After a traumatic brain injury leaves him with a genius for constructing and solving puzzles, Mike Brink embarks upon a real-life riddle: novelist Jess Price, in prison for committing a notorious murder, pleads to see him in person although they have never met. She slips a baffling cipher to him, the “God Puzzle.” In trying to figure out what happened the night of the murder, what present danger has Jess terrified, and what the cipher means, Mike gets drawn into a twisted, generations-long story of forbidden arcane knowledge with the power to transform technology and humanity itself.

I loved the beginning of the book, especially the passages in which Mike sees puzzles as luminous patterns. Other than the occasional crossword, I’m not much for puzzles, so this “look-inside” was fascinating. As the story went on, with diaries telling stories-within-stories, I lost emotional connection with Mike. I distrusted his attraction to Jess as one more pasted-on artificial element. (It turned out there was a reason for the allure, but I didn’t see the signals that supernatural forces were at work.) Long passages that had nothing to do with Mike’s present quest intensified the emotional detachment. Three-quarters of the book, a series of characters arrived and proceeded, very much deus ex machina, to solve Mike’s problems for him while dumping huge, indigestible chunks of exposition. This part read as if two completely different books had been jammed together. Despite scattered scenes with action, the remainder of the book proceeded with very little sense that everything had been building to this point. In the end, Mike did relatively little to achieve his own goal or solve his own problems. The book was billed as a “thriller,” but the last part did a good job putting me to sleep. Which is too bad, really, because the material about puzzles was fascinating.

#DanielleTrussoni and #ThePuzzleMaster are still hitting home runs! I have been a fan of her #Angelology series for so long that I her new books are an automatic purchase for me at this point. I wish I had pre-ordered the sequel to this series, but I didn't and lost out on her #Angelology novella. In other words, PURCHASE...PURCHASE...READ!!!

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an early copy of The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni.
This story follows Mike Brink after a tragic sports accident, which give him a traumatic brain injury. This injury caused him to be able to solve puzzles like no one else. Brink meets Jess, a woman who has been quiet the entire time she has been locked up for murder. Jess wants Brink to solve a crazy puzzle. This leads him on a crazy quest.
This kept me guessing until the end, although some parts were hard for me to stay focused through. If you are a puzzle person, give this one a try.

This took a really weird turn in the middle. The beginning was totally intriguing but then it sort of fell apart toward the end. Not sure that I'd recommend this one.

Thanks again to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an eARC in exchange for a review. Having previously read The Ancestor by this same author I knew I was in for an intriguing thoroughly researched novel and boy howdy did I ever get one. Personally I'm not good at puzzles but I sure as heck love reading about them. This novel weaves a fascinating storyline about murder, numbers, patterns, porcelain dolls and man's quest for immortality. Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! I liked the premise of the book and thought it got off to a strong start, but then I felt like it went off the deep end. This seemed like the kind of read that couldn't decide what genre it wanted to fall under, but rather than being a genre-bending masterpiece, it conflicted within itself -- starting as what I felt like was a mystery/thriller, moving into horror, and then incorporating a religious element as well as some tech concepts I didn't fully understand. Overall, I do think that some readers would enjoy this book (and I myself really enjoyed the first half), but I felt like it stumbled its way towards the ending.

I really wanted to love this book- I'm always excited for a book with layers and layers and layers of mysteries. However, it did feel like it crossed over into too much and it became difficult to follow/keep track of things. There was also much more of a horror influence than I was expecting, and that's not a genre I read.

This book is very good. Very intriguing. I can’t give it 5 stars because of the ending I am not a fan of ambiguous endings. If they do not bother you, you should love this book

4.5 rounded up to 5

This was my first Danielle Trussoni book and definitely won’t be the last. And yes, I have a countdown going on until the release of book
2 featuring Mike Brink, The Puzzle Box!

As someone who absolutely loves mind puzzles, I was immediately intrigued by this premise. I love stories that challenge my mind to bend in unexpected ways in order to not miss any details. Brain is such a fascinating organ and Mike Brink’s sounds especially so! A traumatic brain injury which resulted in his brain being capable of solving puzzles in a way ordinary humans couldn’t.

This one will demand your full attention but in return you will be rewarded with part thriller, part a quest with a touch of mystical. I really enjoyed on this thrilling ride with the main character and hope you will too!

A huge thank you to Random House and NetGalley for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review!

The cover and the synopsis drew me in since I love a story where you are solving the mystery with the MC. Unfortunately, this fell short on me. I found the writing to be repetitive, especially with the MC. The author would delve into their past more than my liking. Whenever, we experienced these flashbacks it drew away any suspense Trussoni was building. I then found it odd with how quick the MC falls for Jessica. I wouldn't have mind if they fell in love but it was too insta-love for my liking. Overall, I didn't like this book and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

I was SUPER into this book at the beginning, and for about the first 50%. However, as the story went on, it kind of went off the rails and it also did a lot of "telling" instead of showing. Overall this was a miss for me.

I loved Angelology, the second book was not as strong. I would still recommend Angelology.
I also read her bio about her Dad, it was good. There is something about this author, she can put the finger on somethings........

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

This book started out as a really strong mystery, but then tried to cram too many genres into the end. Like, there are ancient demons mixed up with futuristic tech and tied together with a porcelain doll?

Mike Brink is the MC of the story, a savant able to decipher pizzles, and as such is trying to help a woman he feels is wrongly convicted of her boyfriend's murder. He also the most passive character ever! He even actually relies on the flip of a coin to make life-altering decisions. Everything just happened to him, other people dictated his actions, and he just went with the flow. At one point he just went willingly along with people, the villains if you will, who had previously kidnapped him and held him at gunpoint.

Other characters were one-dimensional and each felt they just had the purpose of giving twisty little history lessons, making the character interactions feel artificial and very contrived, bringing me out of the story. Like the museum expert who just met Mike then stole an artifact & took off with him was so implausible. And when the villains explained their grand plan to Mike, their kidnap victim, it felt like a scene right out of a James Bond film.

However, I did enjoy this author's descriptive writing style. But I felt that much of this story was told to us, rather than shown because of the complex ideas the author was trying to convey.

So, after reading this book, I could not really explain to you what happened at the end. I think I did get what happened with the doll & Jess (all that tragedy due to a typo!?), but still not quite sure about the tech part at the very end, and how it related back to the whole doll situation. But I'm not super tech savvy so that could totally be a "me" thing.

Overall, this was action-packed (at one point Mike hadn't slept in like 3 days!), and it would be a good choice for someone maybe more tech-minded than I am. 3.5 stars.

ᴡᴇ ɢᴇᴛ ɪᴛ! ʏᴏᴜ’ʀᴇ ʟɪᴋᴇ ʀᴇᴀᴀᴀᴀᴀʟʟʟʏ ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴀᴛ ᴘᴜᴢᴢʟᴇs 😅 ɪ ʜᴀᴅ ᴀ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ʜᴀʀᴅ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ɢᴇᴛᴛɪɴɢ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛʜɪs ʙᴏᴏᴋ ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜsᴇ ɪᴛ ғᴇʟᴛ ᴠᴇʀʏ ʀᴇᴅᴜɴᴅᴀɴᴛ ᴅɪsᴄᴜssɪɴɢ ʜᴏᴡ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴏғ ᴀ ᴘᴜᴢᴢʟᴇ sᴀᴠᴀɴᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀɪɴ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ, ᴍɪᴋᴇ ʙʀɪɴᴋ ɪs. ɪᴛ ᴊᴜsᴛ ғᴇʟᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ɪᴛ ᴡᴀs ᴛʀʏɪɴɢ ᴡᴀʏ ᴛᴏᴏ ʜᴀʀᴅ! ɪ ᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴛʜɪs ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀs ᴠᴇʀʏ ɪɴᴛʀɪɢᴜᴇᴅ ʙʏ ᴛʜᴇ sᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ, ʙᴜᴛ ɪᴛ ᴅɪᴅɴ’ᴛ ᴅᴏ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ғᴏʀ ᴍᴇ. ᴏᴠᴇʀᴀʟʟ, ᴛʜɪs ғᴇʟᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴀ ᴋɴᴏᴄᴋ-ᴏғғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀ ᴠɪɴᴄɪ ᴄᴏᴅᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴘɪᴄᴋ ᴜᴘ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅɴ’ᴛ ᴡᴀɪᴛ ғᴏʀ ɪᴛ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴏᴠᴇʀ.

📖 ʜᴜɢᴇ ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ @randomhouse ᴀɴᴅ @netgalley ғᴏʀ ᴛʜɪs ᴀʀᴄ ᴄᴏᴘʏ ɪɴ ᴇxᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ ғᴏʀ ᴀɴ ʜᴏɴᴇsᴛ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ 📖

I enjoyed the premise of this book and really wanted to love it. The puzzles got to be a little much for me and distracted my focus away from what was actually happening in the plot itself. Loved the main character, though!

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. This story is the perfect combo of mystery, supernatural and gothic horror. While it is not really my normal read I couldn't help but get swept up in it and I highly recommend it. It will keep you up at night.

The Puzzle Master is about Mike Brink, who has acquired savant syndrome; it's made him a genius with patterns and puzzles. He also has a dog named Conundrum, whom I love. Brink finds himself wrapped up in a conspiracy filled with puzzles, murder, creepy dolls, religion, technology, and danger.

I had a lot of fun with this book. I was hooked within the first five pages and ended up getting the audiobook from my library so I could listen to it when I didn't have time to read. Never at any moment could I have guessed what would happen next, or even the direction the story was taking! It's one of those books that makes you just admire storytellers.

I found Brink to be extremely likeable, and the acquired savant aspect isn't too unrealistic. I mean, with the type of thriller it is, of course the story in general isn't realistic, but I didn't scoff at how he solved puzzles. Trussoni did a good job of making it an interesting character trait without Dan-Brown-level ridiculousness.

The middle lags a bit, and it was difficult to stay interested in the long epistolary sections, especially when they were from or about characters I didn't like. I also think it veers a little bit into biting off more than it can chew. But it's a well-written, fun, unique thriller, and I enjoyed it. I'll definitely be reading more from Trussoni!

This was just so bad. So very bad. The characters were unsympathetic, the plot was contrived... I wanted so much more from this. The characters were particularly frustrating: perhaps crafted with a little too much perfection, to the point where one felt compelled to roll one's eyes so frequently that without appropriately training in advance, one risked permanent ocular injury.

A suspenseful and intricately plotted thriller about a puzzle genius who investigates mysteries that go all the way to humanity’s origins.