Well, the premise was interesting, but this novel quickly devolved into Dan Brown territory—inane plot, lackadaisical prose, cardboard characters.

The Puzzle Master is a story of Mike Brink, a man who experienced a serious head injury playing high school football. This injury caused him to be able to solve - and create - complex puzzles, making him notorious for doing so. Mike is called upon to help crack a mysterious code transcribed by convicted murderer Jess Price, in order to get to the bottom of the crime.

The story had me captivated and interested in the outcome of the story. I appreciated the inclusion of some of the actual puzzles, which were essential to immersing myself in the story. I also found some of the religious backstories very intriguing. There were elements of mathematics and computer science that lent themselves to real, current issues in physics and computing. The story reminded me of Dan Brown's Robert Langdon novels, but it was still unique in its own right.

Without spoiling the ending, I will say that there was an element of the conclusion of the novel that took away a star for me. I felt that it was a little forced. Overall, I do recommend this book. It is a fun read and a change of pace from what I have been reading lately. Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for an advance e-reader copy of this book!

When I read the synopsis of The Puzzle Maker and saw the comparisons with The Da Vinci Code, I knew this was a book I needed to read immediately! Thanks to NetGalley and Random House I was able to get a copy and start without much delay. We are introduced to Mike Brink, a man who after a traumatic brain injury, is able to see and solve puzzles in a genius like way due to his condition, Acquired Savant Syndrome. Brink's help is requested by an inmate serving 30 years for murder in an upstate New York prison. Brink decides to go visit the inmate, Jess Price, and is presented with a puzzle that will change everything for him as he hunts for the truth behind this God Puzzle and what actually happened to Price the night she supposedly murdered her boyfriend. Though the story starts off great and the inclusion of the puzzles were a great addition, some of the story really went off the rails a bit at the end. Overall an exciting and enjoyable read, just wasn't quite everything I had hoped for. Would definitely recommend to fans of the Da Vince Code.

“Puzzle’s are composed of patterns. They are meant to be solved.” (Trussoni).
If you like Dan Brown’s Da Vinci’s code, you’ll love The Puzzle Master.
When our hero Mike Brink was young he suffered a concussion playing high school football. When he awoke, he was suddenly aware “there was a system, an essential order to the world” (Trussoni) He saw it” as patterns…patterns everywhere. At first, “all he knew was that he was experiencing highly structured geometric hallucinations on a regular basis” (Trussoni) After years of learning how to live with his “gift” Brink made a name for himself as the foremost puzzlemaker of the world. As such, he is asked by psychologist Dr. Moses to make sense of a puzzle created by Jess Prince, one of her patients who is herself “living in a puzzle”. Ms Prince, famous writer now infamous murderer, is serving her sentence at the New York State Correctional Facility abd has taken to communicating in complex cryptic symbols.
When Brink meets Miss Prince he feels a strange connection and they have a surprisingly intimate encounter where Prince secretly passes him another puzzle.
Soon Mike finds himself in a world of rare porcelain dolls, the supernatural, and ancient Hasidic texts which are all as intricately connected as the diagramed puzzles Trussoni includes in her text.
I had forgotten I liked Trussoni’s writing (read Angelology a decade ago).The Puzzle Master was an easy thrilling read and a great story to reintroduce me to Danielle Trussoni’s writing. Now I have to go back and read her titles I’ve missed.

This one started so strong - it was fun of intrigue, puzzles, and dark secrets that seemed to hold so much promise... Unfortunately for me, as the story developed I felt like I was reading two books: one, a dark and twisty thriller (the first half of the book), and the other a piece of literary fiction about religion and man's role in the universe. I enjoyed both, but they didn't mesh together seamlessly and I found myself wanting more of each component rather than feeling like the two pieces ever really unified into one wholly satisfying book. It made the read uneven in pacing and narrative in a way I found distracting and disappointing. There is very strong start and a very strong finish (with a fabulous and fascinating concept of the nature of God thrown in), but some of the road between the two failed to hold my interest the way I wanted it to... It was still an interesting story, and one I enjoyed, though. But that's what made it 3 stars for me....

Concussed as a high school football player, Mike Brink develops Acquired Savant Syndrome, in which he’s able to intuitively solve puzzles, creates puzzles for the NYT, and see connections others can’t. He’s asked to go to a prison to see Jess, a woman jailed for a bizarre crime she has no memory of, but who somehow has one of his original puzzles that was never published.

What ensues is a plot full of puzzles, bad guys, and religious symbols. While it sounds like an intriguing mix, it somehow didn’t really work for me. The plot just seemed too offbeat, with too many easy escapes from complicated situations. Also, I didn’t find myself drawn to any of the characters. I just couldn’t get engaged with the book.

My thanks to the publisher, and to Netgalley for providing an ARC of the book.

As I was making my way through this novel, I felt almost as though I was in an “escape room”., not sure if I’d get out (escape). Fortunately there was an expert to solve the puzzles necessary to finish. Lots of good stuff in the book plus much that was confusing.

This was a really interesting plot. It starts with Mike Brink, who had a traumatic brain injury that allows him to solve puzzles, being asked to see Jessica Price, who is in prison for killing a friend. Lots of puzzles, bad guys and theology ensues. I think it was a good plot that got a little bogged down in the theology. I found it hard to get into the book for reasons I can’t quite explain. But overall it was pretty good.

En engaging story where puzzles and religious mysteries entwine. I liked the main characters backstory and struggle to create a new self. A satisfying ending.

Trussoni manages yet again to add a supernatural and slightly otherworldly element to this high intensity mystery thriller. Mike Brink is a genius puzzle master who finds himself enmeshed in an odd murder case from five years prior that has him attempting to solve what it means to be immortal. The ending was somewhat unexpected but well written and the path to the solution felt natural, albeit a bit mystical. A great read for fans of Dan Brown, James Rollins, Steve Berry and Helene Wecker.

Mike Brink is a puzzle master, a gifted individual who can craft and solve complex puzzles by seeing their underlying patterns which are invisible to the naked eye. In this story, Mike is thrown into a puzzle involving religion and science that could have incredible consequences for humanity. Forced to work with shady characters who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals, Mike will need to solve the greatest puzzle of human history, a puzzle that contains the secret of consciousness.

This book has a Da Vinci Code feel to it with its mysteries, conspiracies, and esoterica. It's a suspenseful thriller with an intriguing plot that shows how alchemy, quantum physics, the kabbalah, and futurism are all connected. I enjoyed the twists and turns and the unique way the author combined old magic with future magic. There are a lot of interesting questions that are asked and loose ends that are not tied up. Interesting theories and thought provoking ideas are present throughout this story. If you like books with rabbit holes of information and secret codes, this book has plenty. Kudos to the author and publisher for including illustrations of the puzzles throughout the book...it was very helpful.

If you liked the movie Transcendence or are a fan of Dan Brown novels, and liked Helene Wecker's The Golem and the Jinni, you should give The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni a try.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for offering me the chance to preview The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni. This is my first time reading Trussoni's work; I requested the book based solely on the description. I'm a big puzzle nerd like the protagonist, Mike Brink. I may not have superhuman abilities, but the New York Times crossword is part of my daily routine.

I had a tough time connecting with this one. The characters seemed two dimensional, and I had trouble understanding their motivations. However, I got sucked in to the plot because I had to see where the twists and turns would lead me. Eventually it led to a place that I wasn't expecting, and for that alone it gets three stars.

Mike Brink is a puzzle master who sees patterns and colors in everything due to his synesthesia caused by a traumatic brain injury from his football-playing days. Ever since his high school concussion changed his life, Mike has struggled to connect with others emotionally but has found success creating puzzles for various publications. Mike’s orderly life is interrupted when he receives a request to visit a prison psychologist. Intrigued, Mike and his dog, Conundrum, set off for what should be a quick trip.

What happens next leads Mike on an adventure to help Jess Price, an inmate incarcerated for murder. This is his biggest puzzle to date – religion, science, patterns, dreams, eccentric billionaires, mysticism, and an abandoned mansion all play a part in figuring out how Jess came to be imprisoned…and why she should go free.

This book will keep you hooked with its twists and turns. This book did not go where I expected it to, and I’m okay with that! The integration of science fiction into the mystery/thriller reminded me of James Rollins’s stories, and the race against time to solve the puzzle is reminiscent of Dan Brown. Any mystery/thriller/sci-fi fan will enjoy this read!

A mysterious house with hidden rooms, a creator of intricate puzzles who feels compelled to solve any puzzle put in front of him, and finally Jewish mysticism and history with a dash of creepy dolls? Sign me up please.

I was already biased before starting this book because I had read and loved the author's Angelology Series. And, I was not disappointed with The Puzzle Master. It hooked me from the start and I finished it over the weekend.

As with any well-written book, you get into a "flow state" where you become the main character/narrator, only inhabiting yourself when you close the book.

Thank you #netgalley #thepuzzlemaster

Due to a traumatic brain injury suffered during his college football years, Mike Brink has become a puzzle genius! This injury completely changed the trajectory of his life and has made him a successful puzzle creator but also has caused him to remain emotionally isolated in his genius. When Mike is called in to meet with infamous prisoner Jess Price, he isn't sure what to expect. Jess is imprisoned for a grisly murder, but has created a puzzle that she has passed on to her psychiatrist. Based on the little Jess has communicated, the hope is that Mike will solve it and the Doctor is desperate that Mike take a look.

Thoroughly intrigued, Mike comes to the prison and begins a whirlwind journey as he works to solve the puzzle and determine Jess's innocence. If you love puzzles, mysteries and thrillers or just want to lose yourself in a modern day DaVinci Code, The Puzzle Master is for you! #RandomHouse #ThePuzzleMaster. #Puzzles #DanielleTrussoni

“The Puzzle Master” will fill the longing of Dan Brown fans who desperately want to experience another mesmerizing “DaVinci Code” and have the appeal of a chase as clues are discovered, solved and then point to another clue. This book is absolutely amazing, layered, haunting, mystical, beguiling, horrifying and twisted. I loved it!

Mike Brink, a famous puzzle master by way of acquired savant syndrome, is summoned to an upstate New York women’s prison. A detainee, presumed murderer, Jess Price, hasn’t spoken in 5 years, but she has drawn what might be a puzzle and put Mike’s name on it. Jess, a promising writer, supposedly killed her boyfriend while house-sitting a Gothic mansion. The mansion had a creepy doll collection (isn’t every collection of porcelain dolls creepy?) and one of them was very valuable and very Chucky-like. The prison psychiatrist calls for Mike’s help — what Jess has drawn is a puzzle he can’t solve immediately, but the bigger puzzle is Jess — is she, too, another puzzle master, who has been imprisoned for other reasons? Or the victim of a psychic malevolence? Plus, there’s more: secret rooms in the J.P. Morgan Library, golems in Prague, and modern day Jewish mysticism all are incorporated into Mike’s puzzle search.

The research must have been mind-boggling and I was so appreciative of the illustrated puzzles included (I would not have fully imagined the puzzle by mere description). Mike Brink is so likable he deserves to be played by a young Tom Hanks-like actor in the film versions of the sequels that should be written after this book. 5 stars!

I loved Ms. Trussoni’s “Angelology” so many years ago, and I’m delighted she’s back writing in this mystical sort of genre.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Violaine has brilliant green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Just an uninteresting forest.
There goes a Tesla: YES I am starting to observe that literary billionaire villains drive black Teslas.

Mike Brink, a rising Midwestern football star, suffered a traumatic brain injury resulting to Acquired Savant Syndrome. Since that accident, he was never the same again — he now has the ability to create and solve complex puzzles, riddles, high-level memory where he can replicate an image or series or numbers like *snap* that. Much-like a superpower that he possesses, his skills were called to help Jess Price, a woman serving thirty years in prison for murdering her boyfriend, Noah Cooke, in an old estate that she was housesitting for a few years ago. Jess Price was only able to communicate through a puzzle and the rollercoaster begins…

This is definitely a genre-bending novel, where interaction and shift between these genres make it more interesting so the reader invest deeper into the story. There’s suspense, thriller, mystery, horror, and sci-fi — yes, even sci-fi! It’s not even confusing although I have to say, it does go way over my head sometimes on the mystic-history part of it. There is a good build-up of characters and not one bit of it is a nuisance. A dash of action-packed chapters that gets you hooked, which picks up halfway through the book, with a major twist in the end. There are puzzles that makes you want to figure out with the characters, which is interactive in a way that makes the story all the more fun.

Curious yet? The Puzzle Master releases on June 13, 2023.

Thank you Netgalley, Random House Publishing Group, and author Danielle Trussing for the ARC in exchange of my honest opinion.

Receiving a traumatic brain injury in a high school football game, Mike Brink wakes up to find his world transformed. His brain has now evolved into a high IQ superpower with total recall, synesthesia, and the ability to see patterns while creating and solving puzzles that no one else can. But with human connections now difficult to read Mike is very much alone until he is asked to visit Jess Price in prison. She hasn’t spoken since her incarceration but wants to talk with Mike about a puzzle. Sucked into an elaborate quest, Mike becomes enthralled solving the Puzzle of God, and connecting with innocent Jess Price.
A roller coaster ride, this book is a wild from start to finish. An unusual and exciting plot with lots of history and science thrown in, the character of Mike and his new abilities is fascinating. Reminded me of the DaVinci Code at times. A little technical, and very much over my head in a few spots, but still very much recommended.

This book is phenomenal. It had me sucked in from the very start. I cant imagine the amount of research that went into it. It’s right up there with Preston and Child, in my opinion. I am thoroughly impressed with this author, to say the least. She is definitely high on my list of author’s to read from now on! Just wow!


Huge thanks to Random House Publishing and Netgalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!

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.