Any blurb on a book that states that it is part Da Vinci Code, part Silent Patient and a sprinkle of Stephen King will automatically get my attention! I have to say, this book did not disappoint. I loved the beginning, middle and end of this book and it will keep you reading well into the early morning hours. I loved the puzzles, mystery and religion aspects of this book. This book was very suspenseful and I was found myself not wanting to put it down so I could find out what happened next.

Highly recommend this book and I look forward to what Danielle writes next! Go get this book!

This book started out really strong. Mike was an interesting character. About 3/4ths of the way through the story line kind of lost me. There was a little too much going on at once. Once the past storylines were introduced, I wish we could have stayed within them to see more of the story from Jess and LaMoriette’s perspectives. Overall I enjoyed the book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book has a fantastic premise. Unfortunately, it was just not for me.

On the brink of a footfall scholarship, Mike is injured and wakes up a new person. One that sees patterns and can solve puzzles. Decades later, Jess is a successful writer accused of a brutal murder who refuses to talk to anyone. Not a word in her own defense, in explanation, or even in support of the conviction. After years in jail, she still won't talk to anyone... except Mike.

I was very intrigued by the premise, but the story took a mystical turn. One involving Jewish mysticism and a billionaire looking for eternal life. It was just too much for me. However, those elements start emerging early in the story, and if they are not for you, it is early enough to put the book down. As I was reading it, I kept comparing it to The Dvinci Code but not in a positive light. If you know what you are getting into, I think you will have better luck with it than I did.

On the other hand, there are plot holes in the story, and there was one element I just could not forgive the story for: Mike knows he is being pursued by people with access to the best technology and yet continues to carry and use his cell phone. Then is surprised when he is found. This happens multiple times! I am very forgiving of these kinds of plot issues, but this one, I could not. Not when the story kept reminding us of the resources and technologies being used. If you are less forging than I tend to be, you will find plenty of other problems that might be too distracting.

This book had me hooked from the opening chapter! The Puzzle Master is a fast-paced, thriller that combines history and fiction in a way that makes everything seem real. I was able to relate to the protagonist, as they reminded me of someone close to me, which made it easy to read. There aren't enough fiction novels out there that focus on puzzles and riddles, which makes this book so unique in the thriller genre. The many twists and turns the book takes leave you guessing until the last page.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Puzzle Master sounded like it had all the elements of an exciting summer read. Also, being compared to books like The Silent Patient made me intrigued enough to give it a try. For me, this didn't live up to the comparisons and from looking at other reviews, I may be in the minority here.

The story is about Mike Brink who is part of a small group of people who has acquired savant syndrome which in his case gives him the ability to see patterns and solve puzzles easily. He is tapped on by a psychologist at a women's prison when one of the inmates provides a puzzle to her and requests to see Brink. From there the story takes off.

However, the story goes in ten different directions. It never really figures out what it wants to be and eventually falls into using religious artifacts and stories to support the story which is fairly flimsy to begin with using things like blockchain, cryptocurrency, and AI as buzzy things that don't truly factor into the story too much until the last page. While very readable, the author also had a slightly annoying tendency to with her word choice-words like Archimedean, chiaroscuro, etc....all great, but they don't fit the rest of the writing and it honestly just feels like the author is trying to appear smart.

After being unimpressed by Angelology and now this one, I think I'll leave this author's future endeavors to others who enjoy her.

The Puzzle Master was masterfully written with everything thoroughly researched. There is a little bit of everything in this book: mystery, thriller, sci-fi, horror, technology and supernatural. The Puzzle Master reminded me of The Da Vinci Code, but easier for me to follow. I found myself making a list of topics I want to research more as there were new concepts included that I am not familiar with.
Set to release in June 2023 and I highly recommend grabbing a copy!

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House, Random House for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love puzzles and mysteries so when I read the marketing copy for this book, I was intrigued. I'm not a big Dan Brown fan but I did like The Da Vinci Code and this book has some similarities.

Mike Brink's dream of becoming an NFL quarterback is shattered when he suffers a brain injury during a high school football game. Instead of studying "x's" and "o's", he sees numeric patterns all around him due to what is known as acquired savant syndrome, and his life is now centered around creating and solving puzzles. His sudden puzzle-solving skills do come at a cost, however: he finds it hard to emotionally connect with people.

Jess Price, who hasn't spoken a word since her arrest five years ago for murder, lets her psychiatrist know she wants to meet Brink when she draws a complex puzzle that only he can solve. Hoping for a breakthrough, her psychiatrist arranges a visit between Jess and Mike. It is a pivotal point in both their lives: Mike feels an instant connection to Jess and Jess opens up to him. What follows is a roller-coaster ride as Mike tries to solve Jess's puzzle and finds both his own and Jess's life in danger.

This is a suspenseful page-turner of a read. I found myself immersed in the world of puzzles and mysticism. For Mike to solve Jess's God Puzzle, he must delve into religious beliefs, scientific principles, and ancient manuscripts, all of which make for an interesting and compelling read. This is a complex story that expertly unfolds. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book. The publication date is June 13, 2023.

The Puzzle Master was a great book, filled with action, intrigue and a little more Jewish religion and folklore than I was expecting. (No complaints, it was fascinating.) Mike Brink was an interesting, if not totally believable character. Even puzzle nerds have to be tall, fit and handsome in action stories.

I would read another Mike Brink book, and I may look at some of Danielle Trussoni's other books as well. She's a very good writer.

Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read the ARC. Thank you to Random House and Danielle Trussoni. All opinions are my own.

I was excited for the premise of this book, but it deviated so far from where I thought it would go, and became so complex. There were a lot of elements presented in the book that felt unnecessary, so many parts felt like the author was throwing everything at the wall and seeing what stuck. Unfortunately this wasn’t a hit for me, but hopefully it is for others!

The Puzzle Master started off really strong. I really loved the first 30% or so. The thriller vibes and the MC’s giftedness with puzzles made for an interesting and exciting read. And I loved it as we started getting some of Jess’s backstory. The horror vibes at Sedge house were a wonderfully unexpected surprise.

But then the nature of the story shifted and dragged. There was a lot of info dumping on a multitude of topics. I didn’t enjoy reading long stretches of detail about binary code, computers, etc.

I picked up this book because of the reference to Jewish mysticism in the synopsis. I am Jewish and was excited by the prospect of a uniquely Jewish story (I don’t know if I’ve ever read a thriller or mystery with Jewish representation). But I didn’t like the Jewish representation here, which says a lot because I love golem stories. This didn’t feel authentically Jewish. The Jewish mysticism felt like a fantastical curiosity to be used by the characters to serve their own interests. And so the use of Jewish mysticism felt irreligious and like a cheap plot device.

In the end, this was a 3⭐️ read for me based on the strong start and the action throughout.

Interesting book that started really strong. It grabbed my attention right away and I didn't want to put it down. It threw us quickly into a mystery that involved all sort of complex puzzles. It was very Dan Brown-esque. I enjoyed the puzzle and mystery element, but for me it just dragged out a bit. And I didn't really like how things wrapped up - it felt a bit superficial. Overall, it was a mostly enjoyable read and I wasn't tempted to stop reading, just wanted it to get to the point a bit faster.

The Puzzle Master is a wild ride of a genre mash up. It is a thriller and a mystery with elements of the supernatural and history. After sustaining a head injury as a teenager, Mike Brink, has savant level puzzle solving skills. He is called by a prison to help decipher a puzzle in the possession of Jess Price, a famous writer turned infamous murderer.

At one point while reading this I thought to myself, “this book has no idea what it wants to be when it grows up.” It is a story of personal tragedy, ancient secrets, immortality, murder, and high technology. Personally, I think there was too much going on. Taken alone, or in smaller combinations, the various elements could have worked better. There were a lot of elements that I truly enjoy in books – secret societies, a haunted home, family secrets, technology, puzzles, mysteries, supernatural elements, religious conspiracies – but this story leapt around too much for any one element to be truly great and I think the book ultimately suffered. I never felt invested in any of the characters. I finished the book because I needed to know how it all worked out in the end, but I wouldn't say that I loved it.

I commend the author for her ambition, and I would be willing to pick up another book by her.

Much thanks to Random House and NetGalley for allowing the opportunitiy to read this early.

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. I highly enjoyed this book, it had elements in it that I haven't read since the Da Vinci Code, and I really enjoyed every minute of it. I will be keeping an eye on this author's future works. A more formal review will be available on my IG/TikTok and Goodreads.

It's hard to know where to start when describing The Puzzle Master. There's murder, mystery, romance, horror, Jewish mysticism, but none of it felt cohesive for me. In short, Mike Brink is a puzzle creator who suffered a traumatic brain injury in his teens that left him with the uncanny ability to look at and solve problems in unusual ways. He is approached by a prison psychiatrist to meet with a female inmate who is serving time for murder and who has drawn a complex puzzle that the doctor doesn't know what to make of. From there, the book goes through haunted dolls, lucid dreams, golems, determined billionaires, but it never really picks up to the pace of a good thriller. I'm really not sure what to make of this book, to be honest. It just didn't captivate me the way it did some other readers. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

Yall looking for a profoundly cryptic and mind-bending novel, with potentially biblical ties???? Okay, just jump right into The Puzzle Master. While you're reading, I'd suggest listening to either Hans Zimmer or some other A24 composer because it will help your other-worldly experience to flourish.

I am so thankful to Random House Books, PRH Audio, and Danielle Trussoni for granting me a physical copy and audiobook access before this baby publishes on June 13, 2023.

Mike Brink's entire life changed after a traumatic sports-related accident leaving him Acquired Savant Syndrome, unlocking a whole new world of wisdom with all things puzzles and numbers. His life continues to spiral after meeting a convicted murderer who hasn't spoken since her sentencing, only to leave Mike a cryptic coded puzzle with the intent of him unraveling its hidden secrets.

But newsflash, Mike is way in over his head, because what comes next unlocks the past, and very far in the past, something like 2000+ years ago, taking it back to the foundational basis of God himself. That's right, reader, you're going to journey into a different dimension filled with succubuses, demons, and otherworldly specimens that are all after the same thing this convicted killer is pining for.

I won't spoil too much, but you'll just have to trust me on my word.

Mike Brink is a well known puzzle master due to a rare condition known as acquired savant syndrome from a head injury sustained playing football in high school. He lives a pretty quiet life until he is asked to come visit a prisoner, Jess Price. She was found in an old gothic house with her dead boyfriend 5 years prior. She has not spoken a word about it and is now serving out a sentence for his murder. She has written out part of a puzzle that her psychologist thinks will answer many questions if solved. She opens up a little bit more to Mike and he becomes obsessed with solving the mystery, but it gets way more complex than he could have ever expected (including the search for a creepy, possessed doll).

This book was compulsively readable and is impossible to put into one genre. That is both to its credit, as well as to its disadvantage. I love books that cross genre lines and contain different subplots. The Puzzle Master has elements of historical fiction, mystery, thriller, romance, horror, religion, as well as science fiction. It is very reminiscent of Dan Brown's writing only maybe a little bit smarter and a lot more thrown in. I never felt confused in it, but Trussoni definitely tried to tackle a lot of subjects in one book. There is something for everyone, but that also means that no one thing could be investigated in detail.

To sum it up, it tells a really good story and I would give it a solid 4.5 stars. After it was over, I sat there for a minute thinking "what did I just read?". Did all of it make complete sense? I don't even know since I know absolutely nothing about Jewish Kabbalah or quantum computing. All I can say was that it was a really fun, suspenseful ride.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the early release digital copy. It will be released on June 13, 2023.

The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni, a good book that makes you wonder where its going. I enjoyed it and do recommend it to others.

The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni is an intriguing look at humankind’s quest for immortality with the spin of one’s soul living forever, not one’s body.

Mike Brink was an ordinary high school football player until his accident on the field which left him with some extraordinary gifts, resulting in his ability to solve and create puzzles. This ability draws him into a world in which he must solve the ultimate puzzle which has many consequences.

I found the novel to be fast paced and very interesting. There was a point, about 3/4 through where it got bogged down in a lot of detail but it recovered nicely. And the ending was great! I will definitely be reading more from this author.

Thanks to the author, NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

Wow! What a thriller of a novel!

Danielle Trussoni’s “The Puzzle Master” is an ambitious and oh-so-intelligently written thriller involving today’s cutting-edge science and technology, ancient religious mysticism, and the highest stakes.

As a high school football player, Mike Brink suffered head trauma that resulted in “sudden acquired savant syndrome” and left him with some extraordinary talents, including an incredible memory and the ability to solve and construct tremendously difficult puzzles at almost light-speed.

Prison psychologist Dr. Thessaly Moses has just such a puzzle. One of her charges, famous author Jess Price, was convicted of murdering her boyfriend while housesitting at an old mansion overlooking the Hudson. Since the day of the homicide more than five years ago, Jess’s only attempt at communication has been to draw a puzzle in the form of a circle and direct it be given to Mike.

When Mike visits Jess in prison, they establish an almost other-worldly connection, one that sends him to investigate the death for which she’s been imprisoned. Suddenly, Mike finds himself at odds with a very powerful man obsessed with discovering the next stage of human evolution, with entering the next plane of human existence.

This is the first novel I’ve read by Ms. Trussoni. I’m sure it won't be the last. She gives us interesting characters we can care about and root for, a plot that ranges across centuries and continents, and settings as exotic and varied as the Adirondacks Mountains, New York City, a NY state prison, a Gilded Age mansion, 19th-century Paris, a Prague synagogue, and J.P. Morgan’s Manhattan library. Her story employs a number of current-day issues and exotic elements, including puzzle making and solving; cryptography; psychic phenomenon; antique porcelain, antique dolls; Jewish mysticism and the Kabbalah; demonic possession; other dimensions; immortality; gender fluidity; and quantum computing and how it may affect the future—just to name a few.

Some parts of the novel reminded me of the “The DaVinci Code,” although this is much more sophisticated and complex. Other parts reminded me of “The Exorcist,” “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein,” and even some of the novels by Michael Chabon and Stephen King. Readers who enjoy those kinds of works may find much to entertain and enlighten within the pages of “The Puzzle Master.”

My thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with an electronic ARC. The foregoing is my independent opinion.

I began this book wondering how the author would possibly weave the storylines together: an ex-football player whose injury left him with a savant-like ability to solve puzzles and to recall complicated details in an instant; a former writer, imprisoned after her boyfriend’s gruesome death; a gothic haunted mansion filled with antique dolls, one almost disturbingly lifelike; a Parisian doll-maker, fleeing painful memories in the Jewish quarter of Prague. The story came together seamlessly, and cinematically. I was fascinated by the weaving of ancient myths and scriptures into the hustle and bustle of our modern world. Brink was an interesting and sympathetic character, and I’d be happy to follow him on more adventures.

The book was not perfect, however. I had a sense that the author rushed the ending, just needing to wrap it up - even though the ending did not quite match up to the pacing and complexity of the rest of the story. Until the last 10% of the book, this was a five star contender for me - and then it fell a bit flat.

Still, I really enjoyed this novel, from a new-to-me author, and I truly appreciate the opportunity to read and review it! Thank you!