAC Categories: Historical - General, Literary, Thrillers - Suspense
Subgenre/Themes: Historical Fiction, Mind Bender, Mystery, Romance, Religion, Puzzles, Creepy Dolls, Haunted House, Astral Projection, Obsession, Secret Societies
Writing Style: Very, very intricately plotted, sophisticated yet accessible prose, richly detailed descriptive language, cinematic, fast pace, suspenseful
What You Need to Know: This book cannot be forced into any one genre, or even two. It’s a mystery-thriller, while also being a historical fiction novel leaning into elements of horror, with an air of romance; genre-defying, just like The Ancestor. I love it. The Puzzle Master checks off a lot of boxes for me and I suspect it will for a wide variety of readers.
My Reading Experience: I read something somewhere that said, and this is loosely translated, but it said good writers tell stories in such a way that makes their readers feel smart, not them.
I thought about that while I was reading this book because at first, I was intimidated by the synopsis, I’m not good at puzzles. I was the kid in math class that would see one of those word problems about a train traveling at x miles per hour passing a town every x hours and stopping x amount of times and picking up 10 passengers and what is the maximum occupancy if the train blah blah blah whatever, I can literally feel my brain turning its back on me. My brain rejects those “solve for x” problems or any other kind of puzzle. I don’t like puzzles because I feel like I’m not good at them.
But Danielle Trussoni wrote a book about solving puzzles and she made it fun and exciting and easy to follow while at the same time, giving the story all the intricacy, and sophistication it demands in order for it to feel special. This book is so special. The main character, Mike Brink had a professional football career ahead of him but suffered a head injury that changed his life. He has a mind for puzzles; solving them and creating them.
Trussoni’s superpower here is unfolding this story like a magic trick. The art of deception and distraction. I’m just along for this ride. I love that this puzzle master is brought in to solve a cipher created by a mysterious woman in prison. They have this electric chemistry and he becomes obsessed with her life. Then, there’s her ‘haunted house & creepy dolls’ story nestled within the larger narrative–at one point in the story, I find myself immersed in some story about a doll maker, the history of porcelain, and secret societies, ancient religious texts, oh, and even a golem! Just like I experienced with The Ancestor, Trussoni has this way of drawing me into her world with richly detailed descriptions of the setting; as I type this, I can see everything. I know the way the characters look, the prison, the big house with the creepy doll collection, all of it.
The only complaint I have is that there is a large cast of characters that I lost track of a few times and toward the end when the mystery is unraveling, I got a bit overwhelmed by it, but again–I’m not good at puzzles. Once I got there though, in the end, it was very emotional. A powerful, gripping ending with a profound message that I loved so much.
Final Recommendation: At the end of the day, The Puzzle Master is entertaining, exciting, and capable of capturing its audience for an epic magic trick with a big reveal; intricately detailed, and impressive craftsmanship. It is such a joy to place oneself in the hands of a very capable writer. Highly recommend.
Comps: Stephen King’s The Dead Zone + elements of Clive Barker’s The Hellbound Heart + Agatha Christie + Shirley Jackson. That’s this book.
Other Books by This Author I Read/Enjoyed: The Ancestor
Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/978059374...
Release Date: June 13th, 2023
BISAC Categories: Historical - General, Literary, Thrillers - Suspense
Subgenre/Themes: Historical Fiction, Mind Bender, Mystery, Romance, Religion, Puzzles, Creepy Dolls, Haunted House, Astral Projection, Obsession, Secret Societies
Writing Style: Very, very intricately plotted, sophisticated yet accessible prose, richly detailed descriptive language, cinematic, fast pace, suspenseful
What You Need to Know: This book cannot be forced into any one genre, or even two. It’s a mystery-thriller, while also being a historical fiction novel leaning into elements of horror, with an air of romance; genre-defying, just like The Ancestor. I love it. The Puzzle Master checks off a lot of boxes for me and I suspect it will for a wide variety of readers.
My Reading Experience: I read something somewhere that said, and this is loosely translated, but it said good writers tell stories in such a way that makes their readers feel smart, not them.
I thought about that while I was reading this book because at first, I was intimidated by the synopsis, I’m not good at puzzles. I was the kid in math class that would see one of those word problems about a train traveling at x miles per hour passing a town every x hours and stopping x amount of times and picking up 10 passengers and what is the maximum occupancy if the train blah blah blah whatever, I can literally feel my brain turning its back on me. My brain rejects those “solve for x” problems or any other kind of puzzle. I don’t like puzzles because I feel like I’m not good at them.
But Danielle Trussoni wrote a book about solving puzzles and she made it fun and exciting and easy to follow while at the same time, giving the story all the intricacy, and sophistication it demands in order for it to feel special. This book is so special. The main character, Mike Brink had a professional football career ahead of him but suffered a head injury that changed his life. He has a mind for puzzles; solving them and creating them.
Trussoni’s superpower here is unfolding this story like a magic trick. The art of deception and distraction. I’m just along for this ride. I love that this puzzle master is brought in to solve a cipher created by a mysterious woman in prison. They have this electric chemistry and he becomes obsessed with her life. Then, there’s her ‘haunted house & creepy dolls’ story nestled within the larger narrative–at one point in the story, I find myself immersed in some story about a doll maker, the history of porcelain, and secret societies, ancient religious texts, oh, and even a golem! Just like I experienced with The Ancestor, Trussoni has this way of drawing me into her world with richly detailed descriptions of the setting; as I type this, I can see everything. I know the way the characters look, the prison, the big house with the creepy doll collection, all of it.
The only complaint I have is that there is a large cast of characters that I lost track of a few times and toward the end when the mystery is unraveling, I got a bit overwhelmed by it, but again–I’m not good at puzzles. Once I got there though, in the end, it was very emotional. A powerful, gripping ending with a profound message that I loved so much.
Final Recommendation: At the end of the day, The Puzzle Master is entertaining, exciting, and capable of capturing its audience for an epic magic trick with a big reveal; intricately detailed, and impressive craftsmanship. It is such a joy to place oneself in the hands of a very capable writer. Highly recommend.
Comps: Stephen King’s The Dead Zone + elements of Clive Barker’s The Hellbound Heart + Agatha Christie + Shirley Jackson. That’s this book.
November 8, 2023
4.5 stars
Wow!! This book is SO wild!! 😍 It’s one that you shut the book and think… what the hell did I just read?! 😳🤯🤯🤯 Thank you so much to @randomhouse for this gorgeous gifted copy!! Also thank you to @danielletrussoni for blowing my mind. 🤯
Wow!! Oh I said that already.😂 Well this deserves a double wow! 😉I totally went in blind and had no idea what was coming. Let me tell you… this is a fantastic spooky read! 😳I wish I had read it in October… but it’s always #spookyseason here on my TBR. 😂🤷♀️ What did I love?
✅ A haunted house 🏚 OMG yes!! My fav
✅Some creepy AF porcelain dolls… 😬… LOTS of them😳😳😳
✅ MURDER 💀
✅ Creepy vibes… that made me jump at every sound…🙌
✅SO unique, crazy, twisted.. I want more! 😂
I was completely all in! This was so intriguing from the very first page. Was it a thriller?? A horror story? 🤔 I am going to go with all the above!
Mike has an amazing gift since he experienced a traumatic brain injury…. he can solve puzzles 🧩 equations.. you name it. Why does a girl named Jess who is sitting in jail.. for murder.. want to talk to Mike… and ONLY Mike? 🤔🤷♀️
I seriously flew through this book. I was captivated by the unique storyline that kept me guessing every step of the way. I am not going to lie… it completely freaked me out too. 😬😂 I felt jumpy and on edge… that Sedge House is no joke people. 😳
Wow!! This book is SO wild!! 😍 It’s one that you shut the book and think… what the hell did I just read?! 😳🤯🤯🤯 Thank you so much to @randomhouse for this gorgeous gifted copy!! Also thank you to @danielletrussoni for blowing my mind. 🤯
Wow!! Oh I said that already.😂 Well this deserves a double wow! 😉I totally went in blind and had no idea what was coming. Let me tell you… this is a fantastic spooky read! 😳I wish I had read it in October… but it’s always #spookyseason here on my TBR. 😂🤷♀️ What did I love?
✅ A haunted house 🏚 OMG yes!! My fav
✅Some creepy AF porcelain dolls… 😬… LOTS of them😳😳😳
✅ MURDER 💀
✅ Creepy vibes… that made me jump at every sound…🙌
✅SO unique, crazy, twisted.. I want more! 😂
I was completely all in! This was so intriguing from the very first page. Was it a thriller?? A horror story? 🤔 I am going to go with all the above!
Mike has an amazing gift since he experienced a traumatic brain injury…. he can solve puzzles 🧩 equations.. you name it. Why does a girl named Jess who is sitting in jail.. for murder.. want to talk to Mike… and ONLY Mike? 🤔🤷♀️
I seriously flew through this book. I was captivated by the unique storyline that kept me guessing every step of the way. I am not going to lie… it completely freaked me out too. 😬😂 I felt jumpy and on edge… that Sedge House is no joke people. 😳
November 21, 2022
The Puzzle Master = (The Da Vinci Code + The Silent Patient + sprinkle of Stephen King) x gorgeous writing.
I cannot WAIT for everyone to read so we can all discuss it! (Also, the cover is just gorgeous!!!!)
I cannot WAIT for everyone to read so we can all discuss it! (Also, the cover is just gorgeous!!!!)
June 15, 2023
This definitely ended up being a confounding read. Mike Brink has acquired savant syndrome and is an expert puzzle master. When he meets Jess Price, he is drawn into the biggest puzzle of his life and definitely one with the highest stakes. There were some parts of this book that I enjoyed more than others and honestly, it was packed with a lot of bigger concepts.
July 13, 2023
Star Rating: —> 4 Stars
RTC
________________
Holy freaking moly I am SO EXCITED TO BE THRILLED BY/ READ THIS ! 😱 Ready to solve some puzzles & mysteries! 🧐🧩🔎
Thank you to netgalley & random house for the ARC!
RTC
________________
Holy freaking moly I am SO EXCITED TO BE THRILLED BY/ READ THIS ! 😱 Ready to solve some puzzles & mysteries! 🧐🧩🔎
Thank you to netgalley & random house for the ARC!
December 25, 2023
I seldom give low ratings as I don't continue with books that are not working for me and this one had so much I could have loved. An image I did love was that of a fetus being in a perfect world and having all knowledge and at the minute of birth all is erased and he/she enters into the hardship of our imperfect world and spends every day after trying to regain the knowledge and perfection lost.
This is the story of a good idea slowly going bad or maybe rogue is a better word. It started out so promising and chapter by chapter went downhill. Plot holes, clunky prose, a muddling of ideas, a constant need to be clever or complex that eroded what could have been a very good book. I grew more and more disappointed as very early I saw an excellent premise that was falling apart on execution.
The early pages tell of a young man who has had a severe brain injury on the football field and came out the other end with Acquired Savant Syndrome and now can see patterns and sequences with extraordinary quickness. He also has photographic vision and can read and learn languages rapidly due to these abilities. He loves puzzles and now works creating them for the NYT. A young woman in prison has requested to see him and her psychiatrist thinks it is a good idea as this bright, beautiful woman had deteriorated severely in the first 5 years of her sentence and refuses to speak. He agrees to see the prisoner and during the visit she hands him a puzzle. The puzzle is a good one and involves The Kabbalah and so much more, but way too much more.
Oh if only it hadn’t gotten so complicated and silly. For a while I thought maybe it was a parody. That the author was pulling my leg and that I should just laugh at the ridiculous complications that continue to arise. But no there was some good stuff here and I could see the analogy with the puzzle or a maze but it just had too much important information that I could sense the author’s seriousness of her subject but she’d dressed it up too much with details and situations that detracted rather than beautified the initial intricate plot. I felt like I was watching a Jenga tower, as the plot was slowly eroded it eventually got too ridiculous to hold any part of my believe ability and I almost gave up on it (at about 65%) but I had to see how crazy the story got so I almost doubled the speed of the audio (boy I hated to do that to Edoardo Ballerini and his great voice) and got through it. It did not get any better. 1 star.
This is the story of a good idea slowly going bad or maybe rogue is a better word. It started out so promising and chapter by chapter went downhill. Plot holes, clunky prose, a muddling of ideas, a constant need to be clever or complex that eroded what could have been a very good book. I grew more and more disappointed as very early I saw an excellent premise that was falling apart on execution.
The early pages tell of a young man who has had a severe brain injury on the football field and came out the other end with Acquired Savant Syndrome and now can see patterns and sequences with extraordinary quickness. He also has photographic vision and can read and learn languages rapidly due to these abilities. He loves puzzles and now works creating them for the NYT. A young woman in prison has requested to see him and her psychiatrist thinks it is a good idea as this bright, beautiful woman had deteriorated severely in the first 5 years of her sentence and refuses to speak. He agrees to see the prisoner and during the visit she hands him a puzzle. The puzzle is a good one and involves The Kabbalah and so much more, but way too much more.
Oh if only it hadn’t gotten so complicated and silly. For a while I thought maybe it was a parody. That the author was pulling my leg and that I should just laugh at the ridiculous complications that continue to arise. But no there was some good stuff here and I could see the analogy with the puzzle or a maze but it just had too much important information that I could sense the author’s seriousness of her subject but she’d dressed it up too much with details and situations that detracted rather than beautified the initial intricate plot. I felt like I was watching a Jenga tower, as the plot was slowly eroded it eventually got too ridiculous to hold any part of my believe ability and I almost gave up on it (at about 65%) but I had to see how crazy the story got so I almost doubled the speed of the audio (boy I hated to do that to Edoardo Ballerini and his great voice) and got through it. It did not get any better. 1 star.
June 15, 2023
Mike Brink is the puzzle master. As a high school quarterback, he suffered a traumatic brain injury during a game that changed the way his brain sees the world and its patterns. Now as an adult, he is famous for his ingenious puzzles seen in various publications. He is called upon to visit a young woman in a psychiatric unit of the NY State prison; she has been sentenced for the murder of her boyfriend under strange circumstances and has asked to see Mike. She passes him a strange puzzle to solve, one that leads him down a supernatural path into the mysteries of the universe, to the very core of creation.
This is an ingenious, fascinating story. Mike Brink is truly an unique character whose mind works in mysterious ways. Will we see more of him and the dark mastermind (genius?) behind the secret plot for the future of humankind?
I received an arc of this new thriller from the author and publisher via NetGalley. Many thanks! My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
This is an ingenious, fascinating story. Mike Brink is truly an unique character whose mind works in mysterious ways. Will we see more of him and the dark mastermind (genius?) behind the secret plot for the future of humankind?
I received an arc of this new thriller from the author and publisher via NetGalley. Many thanks! My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
January 12, 2025
Thank you PRHAudio for the complimentary audiobook!
This audiobook is amazing! I would say comparable to Dark Matter! It's scientific, intellectual, and quantum with AI technology. The puzzles and anagrams were fascinating! The chase to solve the mystery puzzle was suspenseful. I loved the intelligent characters of Mike, Dr. Moses, Dr. Gupta, Rachel, and the expert in porcelain doll. As well as the bad guys and their careful steps to do their work and stay hidden.
This story followed Mike. An expert with puzzles. Through an injury, he acquired this gift. He can solve any puzzles or anagrams quickly. He remembers everything he read. One day a psychiatrist contacted him wanting him to come to the state prison to help her with a patient. Her patient loved his puzzles. He was reluctant at first but curiosity won him out. He went and learned of a woman named Jess who was a writer/house sitter and had been accused of murder. She hasn't spoken a word in 5 years. He met her and got to know a bit about the mystery. He dig deeper into what's going on. Then he was being followed. His place was trashed. He was kidnapped. He figured a way out. Every step of the way, as he got closer to understanding what happened, his life and the people who helped him were also in danger.
This story had me at the edge of my seats. The portal into another world was good. I can't believe the bad guy would do what he did. The ending was great. I just don't know about the gender thing... but I'm excited to start book 2!
This audiobook is amazing! I would say comparable to Dark Matter! It's scientific, intellectual, and quantum with AI technology. The puzzles and anagrams were fascinating! The chase to solve the mystery puzzle was suspenseful. I loved the intelligent characters of Mike, Dr. Moses, Dr. Gupta, Rachel, and the expert in porcelain doll. As well as the bad guys and their careful steps to do their work and stay hidden.
This story followed Mike. An expert with puzzles. Through an injury, he acquired this gift. He can solve any puzzles or anagrams quickly. He remembers everything he read. One day a psychiatrist contacted him wanting him to come to the state prison to help her with a patient. Her patient loved his puzzles. He was reluctant at first but curiosity won him out. He went and learned of a woman named Jess who was a writer/house sitter and had been accused of murder. She hasn't spoken a word in 5 years. He met her and got to know a bit about the mystery. He dig deeper into what's going on. Then he was being followed. His place was trashed. He was kidnapped. He figured a way out. Every step of the way, as he got closer to understanding what happened, his life and the people who helped him were also in danger.
This story had me at the edge of my seats. The portal into another world was good. I can't believe the bad guy would do what he did. The ending was great. I just don't know about the gender thing... but I'm excited to start book 2!
June 14, 2023
When I started reading The Puzzle Master, I was certain I was going to love it. It was reading like the Robert Langdon-Silent Patient mash-up with gothic haunted house vibes I didn't know I always needed. But as the book progressed, the more of a slog it became and the less I was able to engage with it.
It starts off well: We meet Mike Brink, a puzzle constructor who was diagnosed with sudden acquired savant syndrome after a traumatic brain injury. This rare medical condition allows him to see patterns in everything, giving him a unique ability to both construct and solve puzzles. He has been called to a New York State women's prison at the behest of a psychiatrist whose patient, Jess Price, hasn't spoken a word since she was arrested for the murder of her boyfriend. But now Jess has a message for Mike, one that will draw him into a complex ancient puzzle and a deadly game with the highest possible stakes.
At first, this was such an exhilarating read. Incorporating excerpts from Jess's journal and letters written by a mysterious doll-maker more than a hundred years ago, I was on the edge of my seat and eager to see where Danielle Trussoni was taking me. But she just kept throwing more and more into the plot, until it became incredibly muddled and esoteric. What began as a puzzle adventure with intriguing historical elements became a jumbled plot involving quantum physics, artificial intelligence, and several religious aspects. All interesting topics -- but they did not all belong in the plot of this book. It seemed like Trussoni just kept introducing new ideas and then promptly discarding the previous ideas.
I also found the characters to be very flat, and I didn't at all buy the instalove plotline (or feel entirely comfortable with it, it's kind of problematic) -- both of which would've been easier to forgive if I had remained as engaged with the book as I was at the start. Those issues, in addition to several plot holes and the chaotic nature of the plot, made this a disappointing read for me. Thank you for NetGalley and Random House for the complimentary reading opportunity.
It starts off well: We meet Mike Brink, a puzzle constructor who was diagnosed with sudden acquired savant syndrome after a traumatic brain injury. This rare medical condition allows him to see patterns in everything, giving him a unique ability to both construct and solve puzzles. He has been called to a New York State women's prison at the behest of a psychiatrist whose patient, Jess Price, hasn't spoken a word since she was arrested for the murder of her boyfriend. But now Jess has a message for Mike, one that will draw him into a complex ancient puzzle and a deadly game with the highest possible stakes.
At first, this was such an exhilarating read. Incorporating excerpts from Jess's journal and letters written by a mysterious doll-maker more than a hundred years ago, I was on the edge of my seat and eager to see where Danielle Trussoni was taking me. But she just kept throwing more and more into the plot, until it became incredibly muddled and esoteric. What began as a puzzle adventure with intriguing historical elements became a jumbled plot involving quantum physics, artificial intelligence, and several religious aspects. All interesting topics -- but they did not all belong in the plot of this book. It seemed like Trussoni just kept introducing new ideas and then promptly discarding the previous ideas.
I also found the characters to be very flat, and I didn't at all buy the instalove plotline (or feel entirely comfortable with it, it's kind of problematic) -- both of which would've been easier to forgive if I had remained as engaged with the book as I was at the start. Those issues, in addition to several plot holes and the chaotic nature of the plot, made this a disappointing read for me. Thank you for NetGalley and Random House for the complimentary reading opportunity.
May 31, 2023
The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni is a hard book to classify. It has a whole lot of everything - brutal murder, haunted dolls, demons, and conspiracy theories. The closest analogues I have for this book are National Treasure or The Da Vinci Code.
Mike Brink is a savant who acquired the ability to quickly parse puzzles after a traumatic brain injury ended his football career. Now a puzzle writer with a degree from MIT, he finds it difficult to resist a challenge. When he receives an invitation to look over a puzzle written by Jess Price, a woman serving 30 years in prison for murder, he can't resist the challenge. What unfolds is a complex journey that jumps from a prison in the Adirondacks to 1800s Prague to a haunted old mansion in New England. The puzzle Mike Brink is trying to unravel may be bigger than he ever imagined - big enough to hold the secret of eternal life.
I found this book a little frustrating. It felt like a big mashup of books and I struggled to connect with the Kabbalah/golem/cosmology pieces of this book. The ending was predictable and kind of frustrating. I know that a lot of work went into the puzzles included in the story, but the story itself felt slightly underwhelming. I enjoyed this and read it quickly, but wouldn't go out of my way to read it again.
Thank you to Danielle Trussoni and Random House for this ARC through NetGalley. The Puzzle Master will be available for purchase June 13th, 2023!
Mike Brink is a savant who acquired the ability to quickly parse puzzles after a traumatic brain injury ended his football career. Now a puzzle writer with a degree from MIT, he finds it difficult to resist a challenge. When he receives an invitation to look over a puzzle written by Jess Price, a woman serving 30 years in prison for murder, he can't resist the challenge. What unfolds is a complex journey that jumps from a prison in the Adirondacks to 1800s Prague to a haunted old mansion in New England. The puzzle Mike Brink is trying to unravel may be bigger than he ever imagined - big enough to hold the secret of eternal life.
I found this book a little frustrating. It felt like a big mashup of books and I struggled to connect with the Kabbalah/golem/cosmology pieces of this book. The ending was predictable and kind of frustrating. I know that a lot of work went into the puzzles included in the story, but the story itself felt slightly underwhelming. I enjoyed this and read it quickly, but wouldn't go out of my way to read it again.
Thank you to Danielle Trussoni and Random House for this ARC through NetGalley. The Puzzle Master will be available for purchase June 13th, 2023!
June 19, 2023
The Puzzle Master centers around Mike Brink whose life was altered after a traumatic brain injury. The brain injury left him with acquired savant syndrome gifting him the ability to solve puzzles that ordinary people can’t.
Mike is asked to help a psychiatrist with a patient of hers, Jess Price. Jess is a prisoner serving thirty years for murder and hasn't spoken a word in the five years since she's been arrested. Mike discovers that there is a very dangerous and sinister reason as to why Jess is silent. Soon Mike finds himself on a dangerous quest to discover the truth.
The Puzzle Master is a hard book to review. I thoroughly enjoyed it but I'm afraid to give anything away and spoiling if, so I'll keep it brief.
I'm always on the lookout for a unique and original story and The Puzzle Master delivered. The Puzzle Master is a genre-bending action/adventure, murder mystery, with a bit of the supernatural and even some science fiction and romance elements. Initially I was a bit intimidated by it but ended up loving it. I highly recommend this phenomenal story!
The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni was published on June 13 so it is available now! Many thanks to Penguin Random House for the gifted copy!
Mike is asked to help a psychiatrist with a patient of hers, Jess Price. Jess is a prisoner serving thirty years for murder and hasn't spoken a word in the five years since she's been arrested. Mike discovers that there is a very dangerous and sinister reason as to why Jess is silent. Soon Mike finds himself on a dangerous quest to discover the truth.
The Puzzle Master is a hard book to review. I thoroughly enjoyed it but I'm afraid to give anything away and spoiling if, so I'll keep it brief.
I'm always on the lookout for a unique and original story and The Puzzle Master delivered. The Puzzle Master is a genre-bending action/adventure, murder mystery, with a bit of the supernatural and even some science fiction and romance elements. Initially I was a bit intimidated by it but ended up loving it. I highly recommend this phenomenal story!
The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni was published on June 13 so it is available now! Many thanks to Penguin Random House for the gifted copy!
January 10, 2024
Nu mă așteptam să-mi placă, am citit-o la recomandarea socrului meu, iar noi nu avem aceleași gusturi în materie de cărți, dar chiar m-a surprins. Supranatural, mistere,misticism,demoni nu sunt chiar genul meu, dar sunt îmbinate cu mult talent, iar rezolvarea puzzelu-lui este fascinantă ca idee.
May 16, 2023
Mike Brink suffers a traumatic brain injury and becomes a brilliant puzzle solver and maker. Jess Price is serving thirty years in prison for a murder she may not have committed. She has a puzzle of her own for Mike to solve
This was a great read that had me flipping through the pages. Thanks NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Random House for this ARC that will be released June 13, 2023!
This was a great read that had me flipping through the pages. Thanks NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Random House for this ARC that will be released June 13, 2023!
June 24, 2023
This is an odd book for me to review because it spans across several genres. Overall I do think it was interesting and had some definite creative bits to it. I found it to be a bit slow at times and it took me a lot longer than normal to really get into this one. I do really like the main character, Mike Brink, he was in an accident as a kid which left him with the unique ability to see the world differently and be able to pull apart patterns and puzzles. Mike is intrigued when he is invited to a women’s prison with the lure of a unique puzzle. There he meets the counselor of a rather famous inmate. Jess was a writer before she was convicted of killing Noah. She hasn’t spoke a word since she was arrested including in her own defense at her trial. Meeting Jess spirals Mike into a race to finish the most important puzzle of his life before it’s too late.
June 13, 2023
Happy Publication Day to The Puzzle Master. This is something unlike I’ve ever read before. The author, Danielle Trussoni, introduces us to Mike Brink who had a brain injury playing football and it made him solve puzzles that others are not able to solve. He meets Jess who’s in prison for murder and he thinks she’s got something or does she? This book has action, different point of views from others and even some creepy dolls thrown into the mix. This had me guessing till the end. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.
November 2, 2022
Danielle Trussoni's THE PUZZLE MASTER is so addictive and effervescent that you won't be able to put it down. Trussoni displays tremendous range, moving effortlessly from intricate puzzles to a traumatic murder to ancient secrets. A tantalizing and delightful read that engages both heart and mind.
June 17, 2023
I rarely dnf a book and rate it but I am throwing in the towel at 82% and saying this book is 100% not worth finishing imo. I hate the direction it’s taking and honestly it goes in a million and one directions. It started off with such potential but I should have set it down around the 50% mark.
July 9, 2023
If complex puzzles, conspiracies, and over-the-top helicopter scenes are all your jam - then THIS is definitely the book for you! It didn't have a large cast of characters so it was easy to keep track of everyone and their role. It was fast moving, so you were constantly on to the next stage of the mystery with little pause. The only pause points you do get are adorable ones in the form of Connie, the MC's adorable pup. Those moments of walks, feeds and scratches were the good distractions from the intense story.
But, for all the adventures and layers of mystery, I just did not feel myself pulled in to the story. I didn't like the MC, I found him frustrating. I found the religious elements interesting but the long winded stories of porcelain were too much. All in all, interesting but just not my thing.
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
But, for all the adventures and layers of mystery, I just did not feel myself pulled in to the story. I didn't like the MC, I found him frustrating. I found the religious elements interesting but the long winded stories of porcelain were too much. All in all, interesting but just not my thing.
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
December 28, 2023
See my review on www.mysteryandsuspense.com
Danielle Trussoni’s “The Puzzle Master” is a creative, engaging and dramatic story that involves religious tradition, supernatural forces, porcelain dolls and, of course, puzzles.
When Mike Brink was young, he suffered a traumatic brain injury and his football dreams went up in smoke. But curiously, Mike became one of a select few in the entire world to develop “savant syndrome” after his injury. Mike sees patterns everywhere, and can solve just about any puzzle he comes across. Which is why, when author Jess Price reaches out to him using just a puzzle that even Mike can’t seem to solve, he knows he needs to help her. The problem is that Jess is currently in as asylum, charged with murdering her partner, and hasn’t spoken to anyone since her arrival. Mike quickly founds out that Jess knows a lot more than she can talk about, and if he wants to solve this puzzle, he has to risk everything.
Trussoni is an award-winning author and her previous novels “The Fortress”, “Angelology” and “The Ancestor” are best-sellers. “The Puzzle Master” was my introduction to Trussoni, but it is the kind of novel that has now launched Trussoni to the top of my “must-read” list.
Mike Brink is the puzzle-solving version of Robert Langdon, an expert in his field who has been sought after by various agencies because of his special abilities (Brink even worked for the NSA for a time, although he didn’t know it). Fans of Dan Brown will adore Trussoni’s mysterious and intriguing plot line and exceptional protagonist. A seemingly innocent puzzle, created by Brink himself, starts the reader off on an utterly absorbing thrill ride that doesn’t let up until the final page.
“Master” is beautifully crafted and well-developed. Initially, Brink’s plot line becomes focused on Jess Price and what happened to her partner. Then, smoothly, Brink is embroiled in a showdown with some very powerful people who are desperate to keep Jess quiet. Finally, the supernatural element is introduced, with golems and regeneration, and yet somehow, everything works together. Just when you think you have it all figured out, another propulsive and riveting plot twist hits, and you’re venturing down a new path onto an entirely new adventure and I didn’t want to get off.
Trussoni’s work is so unique, I was unable to anticipate the outcome, and I loved the journey. I can see Brink becoming a feature character in Trussoni’s future works, and I hope this to be true because I would love to see more of Mike’s intriguing mind.
Danielle Trussoni’s “The Puzzle Master” is a creative, engaging and dramatic story that involves religious tradition, supernatural forces, porcelain dolls and, of course, puzzles.
When Mike Brink was young, he suffered a traumatic brain injury and his football dreams went up in smoke. But curiously, Mike became one of a select few in the entire world to develop “savant syndrome” after his injury. Mike sees patterns everywhere, and can solve just about any puzzle he comes across. Which is why, when author Jess Price reaches out to him using just a puzzle that even Mike can’t seem to solve, he knows he needs to help her. The problem is that Jess is currently in as asylum, charged with murdering her partner, and hasn’t spoken to anyone since her arrival. Mike quickly founds out that Jess knows a lot more than she can talk about, and if he wants to solve this puzzle, he has to risk everything.
Trussoni is an award-winning author and her previous novels “The Fortress”, “Angelology” and “The Ancestor” are best-sellers. “The Puzzle Master” was my introduction to Trussoni, but it is the kind of novel that has now launched Trussoni to the top of my “must-read” list.
Mike Brink is the puzzle-solving version of Robert Langdon, an expert in his field who has been sought after by various agencies because of his special abilities (Brink even worked for the NSA for a time, although he didn’t know it). Fans of Dan Brown will adore Trussoni’s mysterious and intriguing plot line and exceptional protagonist. A seemingly innocent puzzle, created by Brink himself, starts the reader off on an utterly absorbing thrill ride that doesn’t let up until the final page.
“Master” is beautifully crafted and well-developed. Initially, Brink’s plot line becomes focused on Jess Price and what happened to her partner. Then, smoothly, Brink is embroiled in a showdown with some very powerful people who are desperate to keep Jess quiet. Finally, the supernatural element is introduced, with golems and regeneration, and yet somehow, everything works together. Just when you think you have it all figured out, another propulsive and riveting plot twist hits, and you’re venturing down a new path onto an entirely new adventure and I didn’t want to get off.
Trussoni’s work is so unique, I was unable to anticipate the outcome, and I loved the journey. I can see Brink becoming a feature character in Trussoni’s future works, and I hope this to be true because I would love to see more of Mike’s intriguing mind.
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