This is my first book I've read by Trussoni. I took a chance because I love puzzles and the concept seemed really interesting.

Mike Brink is a former promising football star. After a head injury, he can no longer pursue his dream. As a result, he develops several abilities, including being able to see patterns and solve puzzles in unusual ways. His reputation leads to a request from Jess Price, a prisoner with a 30 year sentence for murder. She presents him with a puzzle that may lead to information about her crime. Soon, Brink's involvement with Jess becomes an obsession. He spirals into a quest to solve something called the God puzzle and discovers there are other forces at hand.

The Puzzle Master engaged me from the beginning. I loved the concept, the intrigue and the puzzle element. I even liked the mystery of the story. That being said, I struggled a little bit with the book overall. At times the story became repetitive and Trussoni threw a lot into the plot. And I mean, a lot. There are cryptic puzzles, prayer circles, creepy dolls, a god, murder, Jewish mysticism. The list goes on. For my reading experience, this created a feeling of a disjointed plot. I questioned the authors direction and focus. The romantic element threw me off as well. It felt forced. Overall, I wish the story was just a bit more focused and tighter, the elements still there, but more cohesive. Regardless, I really did like the book's vision and concept. I even enjoyed Trussoni's writing. At times I was all in. The book had me locked in and lookin forward to the ride.

Suspense in The Puzzle Master was decent and overall gave me Alex Michaelides "The Silent Patient" vibes.

I was excited for the adventure / puzzliness of this, and I struggled to get into it. The main character wasn't really resonating with me, and it all felt sort of mundane and boring. I DNF'd at approx 20%. It's definitely a slow burn puzzling book with a lot of psychological depth (more like you'd find in a psychological thriller perhaps). It'll be a great book for many but just was too slow for me to get into.

I read the first three chapters of this title and I had to DNF it for my own sanity. I received a request to review this title and I clicked on it, and it has been on my shelf ever since, even though I wasn't entirely certain I wanted to review it, I finally sat down to start it today, and I was immediately disappointed with the language style of the first few chapters and I can't say I really felt all that engaged in the plot. The first few sentences about our main character seemed forced and repetitive, and the whole premise for why he is forced to go to this prison is constrictive. The Warden outright states she shouldn't share any of this information, but is reaching out anyway, and it might be ok to share some private records if he makes a special trip. This just is not my cup of tea and I will not be finishing the title.

This was a fun adventure story involving puzzles, ancient religious beliefs, and dolls. There's a lot happening in this book-sometimes too much, I think, but I could not turn the pages fast enough. Mike Brink is a great character, and you root for him (and his dog, Connie) throughout the book. After a traumatic brain injury, he activated a part of his brain that can instantly solve puzzles, read 100 pages in 90 seconds and more. He's the world puzzle master, so he's roped into solving an ancient puzzle that promises to change the world, but people in the way are being killed. Is Mike helping or is he in the way? Does he want to help? Will appeal to puzzle lovers and people who love adventure stories.

Compared to Da Vinci code, the Puzzle Master did have some similarities. Both grabbed me right away. PM was a little more confusing than DC at times with side plots (kind of sci fi-ish at times). Overall, great characters, cool facts and interesting ideas. Definitely, a unique and fun story.

An original spin on a saturated genre. Reminded me a bit of The Da Vinci Code. Enjoyed the puzzle aspect, but the real head scratcher was with the doll. I was lost for that part of the story, but overall, a unique plot.

I love books that combine adventure and puzzles, so the premise of this book sounded right up my alley. Unfortunately, the reality didn't live up to the dream in this case. Too much of the time was focused on the pontifications of rich old men and a weird fixation on porcelain. Unfortunately, the puzzle got lost in all that unnecessary content and it took away from the story. The main character was dull and too focused on his abilities, he lacked complexity and made a lot of stupid decisions. The big reveal lacked impact as a result and I felt it didn't make a ton of sense. Ultimately, this book just wasn't for me.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I enjoyed this book, anything with puzzles will always get my attention and draw me in. This got too complicated at times and was a little hard for me to follow, but I got the gist overall and it was a satisfying read. I really enjoyed the audio but do want to note that this could have been part of the issue with following along, sometimes the physical version is better with these types of books imo.

Thank you to Random House, NetGalley and PRH Audio for the digital copy to review.

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.

The Puzzle Master is an interesting concept for a story. Mike Brink was in an accident that resulted in a traumatic brain injury which gave him a rare mental super power. He gains the ability to solve even the hardest of puzzles. He gets a call from a prison ask him to help with an inmate and everything changes for him. Mike meets Jess Price, who goes him a puzzle that he can't solve immediately. He believes to key to Jess's case will be revealed once he solves the mystery. Solving this puzzle leads him into unknown territory and danger. I loved the first half of the book. I was pulled in immediately and had to know what was going to happen but then it started to drag. It also got very weird and convoluted to the point were I just wanted it to be over. Unfortunately, this one just had too many different things happening for me.

This is one of those books that is getting a lot of hype, but I find is left wanting. It’s a complicated storyline designed around futuristic life while connecting with complicated dealings with past puzzles. IT’s searching for the meaning of life. I found it to be a lot of slight of hand and with aspects of the story that made me feel like the author wants me to believe the unbelievable just to make the story work. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the read.

I’d say for me this was a 3.5 star, but I rounded up to 4. I found it a little confusing, my brain doesn’t work like a puzzle master. The plot takes the reader on a wild race across time and places. Some of the characters were quite interesting and some just plain creepy. I guess it isn’t really my genre, but I was glad to read it.

[Blurb goes here]

Mike Brink, a man with 'acquired savant syndrome,' is called to visit a murderer who happens to be a woman. She hasn't spoken about what happened but seems to know who Mike is. Thus begins Mike's quest to solve a ton of puzzles that will help save this woman. Oh! Right. Mike is a Puzzle Master...he creates puzzles for a newspaper.

The first 20% of the book is exciting: setting the background for the story. Soon after that, it becomes a convoluted mess. While beautifully written, the plot branches out into infinity, confusing the reader in the worst possible way.

Most of the events taking place around our hero don't make sense and turn into holes in the story. I wanted to like this novel. As I've said, it is well written...but goes too far out into tangents that are never fully explained.

Thank you for the advanced copy!

Do you enjoy reading and thinking about the following: mysticism, Kabbalah, numerical brain teasers, demons, conspiracy theories, digital surveillance, Golems, secret societies, computer, hacking, Blockchain, and immortality?

If yes, then this is the book for you. I am only mildly interested in a couple of these topics, so I didn’t really enjoy this book. It is well written, and I think someone who is fascinated by these topics would really love this book. I don’t think I am intended audience. I’m giving it 2 1/2 stars and I always round up.

Much of the book goes into very long explanations of mystical theories that did not hold my interest so I wound up skimming this book and finished it in a day.

I appreciate net galley and the publisher, giving me a free digital ARC in exchange for my truthful opinion.

This was one of most uniquely fascinating books that I have had the pleasure of reading in quite some time. The synergy achieved between the puzzles contained within the book along with the central plot made this book so utterly intriguing, that I literally could not read it fast enough. The male protagonist Mike Brink, has what is called acquired savant syndrome, which leads him to see the world as puzzles and patterns. This aspect of the story was what drew me in because my foundation as a medical provider is in neurology, so I find the brain to be quite an enigma. Then you have the religious ideologies and hypotheses keenly interwoven into the central plot of the book and that my friend becomes this masterpiece of a novel.

I cannot state it often enough how utterly fascinating and unique this novel is, and I will be recommending it to any and all because how keenly written this book is, is genius that needs to be shared and appreciated by one and all! Kudos to Ms. Trussoni!!

a well written thriller that i couldn't put down

thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the copy for review

This book was interesting but it gave me a lot of whiplash. It was a quick read that reminded me of Dan Brown. I thought the puzzle would be more of a mystery than a cipher. I think this would be good for a movie adaptation.

Mike Brink is a puzzle master. A head injury in his past life has allowed him to see patterns and remember them like no one else. Jess Price is an author who stumbled across a mystery which turned into a murder and dove into the supernatural. Mix these threads together and you have a thriller that blends the past and present, reality and mysterious.

Overall a good read. The way the supernatural blended with the puzzle with religious roots was well done and interesting. The questions and ideas it brought up were stimulating. I did however struggle with the end of the novel. It felt rushed — with story threads abruptly tied off or dismissed in an unsatisfactory manner. 3 stars.

Review based on a digital Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley. Thank you!

Enjoyable book that I thought I knew where it was going but boy was I wrong! I loved the surprises in this novel but felt like some of it went over my head. The puzzles were the best part - wish there were a bit more though!