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

I hate puzzles. I don't enjoy logic puzzles. I barely do crosswords and yet, 'The Puzzle Master' by Danielle Trussoni took me on an unexpectedly delightful journey. Trussoni's skillful construction of the novel, incorporating letters, dreams, alternating points of view, and of course, puzzles, was an unexpected surprise.

While it wasn't something I would exactly pick up (puzzles), I enjoyed the craftsmanship of the writing. It was an ambitious plot and I thought Trussoni pulled it off in a way that was satisfying. If I had to make comparisons I would say this novel is reminiscent of Dan Brown's 'Angels and Demons' intertwined with one of my favorite novels Marisha Pessl's 'Night Film,' and a dabble of "The Silent Patient."

While I was enthralled by the complexity of the storyline, there were moments that I found a bit less interesting, the doll maker for example. It's a risk in any novel to be so ambitious and I think my admiration for that overwhelms my loss of attention in some areas.

Overall, 'The Puzzle Master' is a testament to the joy of a well-constructed novel, offering readers a captivating blend of mystery, suspense, horror, and intrigue. Despite not being a puzzle person, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey and eagerly anticipate reading the sequel.

#ThePuzzleMaster by @danielletrussoni is what I finished today! Many thanks to the author for sending me this lovely signed book! There is a sequel that is coming out this fall and I’ve already preordered it so I’m very excited - called - The Puzzle Box !! This story really went places that I was not expecting it to go - for example - I know this author’s books usually have an either magical realism or supernatural elements - but this also had religious mysticism and sci-Fi elements. On top of all that, it has so much intrigue, a secret society, and lots of action. The main character - Mike Brink - has been called by a prison psychiatrist about her patient. Mike gained acquired savant syndrome from a traumatic head injury and has become a mathematical genius and master puzzle master/decoder. The psychiatrist says her patient who will not speak has requested him to help her solve a puzzle. This winds up being not a just a puzzle but a key to something huge. I can’t say more - I hope I didn’t say too much. I’m curious where the next book will go and I’m hoping that one problem will be solved by just hitting CTRL-ALT-DLT buttons Hahahha. If you know you know !!! Read the book then dm me about the ending so I can tell you how badly I want to do that as well!!!! #scifi #supernatural #kabbala #mideveil #puzzles Check this one out, the sequel will be out this fall!

Acquired savant syndrome—in which some traumatic brain injury results in sudden new abilities or perfect recall—affects only a few dozen people on the entire planet in real life, but about 30% of mystery/thriller protagonists in my recent reading. It’s an understandable trend, because someone like David Baldacci’s Amos “Memory Man” Decker is basically a regular guy with superpower, so you get all the irresistible thrills of a superhero story in what is otherwise am appealing police procedural. In The Puzzle Master, Mike Brink suffers a football injury that leaves him with a sudden extreme aptitude for solving and constructing puzzles. He becomes involved in a mystery when a prison psychiatrist calls him to examine a puzzle drawn by an inmate convicted for murder who has remained silent for the entire first 5 years of her sentence. The puzzle is so captivating that Mike can’t resist trying to understand what is going on and quickly comes to the attention of some bad guys who absolutely don’t want him to figure it out. So far, so great: puzzle genius, threatening bad guys, mysterious codes, the potential to solve an unexplained murder. At some point after this solid beginning, the Da Vinci code of it all sort of veers off the rails. I mean, if you just told us the puzzle's solution gave the key to world domination or something, we’d say OK to this bit of sc-fi, suspend disbelief, and enjoy watching everyone chase the intellectual MacGuffin. Instead, the exact purpose of the code seems to keep shifting and vaguely acquiring more quasi-religious meaning until the whole effort starts to seem a little silly. Readers don’t have the information needed to solve most of the puzzles presented, so there is little satisfaction in seeing Mike reveal the answers.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for a digital advance review copy.

This book had a really interesting premise, but it ended up going a bit off the rails. It just kept getting more and more complicated and esoteric, and it was tough to follow everything that was going on. I also felt there were a few too many characters getting involved in what was supposed to be a super secret affair, and with every new character, it got even more convoluted. It was overall interesting enough to keep me reading, but by the last quarter I was really ready for it to end.

2.5⭐️
This was not for me. I had high hopes going into it but the religious references alongside murder just didn’t sit right with me. I was interested in the main character and his amazing abilities but that was all that intrigued me. Unfortunately, I will not be trying any other books by this author.

DNF@40%

This book was intriguing at the beginning but then it started to get boring and I honestly just stopped caring about everything that was going on. The action scenes should've picked things up but instead it made me even more bored some how.

Mike Brink, a football player, suffered a traumatic brain injury that caused a rare medical condition. Now, he can solve puzzles in ways that other people cannot.

Jess Price, imprisoned for murder, has not spoken a word since her arrest. After she draws a puzzle, her psychiatrist calls in Mike to help out.. After meeting her, he becomings intrigued by her and her puzzle.

What follows is a quest to solve a puzzle of all puzzles. This book is a mash up of several genres: science fiction, romance, mystery, thriller, supernatural, etc. all of which I personally enjoy!

Original, thought provoking, and well written. 4 stars!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Probably more like 3.5 stars. I definitely didn’t hate it, but it was not quite as thrilling or involved as a Dan Brown, which is the style I was hoping for. I enjoyed Mike Brink as a character and getting inside his brain a bit; but, the other characters weren’t quite as easy to know/care about as I would prefer. I will probably still read the second one since I’ve been granted access for an advanced copy, and hope for a but more depth.

The Puzzle Master is a suspenseful thriller that follows a puzzle master who is asked to meet with an inmate, Jess, who killed her husband and has spoken since. The puzzle master is asked to meet with her because she has drawn “the god puzzle” that may have more to it than just one murder.

The story follows the puzzle masters as he attempts to unlock the secrets of “the god puzzle.” It was interesting enough, but didn’t have lasting impact on me.

I can see how the hype existed with this one but it wasn’t one of my typical reads. Not to say that’s a bad thing sometimes but this went more towards religious and scientific matters that I kind of dazed away and kept losing myself to butterflies in the sky and the focus I had on the book. The pace and creep status was good but personally it just wasn’t my kind of thriller - you have to pay super close slow style attention and it kind of made me feel like a dodo.

Thank you random house and netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

The Puzzle Master is the next suspenseful thriller from the author of Angelology, Danielle Trussoni. The book introduces the reader to Mike Brink, a man that suffers from savant syndrome after a brain injury he sustains from during a football game. Needless to say, Mike's outlook on life entirely changes as all he sees is puzzles. Everything he sees is framed in a puzzle format.

But the Puzzle Master isn't just about Mike Brink, this book is so much more. Cults, riddles, clues, religion, a dual gendered god, ancient mysteries, golems, and of all things... porcelain dolls. Each and every piece is centered around a murder where the suspect has become silent. Not only that, she has demanded to speak with Mike.

From the moment Mike Brink is pulled into the world of Jess Price. It isn't just a murder but his interactions with Jess pull him into a dream landscape he never anticipated, and the future of a world filled with promise as much as death.

The Puzzle Master isn't your normal run of the mill read. It has depths and layers where religion and science, past and future, dreams and reality all interweave to become a constant circle. I truly didn't know what to expect with the Puzzle Master.

To me the dream exchanges between Mike and Jess were some of the most fascinating scenes in the book. As I continued reading the fascination continued to grow and the Puzzle Master became so much more then I ever anticipated.

The book was eye opening and touched upon things I have considered but never really ventured through. In some ways it reminded me of the Davinci Code... but don't be fooled... The Puzzle Master is a unique novel that stands on its own.

If you enjoy thrillers that intertwine so many different fragments of ideals and make you think then I highly recommend The Puzzle Master. Until next time, Happy Reading!

I tried to read this one a few times, however, I could not get into it. I do want to check out more from this author in the future. Thank you netgalley for the early copy

Tbh I really need to start reading synopsis before reading books. So I thought this was going to be a murder mystery involving our MC Mike, who after a brain injury developed Savant Syndrome. Instead I got an insane story involving murder, golems, mythology, and the ultimate puzzle.
This story was absolutely wild. Jess is an author sentenced to prison for murder, and hasn't spoken - that is until she asks for Mike's help. Now Mike is thrust into the weirdest quest into puzzles, centuries old conspiracies, and a little bit of magic.

I don't even know how to explain this book without giving away so many spoilers, but if you like puzzles and intrigue, this book is a must read. The twists kept coming and by the time the dolls and the golems showed up I really just didn't know what to expect anymore. I also really liked the addition of the puzzles, transcripts, letters, etc in the story, it made the whole story seem much more alive. I am always a sucker for the added storytelling ways, it just really adds to the world building so much.

But definitely one to add if you're a Dan Brown fan, or just a fan of puzzle and thrillers in general!

This is a fun thriller. It's a bit ridiculous, but you bet I'm going to continue with the series. It reminded me of a Dan Brown book. Mike Brink gets a concussion playing football. When he wakes up he sees puzzles and patterns everywhere. He is one of a few people with Acquired Savant Syndrome. When he is sent a piece of a puzzle from a mental institution he is drawn into a larger fight.

My biggest issue with the book is the Mike is very boring. He's a generic handsome man with an abnormal skill, but this does not equal a personality. He has a brilliant mind and eschews a PhD to create puzzles for the New York Times. I would honestly prefer a character based on an actual puzzle master like Will Shortz.

As for the rest of the plot, be prepared for a wild rid

The Puzzle Master is an interesting book that is a combination of several different genres. It’s a thriller, scifi, mystery and even romance. It is about a football player who suffers a traumatic brain injury and then acquires the ability to solve difficult puzzles. The story is told from multiple points of view and in dual timelines so sometimes it seems a little tricky to follow, but overall, fun and exciting story!

I am a fan of puzzles, so I just knew I had to read this! 🧩 But this book is bigger than just solving a puzzle - it’s part mystery, part thriller, part horror, part sci fi too! 🫠

While I did enjoy the story, I do have to say that at times it got too scientific and some of the concepts went over my head, hence the rating. If you’re into scientific and religious concepts, you may enjoy this one more than I did! 🤓

A big thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read and review this in exchange for my honest review! ❤️

I really enjoyed this book. The story was hard to follow at times, but the premise kept me engaged throughout. Recommended to readers who enjoy puzzles, mysteries and thrillers.

Took me awhile to get into because I had some trouble understanding what was going on but after a while I just started to like it , differently going to be doing a re read of this .

This book was difficult to read. The general idea is there. This guy gets a head injury as a teenager and is then a savant at puzzles because he can see patterns where most can't, and then he becomes challenged when he meets a female inmate who communicates with him through puzzles. It feels like it should be The Silent Patient and Davinci Code mixed together, which would make for one amazing story if that is what this story was. Instead, we have a disconnected indivual who feels like he has socialization problems trying to communicate to you the innerworkings of a puzzle and the who thing feels . . . stale. Fake. Forced. Devoid of any real life. I need this book to wrap around my mind and my emotions, draw me in, make me want (no, need) to know the answers. I shouldn't want my main character to shut up because it sounds like they are trying too hard to sound smart, I want them to be smart and make me smarter because I actually understand what they are seeing. Like if I were reading a book about a doctor, I wouldn't want them to necessarily name every single muscle, blood vessel, etc. I want them to tell it to me like I am there doing it, even though I don't have the skills or knowledge to perform REAL surgery.