"Puzzle House" by Duncan Ralston is a gripping and suspenseful thriller that plunges readers into a deadly game of survival within the confines of a seemingly innocent mansion.

As six strangers gather for the reading of puzzle master Alexei Vasiliev's will, they soon realize they are pawns in a twisted game orchestrated by the deceased. In order to claim their share of Vasiliev's fortune, they must navigate through a series of interconnected escape rooms within the Puzzle House. But what starts as a simple challenge quickly escalates into a fight for survival as the participants realize that the stakes are far higher than they could have ever imagined.

Ralston skillfully weaves together a complex web of secrets, betrayals, and hidden motives, keeping readers on the edge of their seats with each twist and turn. The tension mounts as the characters grapple with their own pasts while facing the deadly traps set by an unseen adversary. As suspicions rise and alliances fracture, the true nature of Puzzle House is gradually revealed, leading to a heart-pounding climax that will leave readers breathless.

With its compelling premise, well-drawn characters, and relentless pace, "Puzzle House" is a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers and escape room mysteries. Ralston delivers a chilling and immersive tale that will haunt readers long after the final page is turned.

I wanted to like this better than I did because I LOVED Woom by this author, it was my first foray into extreme horror. Puzzle House felt a bit disjointed and I had a hard time visualizing some of the complicated sets. I wanted more extremism and horror effects. I did really like the overarching plot and the ending.

⭐⭐⭐

Thanks to Wicked House Publishing for an ARC!

First book by this author and was a little scared from all the comments about Woom. I enjoyed this book and look forward to checking out more of his work! Keeps you in suspense as you move along through the maze of the storyline.

PUZZLE HOUSE – by Duncan Ralston

I am a huge fan of books, movies, and games centered around escape rooms—the solving of complex puzzles used as a means to freedom—so when I saw the cover of Duncan Ralston’s PUZZLE HOUSE, I knew immediately I needed to partake in the horrifying fun, and he didn’t disappoint . . .

‘Six strangers. Six puzzles. Six ways to die.’

‘“Those who survive will be awarded not just my entire estate, including the house in which you stand, but anything your heart desires. I will give you the world."

‘“However . . . this is a game. It can be bested by using your intellects, your wits, and by working together. If you are at odds with each other, it isn't unlikely that none of you will survive the game. But if you do survive, know that you have bested me, Alexei Vasiliev, the world's foremost puzzle master. Good luck to you all.“‘

Recommend!

Thank you, NetGalley and Wicked House Publishing, for providing me with an eBook of PUZZLE HOUSE at the request of an honest review.

I loved this book! Locked room thriller with twists and turns on every page. I was not expecting the ending but it couldn't have been better. There needs to be a sequel of this one. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book.

I can think of no better comparison than Saw meets Escape Room! Body horror and action-packed, anxiety-inducing, bloody good fun (for the reader anyway!) I'm a huge fan of Ralston and have read several of his other works. This one is one of my favorites! You can go in but you may not come back out!

I like this sort of thing. Ever since the movie Cube came out. Tricked out spaces with the timer ticking and strangers fighting to survive. The games can be a lot of fun. Wasn’t quite sure what to expect quality wise—I’ve read a bunch of Ralston, and for me, his books are all over the map rating-wise, though promisingly enough never below three stars.
This one actually was quite good. A very, very solid three stars. Possibly with point something but the rating system is inflexible. Also, it seems that outside of the prisoner character, no one really needed to go through with the challenge.
But aside from that, it was a fun read. The puzzles were decently constructed for the most part, the writing was pretty good (i.e. perfectly suitable for the type of story it told), and the pace and action to drama ratios were all done all right.
My favorite things about this book though were the underlying conspiracy and, especially, the incorporation of ancient mythology into the plot. Those elements definitely elevated the book above what could have been a mediocre survival slasher.
So yeah, plenty entertaining, and an enjoyable quick read. Recommended for genre fans. Thanks Netgalley.

Welcome to Puzzle House!! Where you go in but there's no guarantee you will come back out!

Okay Ralston really took escape rooms to the next level with this one. And I enjoyed every second of it.

Twisting knowledge, gore, determination and the unexplainable all into one in this fast paced 225 page novel. Making it super easy to fly through while questioning everything and rooting for the good guys until the very end

You should Defenitly check it out!

Thank you to @netgalley @wicked_house_publishing
And @userbits for the advanced readers copy in exchange for my honost thoughts and opinions. After visiting the Lonely Motel and now Puzzle House I can't wait to see what awaits for me on Pedo Island 😝

We follow the horrific journey of random strangers, who's presence are requested at: Puzzle House. Beneficiaries competing for 150 million dollars. As the door closes behind them and the challenge begins, the players soon realize that the states are more than they bargained for. Duncan Ralston creates a richly dark atmosphere of mystery, tension, and terror. I would hate to be trapped in one of his stories. The ending WILL leave you wanting more and Ralston provides just enough information in the book, to make you realize, Puzzle House is possibly the start of a new series in horror fiction. Definite 4 star read and recommendation.

This book was hardcore, I was hooked. It was giving Saw vibes which is one of my favorite slasher/horror movies. Great characters and awesome dialogue. Crazy ride, highly enjoyed this!

Big fan of Duncan Ralston - Loved Woom (I am a weirdo!) and enjoyed Skin Flicks - so was super excited for this!!! AND IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT!!! I love escape room-ish kind of stories, so the puzzles to solve were fun!! Watch your trigger warnings! But the story is fast paced, with some fun characters from varying walks of life! Watch them 'compete' for the prize. Clever storyline I recommend!

This was a pretty good puzzle/escape room mystery novel. Although I didn't really enjoy it because I couldn't quite get a feel for the characters they were too one dimensional and cookie cut out in my opinion. But, the story and concept was there and it made it a bit enjoyable. I just couldn't really immerse myself into it.

Thank you Wicked House Publishing and Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book had me at an escape room meets Saw. It was such a great book and a fun read. I cant wait until the next book drops to see what happens.

3.5 Stars ~

After reading Woom a few years ago, and seeing this on NetGalley I knew I had to request an ARC. Although time got away from me and this has been out for some months, I am happy I got to give it a read.

Just imagine that the movies ‘Escape Room’ and ‘Saw’ had a baby and then that baby grew up and had a baby with the book with the baby of the books ‘The Inheritance Games’ and ‘Hide’ had a baby and the result was this book.

I know I could think of many other place I would rather be, but characters in this book think they are attending the reading of a will by the famous puzzle maker Alexei Vasiliev, in which some of them have never met.
Although, this couldn’t be further from the truth of what is in store, and the characters have to do the unthinkable in an attempt to survive.

This was a very twisted and gruesome tale. Not necessarily my cuppa tea, but those who are fans of horror/mystery would definitely appreciate it.

Six strangers, and a chance to win $150M, a puzzle house.The recipe to a great thriller and mystery. A very short but engaging read where six strangers converge at a dead billionaires house, at the reading of his will. Alas these strangers do not know each other and only one of them actually knew the man. However these six strangers won't easily have a gab at the money, they will have to prove themselves.

Incredible read by a fantastic author. It was like being immersed in the best horror movie I hadn’t seen

Actual rating of 3.5

Six strangers are approached and invited to puzzle master Alexei Vasiliev's will reading. Once they walk through the door of the mansion, they are given a choice. Play the game, solve the puzzles and potentially walk away with millions. Or leave the way they came, no questions asked. The only thing is, they all have to agree on which choice to make. All of them have secrets, all of them could use the money, but how were all of them chosen? The participants soon discover that the escape rooms have far deadlier consequences to failure than they first thought. Add to that, it seems like someone is watching them, toying with them, attempting to turn them against each other. Is this just some pointless, deadly game, created by a sadist? Or is there something more going on?

I was super excited for this one when I first saw it on Netgalley. The cover and the title drew my attention instantly. As you all know, I've been on a huge horror kick for like two years now. It's my favourite genre, and always has been. I guess that's what happens when you cut your reading teeth on Goosebumps as a 5-year-old.

The story started and jumped around a little between characters, which was fine. There are a small cast of characters that we follow throughout the story, so getting to know them was important. A couple I gravitated towards more than others, and I was rooting for a couple of them, the others I didn't really mind if they died along the way. It was a little odd for me as it's a multi-character story, but it almost felt like Alexei's widow was the lead character once the story moved into the house, I don't know why this sat weird with me, but it did. I found her a little bit irksome as everything she encountered brought her back to a part she'd played in a movie, a character she'd played and their profession or experience. The characters had interesting back stories and it was interesting seeing how it all came together and why they were all there. I enjoyed the character of the history professor, his knowledge was great, and I loved the information that it brought into the story itself. I loved the ancient religions and cultures that the story was based around. I did really like the prisoner; I enjoyed his character and his backstory. And I took a liking to the doctor as well. I'm not sure why, these three characters just endeared themselves to me pretty early on.

The story itself initially ran a bit slow as everything was being set up, and we were meeting the characters. Once they get to the house, the pacing picks up a lot and it had given me Cube and Saw vibes, which I love. Cube is a movie that I feel is severely underrated and needs more exposure even though it's considered old now. Nothing beats the urgency of life and death, locked in a room where you have to work out how to not die. Add to that a cast of characters that don't know each other at all, and distrust each other, and it makes for a riveting story. I did feel that the rooms themselves felt a little bit rushed, but I also understand that when they're running on a timer, there's only so long you can drag it out before everyone dies, and before it gets tedious and boring. I feel like Ralston did an awesome job at writing a horror story like this because it's very easy for it to fall into a repetitive and tedious pattern, for me, it didn't.

I was a little surprised at the way the story went, I wasn't expecting what ended up transpiring, which is always a huge bonus. It turned from a small, isolated horror into something bigger which was great. I'm wondering if Ralston is looking at continuing the story or whether he's leaving it how it is. The story definitely closed out, but there's room here for it to be continued if that's the route the author goes down.

All in all, it was an enjoyable story, not for the faint of heart as there is violence and gore described on page. I think I was expecting something a bit different, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. I think I had in my head what I was looking for and this story gave me something that was mostly different from that, hence my lower rating. If you're looking for a fun romp through life and death situations with an eclectic cast of characters, some of which you won't mind losing along the way. Give this one a go, it's definitely unique, I can say that I haven't read anything like it before. It turned into something bigger than I thought it would, and if there happens to be a sequel, I'll definitely pick it up because I'm interested to see what would happen next. The pacing does jump around a fair bit, and a lot of page time for most of the book was given to a character that I liked well enough, but she irked me.

Puzzle House felt like reading a fun mash up of The Inheritance Games and the movie Escape Room up until the end. The turn from murder mystery puzzle/escape house to whatever that wild ending was ruined the fun of the book. Upon further rumination I decided I didn't much care for the characters either tbh. I really enjoyed Woom so I will definitely be reading more from this author!

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Wicked House Publishing for this early digital copy of Puzzle House by Duncan Ralston in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book! It definitely gave me Saw vibes which is my favorite horror movie franchise. The author did a good job of making you feel for the main character, even though he is a prisoner and a murderer. The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger but that didn’t bother me.