What a surprising story! This is far from my usual cup of tea but I thought it was worth a try. So glad I did! Love all the misfit genius characters here - Clayton and Pippa, etc… So many sweet, unexpected moments with friendships - I absolutely love this!

The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers
by Samuel Burr
Pub Date: April 9, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Clayton Stumper might be in his twenties, but he dresses like your grandpa and fusses like your aunt. Abandoned at birth on the steps of the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers, he was raised by a group of eccentric enigmatologists and now finds himself among the last survivors of a fading institution.

When the esteemed crossword compiler and main maternal presence in Clayton’s life, Pippa Allsbrook, passes away, she bestows her final puzzle on him: a promise to reveal the mystery of his parentage and prepare him for life beyond the walls of the commune. So begins Clay’s quest to uncover the secrets surrounding his birth, secrets that will change Clay—and the Fellowship—forever.
I highly recommend this for folks that love a story about finding yourself and making your own family. It’s a book that encompasses all the different varieties of love.

This was a fun little book. I enjoyed the puzzles and the dual storylines. The formatting was a bit weird on the kindle. I'm interested in seeing it in it's final format.

Clayton Stumper was left in a hatbox on the steps of the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers, a rather unusual collection of enigmatologists. The members of the household consist of skilled makers of word, mathematical, wooden, jigsaw, and other puzzles. They become his family, with Pippa Allsbrook – the creator and leader of the Fellowship – providing a maternal figure for Clayton.

When Pippa passes away, she leaves a final puzzle for Clayton that will reveal his parentage and also prepare him for a life beyond this Puzzlemaker’s commune where he has lived for 26 years.

This is a quirky and charming novel that deals with loneliness, leadership, friendship, and discovering one’s true self. And if you enjoy puzzles, you will particularly enjoy this novel.

If ever a book was written for a specific audience, this is it. Puzzle lovers will immediately feel at home with a complete sense of understanding what drives these characters. At the beginning, Pippa asks why the fellowship members do puzzles - Destiny, Ritual, Inspire, Respite, Stimulation, Rapture, Erudition, Tradition, Healing, Mischief. What will be interesting is how many readers are delayed because of taking the time to actually try to complete some of the puzzles.
For a book that covers the intelligence of puzzle makers, the author lacked a grasp of simple math. Pippa is 67 when she finds a baby she named Clayton on the steps of the fellowship hall. She’s 89 when she dies, yet the book states that Clayton is 25 at the time of her death. I’m hoping as this is an ARC, it gets corrected before publication. Luckily, Burr is much better at writing than math. This is a gloriously written book with phrases and descriptions I fell in love with. With a few well chosen words, he can describe a scene or a character.
The story is told along two timelines. There is Clayton’s present day quest to know his background and the past timeline of Pippa’s life pre-Clayton. I immediately connected with Pippa. Not her brains, heaven knows, but that she’s the rare woman in a group, her desire to always have to be the one to fix a problem, her shouldering the weight of the world. But she’s also someone willing to create her own family, to find a group of “allies”. Clayton, is an old man in a young man’s body. And after being sheltered for his first 25 years, he’s now stepping out into the world. Like Pippa, he is also a caring person, one who consistently seeks to be there for others. But all the characters are equally enjoyable.
I highly recommend this for folks that love a story about finding yourself and making your own family. It’s a book that encompasses all the different varieties of love.
My thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday for an advance copy of this book.

I really liked the summary of this book and thought it would be a great book for me. Unfortunately, it is a dual timeline, which is not my favorite type. Since the story kept switching from one period to another, it frustrated me and cause me to not really become attached to the characters. When reading and not caring about the characters as I should, I read just to finish the book.

I want to say that I did enjoy the story, especially the last fourth and think the plot was developed well, I just was not invested in the outcome. I love stories with characters of the older population, so that was a huge plus in my opinion.

I want to thank Vintage Anchor, Doubleday and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read the advance reader copy, with no obligation to write a review. My review is written freely as a hobby, and is totally my own opinion, not influenced by receiving the ARC.

In some ways this reminded me of Rachel Joyce’s The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry Novel by Rachel Joyce. Not as much in terms of the story, itself, although this does include a journey, but in the underlying charm of this story.

This story revolves around Clayton Stumper, a young man as this story begins, found on the doorstep of ‘The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers’ by the founder, Pippa, through her he finds puzzles she left him, puzzles for him meant to lead him to finding his birth parents.

The story is revealed slowly, sharing moments from the past that share how the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers began, and their bond. When Pippa decides they should buy this home and all live there together, a home for all of the Puzzlemakers, it takes a while before the problems begin to surface. There are people-relationship problems, and then there are structural problems, as well, but overall, it works for the most part.

I loved the characters and how this story evolved, how Clayton’s story leads him to something and someone he never expected.



Pub Date: 09 Apr 2024

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Vintage Anchor, Doubleday

This was a very clever and fun book to read.
It starts out with a group home. Living inside the group home are very intelligent puzzle makers and solvers. The biggest puzzle to solve is why is there an abandoned baby in the hatbox? Not to worry that’s only one of the many things to figure out.

What a delight! Thanks to NetGalley, for giving me this ARC. I really enjoyed the puzzle and loved the back and forth nature from the present to the past, and, additionally, how it wrapped it in a nice bow at the end. I wonder if this will be like "The Thursday Murder Club", in fact, I hope so, and there will be sequels! Such wonderful devotion, friendships, storytelling and a mystery solved. I will be recommending this to patrons for months to come.

If you like puzzles and games, this is the book for you. The story alternates between two different characters and two different time periods until it all comes together. It's a sweet, feel good story that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Vintage Anchor, Doubleday for the Advanced Reader Copy, in exchange for my honest review.

This is a quirky story about family and finding your way no matter what age. The story jumps between Pippa and Clayton. Pippa is one of the founding members of The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers. An eccentric group of puzzle fans. and she finds Clayton, left as an infant on the doorstep. Pippa raises him as her own.

In the other POV, we had Clayton, who finds himself dealing with Pippa's passing and her final puzzle. Clayton sees Pippa continuing to guide him in the world of puzzles and life with her legacy and final puzzle.

The writing is odd but fun. The story was very wholesome and cozy. And overall enjoyable.
I did find the ending a bit anti-climactic and wanted a little more.

Overall, 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

The premise promised an enchanting tale: Clayton Stumper, a character with the old soul of a grandparent and the fussiness of an overconcerned aunt, embarks on a quest to unravel the secrets of his origin following the death of Pippa Allsbrook, his mentor and maternal figure within the unique commune of enigmatologists that raised him. This narrative setup, rich with the potential for profound explorations of family, identity, and belonging, seemed tailored to my literary tastes.

However, despite the book's apparent quality and the evident skill of its author, I found myself disengaged and ultimately unable to continue past the 20% mark. This decision was not made lightly, as I do believe "The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers" is a good book, marked by its well-crafted prose and imaginative premise. The issue did not lie in the writing itself, which I found to be excellent, but rather in a personal disconnect from the characters and the story they inhabit.

I struggled to become invested in Clayton's journey or the fate of the Fellowship. The characters, while distinct and potentially intriguing, failed to capture my interest in a manner compelling enough to urge continued reading. This lack of connection made it difficult for me to immerse myself in the world the author so carefully constructed.

It's important to note that this experience is highly subjective and reflects my personal response to the story at the time of reading. What failed to resonate with me may well captivate another reader with its charm and depth. Literature's beauty lies in its ability to evoke varied responses, and "The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers" will undoubtedly find its audience—an audience that will appreciate the nuances I missed and cherish the journey of Clayton Stumper and his unconventional family.

The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers is a cozy story about a group of people who share an interest in all sorts of puzzles. This community of puzzlemakers comes together to form a society of sorts even living together on an estate where they are supported by their puzzle endeavors. We enter the story as the matriarch of the puzzle kingdom is passing and the young man who was left on their doorstep years ago wonders if the puzzle of his life will ever be solved. As we follow this dual timeline of the establishment of the puzzlemakers and the journey of Clayton to find his beginnings, we see the intertwining lives and their effects on each other. This story is great for those who love low stakes and a cozy read.

The Fellowship of Puzzlemaker is for smart readers who like to solve puzzles and mysteries. It is the story of twenty-five-year old Clayton Stumper who, as a new born, was left in a hatbox on the doorstep of Pippa Allsbrook, a puzzle creator. The novel is constructed of then and now chapters: the then is the story of how Pippa created the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers; the now is how Clayton works to find his birth mother following clues Pippa left in the hatbox after she died. The story is full of eccentric puzzle makers who have surrounded and raised Clayton. It is a fun read.

The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers


If you have a love any type of puzzle from Wordle to a crossword, or a cryptogram then this book will be fun adventure. There’s mystery yes, but also really loveable characters and actual puzzles for you to solve among these pages. Definitely get the physical copy of this one. I had such a good time solving every puzzle that was presented, including trying to figure out the big mystery before it was revealed!

I really enjoyed all of the characters, the flashbacks that gave backstory into the creation of the fellowship, and the beautiful friendships that were a key component to the story.

Thank you Vintage Anchor for the arc via Netgalley!

Puzzling. Intriguing. Fast paced. When Pip gathers some fellow puzzle makers together, they form a collaborative and share bonds not easily broken.

Pip discovers a baby in a hat box on the doorstep of the commune. She has always wanted her own baby, her own family. This is her chance at both. She raises the baby boy, who she has named Clayton, and at the end of her life, he still doesn't know where he came from. The book details his search (guided by Pip from the beyond) by solving puzzles. Clayton finally begins to live life in his search.

This was a clever and charming book. I was rooting for Clayton to figure it out. The author added chapters with snippets from the past supporting Clayton's current search. This was a well told story and I recommend it for anyone searching for an intricate tale of life and love and mystery.

I was given this book by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC digital copy. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are my own.

Told in multiple POV, this was a coming of age story (Clayton) intertwined with creating your own family (Pippa). I enjoyed the different characters and their puzzle-making abilities. A unique manner of expressing acceptance.

The ending wasn’t as satisfying as I had hoped, but it is still a book I’d recommend.

4 out of 5 stars and my respect to the author.

Clayton Stumper was raised by a group of puzzle makers after he was found on their doorstep 25 years ago. When Pippa, the founder of the Fellowship, dies she leaves Clayton a series of puzzles that should lead to his birth parents.

I loved this book, although I have to admit I had difficulty solving any of the puzzles. The story is revealed in a series of flashbacks -- chapters alternate between the present and Clayton's quest and the past that traces the origins of the Fellowship. The characters are wonderfully drawn and the writing is beautiful. I was completely drawn into the story of Pippa and the rest. A sweet, endearing story filled with heart and suspense and (of course) puzzles.

"The Fellowship of Puzzle Makers" is a fun, brain teasing book that I couldn't stop reading. Each turn of the page brought new intrigue. I loved the puzzles the author included. The plot twists were fun. Overall this was a joy to read.

Received and ARC from Netgalley for an honest opinion.

This was a really fun book, I enjoyed it a lot! I loved the now and then setup, you really get the whole story when it's structured like this.
Reading the ARC, I wasn't able to do any of the puzzles in the book, but I'll get a print copy from the library when it comes out so I can do that part of the story.