The Puzzle Box is a beautifully written thriller that weaves in Japanese mythology, culture and history. Intricately researched and meticulously plotted, the backdrop almost becomes a character itself in this fast-paced mystery. ⁠
The puzzles are incredible, and our main characters journey to solve these complex riddles is center stage in the story. And while the puzzles are presented in a brilliant way, unfortunately I felt that we missed some of the depth in the antagonists story, particularly since it will be a character familiar to those who read ‘The Puzzle Master’, but it’s a minor gripe on my end.⁠
Overall this was a fun read for those who enjoy history with their mysteries. ⁠
I do recommend you read ‘The Puzzle Master’ before this book; the characters are important to this follow-up.

"The Puzzle Box" is generating a ton of well-deserved excitement over at #thrillerbookloversthepulse!

I can't even begin to describe how captivating and mesmerizing "The Puzzle Box" is! This series by Danielle Trussoni completely blew me away. I actually read the first book, "The Puzzle Master," only after I got my hands on this second book.

Let me tell you, Mike Brink is hands down one of the most intriguing fictional characters I've come across.

"Once a promising Midwestern football star, Brink was transformed by a traumatic brain injury that caused a rare medical condition: acquired savant syndrome. The injury left him with a mental superpower—he can solve puzzles in ways ordinary people can't." -- "The Puzzle Box by Danielle Trussoni

In this intriguing story, Brink is summoned to Japan for a seemingly impossible task - to unlock the mysterious Dragon Box. This puzzle box has remained unsolved for 150 years and is not just a challenge but a deadly one that has claimed the lives of those who dared to try to open it.

This novel is packed with Chinese culture, the plot is fast-paced, and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. Even though this is the second book in a series, the author provides enough background from the first book that you can easily read as a standalone.

Thank you to the author and Random House Publishing for this gifted ARC provided via NetGalley. All opinions are my own and left voluntarily.

3.75 - 4 stars
Okay first of all, that cover 😍😍 obsessed.

Second, wow. I really enjoyed this and had such a fun time reading it! The plot was intriguing, well thought out and full of adventure. It gave me a Japanese Davinci Code treasure hunt sorta vibe.

It did have a lot of info dumping and got a tiny bit drawn out in the middle but I found the information interesting so I didn't mind it. The beginning was a little bit slow moving for my liking but that's okay! The pacing ending up being pretty good as it went on. I was on the edge of my seat for the last half and fully invested.

I also had no idea this was the second book in a series! Whooops! However, I did find it very easy to pick up and follow without reading the first book. I mean, there were a couple things that I didn't get, but it didn't take away from the story at all! I need to read the first one Lol.

"Two sisters. A lost imperial treasure. The world's greatest puzzle master has twenty-four hours to solve the most dangerous mystery of his life...or die trying, in the new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Puzzle Master, hailed as "thrilling" by David Baldacci.

It is the Year of the Wood Dragon, and the ingenious Mike Brink has been invited to Tokyo, Japan, to open the legendary Dragon Box.

The box was constructed during one of Japan's most tumultuous periods, when the samurai class was disbanded and the shogun lost power. In this moment of crisis, Emperor Meiji locked a priceless Imperial secret in the Dragon Box. Only two people knew how to open the box - Meiji and the box's sadistic constructor - and both died without telling a soul what was inside or how to open it.

Every twelve years since then, in the Year of the Dragon, the Imperial family holds a clandestine contest to open the box. It is devilishly difficult, filled with tricks, booby traps, poisons, and mind-bending twists. Every puzzle master who has attempted to open it has died in the process.

But Brink is not just any puzzle master. He may be the only person alive who can crack it. His determination is matched only by that of two sisters, descendants of an illustrious samurai clan, who will stop at nothing to claim the treasure.

Brink's quest launches him on a breakneck adventure across Japan, from the Imperial Palace in Tokyo to the pristine forests of Hakone to an ancient cave in Kyushu. In the process, he discovers the power of Meiji's hidden treasure, and - more crucially - the true nature of his extraordinary talent."

Oh, is he a descendent of the box's constructor? The sadist!

The way this book had me alerted, engaged, and a hold on me.. wow. Well written, fun but also makes you think as you journey through the story of The Puzzle Box. Some parts of the story felt a bit cringey to me but it didn’t change my perspective or how I felt about the story overall. I was genuinely impressed with the book and consider it a top read and recommendation for sure.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this awesome story in exchange for my honest review.

The Puzzle Box is an exciting follow-up featuring Mike Brink, a puzzle master tasked with unlocking a mysterious 19th-century Dragon Box in Japan. The blend of history, danger, and puzzles makes for a gripping read - I read it in a day! Brink’s personal struggles add depth to the story, and though this is the second book in the series, it works just fine as a standalone. Definitely worth picking up! Thanks to Net Gally for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you @randomhouse & @netgalley for my complimentary copy. My thoughts are my own. Everyone @thrillerbookloversthepulse is talking about this one.

This is a complex story that follows the main character, puzzle master Mike Brink, as he travels to Japan to solve the mystery of the Dragon Puzzle Box for the emperor. The challenge is deadly as the puzzle box contains poisons, tricks, and twists. Others have died while attempting to open the box. This

The plot in this one is very well-developed and I was impressed by the amount of research the author put into writing this story. The character of Mike Brink is complex and intelligent. I loved the thought processes he used to solve each step of the puzzle. Readers of adventure and suspense will love that the level of tension increases as the story progresses. I enjoyed the glimpse into Japanese history, culture, religion, artwork, and legends.

The Puzzle Box is the beautiful and enthralling sequel to the Puzzle Master. I absolutely adored the Puzzle Master and its quirky and lovable main character, Mike Brink. I love an underdog story and his is one of my favorites. Trussoni has this amazing ability to weave aspects of history, science, folklore, and religion all into a fictional story that could all be possible if it weren’t fiction. Her ability to do this so beautifully is what makes her stories so complex and interesting and this one was no different. The Japanese history and folklore elements included were so well done. The mystery was amazing. The new characters were fun. I just can’t say enough good things!!! I need a book 3 for two specific reasons that you can DM me about if you’ve read it!!!!!! All the stars for this gem!!!

Admittedly, this book is right up my alley. Treasure hunting through the lens of an autism-coded (in this case, a spontaneous-savant) main character, solving puzzles and dodging bad guys. I hadn't read the first novel in the series, and while I don't think I needed to in order to understand this one, I'm probably going to go back and read it now. The setting, which jumps around Japan, was fun, and I enjoyed being able to search online for the landmarks to really get a sense of place. Bonus points for what is probably the best dog name in the history of domesticated animals.

If I had to use just one word to describe The Puzzle Box it would be ‘cerebral’. This book requires you to pay attention, to stay alert and be engaged as a reader but in turn rewards you with such an adventure of a read! I have to admit I was so glad I was reading an ebook because I was able to look up words as I was reading and it was so rewarding.

I absolutely loved The Puzzle Master (and highly recommend you read that one first!) and loved joining Mike Brink as he heads to Japan this time to attempt to solve The Dragon Box, something no one’s succeeded in doing in 150 years since it was created. I’m fascinated by neurological conditions, so experiencing the world through Brink’s brain was really interesting. And learning about Japan’s culture and history was an added bonus! I breezed through this one in less than 24 hours.

Grab this one (or rather series) if you’re looking for a smart, engaging, thrilling mind puzzle of a read! It’s no accident this is one of our @thrillerbookloversthepulse picks - be ready for quite the buzz around The Puzzle Box!

A huge thank you to Random House Publishing, NetGalley and the author for gifting my ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Puzzle Box is a thrill ride, combining the ancient and the futuristic, in a race against time. Mike Brink is such a fantastic character set in a wild mystery.

The Puzzle Box by Danielle Trussoni was a fast-paced, at times intense, thriller. Mixing a bit of futuristic technology with Japanese culture and setting the story largely in Japan, the unlikely hero and heroine work desperately, and quite secretly, to solve an ancient puzzle. The included puzzles add greatly to the atmosphere for building the sometimes otherworldly setting.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Book review 📖

📜The Puzzle Box
✍️Danielle Trussoni
📠Random House
📚Mystery/Thriller
🗓️Pub date: October 8, 2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

✨Thank you @NetGalley and @randomhouse for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

✨Ingenious puzzle master Mike Brink has been invited to Tokyo, Japan to unlock the Dragon Box. The box was created by Emperor Meiji during a hostile period in Japan, in which a priceless imperial secret was locked inside.

✨Every twelve years, in the Year of The Dragon, the Imperial family hosts a contest to see who is able to open the box successfully. Although it is much harder than anyone ever thought, and oftentimes puzzle masters who attempt to open it die in the process. The Dragon Box is filled with booby traps, poison, tricks, and mind twists.

✨Brink may be the only puzzle master alive who can crack the box and get to its secrets. What follows are his adventures across Japan, uncovering hidden treasures and the secret behind his talent.

✨This was such a whirlwind and an adventurous thrilling ride. Reminding me of The Da Vinci Code, The Puzzle Box was filled with puzzles, twists, and turns, and left me on the edge of my seat.
Trussoni has a difficult to accomplish ingenuity and similar voice to Dan Brown. I loved every second!

🐉🀄️🐲🐉🀄️🐲🐉🀄️🐲🐉🀄️🐲🐉🀄️🐲🐉🀄️

#netgalley #thepuzzlebox #danielletrussoni#randomhouse #thrillerfiction #advancedreadercopy #arc #bookreview #bookstagrammer #fallreleases #thedragonbox #readthisnow

This is a solid adventure/action mystery about an imperial Japanese puzzle box - the Dragon Box. The main character. Mike, is a puzzle master whose brain injury when he was younger has made him a genuis at solving puzzles.

He is invited by the Japanese imperial family to, within 24 hours, unlock the puzzle box to find the secrets hidden within; everyone who thus far has tried to open the box has died.

We follow Mike as he follows the clues, racing from New York to Tokyo to the Japanese countryside, all the while being pursued by a dangerous villain who wants the box for himself. Mike is helped by a good cast of secondary characters, including his wonderful emotional support dog, Conundrum.

This was written in an easy to read style, the pacing was even with some great suspenseful moments, and there was a good conclusion. As well as an adventure, the story interspersed Japanese culture and history in the story which was very interesting.

This is book 2 in a series but can absolutely be read alone which is what I did.

Readers who like adventure, puzzles, as well as history about Japanese culture will enjoy this one.

Thanks to the publisher for this complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

The Puzzle Box weaves together the world of an acquired savant (a person who has new and extraordinary skills after having a traumatic brain injury), Mike Brink, two sisters who are extremely gifted in their own right but in very different ways, and imperial Japanese history. Mike is called upon to solve the unsolvable Dragon Box puzzle, a puzzle that has been unsolvable for over 100 years and deadly to those who have tried to solve it previously. I was fascinated by the plot of this book and it did not disappoint. It became more complex as the story went on.

However, I found the writing style to be clunky and different than anything I've read before. For example, POV chapters started with the POV character's name (often first AND last) within the first couple of sentences instead of using details in the scene to show readers whose POV it was. I was really stumped by the continuous use of character's first and last name. This may sound strange, but it jarred me every time "Mike Brink walked out of his hotel room door and into the hallway" or "Mike Brink picked up his chopsticks." If it was a Sandra Bullock movie with Bullock doing voice over of the scene (that is meant to be a bit comical), it may have worked, but in a book it felt stilted and weird to me. In general,

I felt like the author made things too explicit and needs to work on showing instead of telling, Another example is how Mike Brink's life is SO hard for him. However, I only remember one time when his acquired savant status caused him any strain or problems in the whole book. It's fine to tell us that it's SO hard, but also show us throughout his daily interactions how this actually affects his daily life. The plot of this book seemed like it was geared towards a highly intelligent, thoughtful audience, but the writing style seemed more geared to readers who've never read a book with different POVs or intricate plots.

Mike Blink loves solving puzzles. As a result of a brain injury, he suffers from a condition called synthesisa which allowed him to experience a number of senses and visual stimuli all at once. This has given him a sixth sense when it comes to solving complex problems like the Dragon Puzzle Box.

This puzzle box is located in Japan, and when he meets a young woman named Sakura she brings him to solve it using more and more complicated moves until it is complete.

I was nearly 50 percent of the way done before the action really got going. The relationship between the main protagonists was strained and often difficult to understand— the lack of chemistry between them was palpable. I often felt like the story was a poor imitation of the Davinci code.

With such an interesting plot I expected much more of a payoff. Instead the book meandered at an exceedingly slow place waiting for Mike to mess up. It would have been served my a more in- depth relationship between the two main characters Sakura and Mike. Unless you are really interested in puzzles, this could be the book you skip.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for or an honest review and feedback.

I went into this with such high hopes - a mystery in the line of the Da Vinci code ; one of my favourite countries - Japan and puzzles ! But I just didn’t enjoy it 🤷🏼‍♀️ I felt like I was jus r being told stuff vs being shown …

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review

2.5 🌟

I was so delighted to hear that there would be a sequel to the Puzzle Master, which was one of my favorite reads of 2023. In this book, Mike Brink has tried to move on from his experience with the God Puzzle and get back to his life - creating puzzles and taking care of his dog, Connie. When a mysterious woman appears on his doorstep with an invitation from the Emperor of Japan to solve an impossible puzzle box, he feels incapable of saying no. From there, he finds himself on a breakneck journey across Japan to solve a 150-year-old puzzle that has left a trail of bodies in its wake.

We are introduced to a few new characters, friends and foes, as well as brought back to some familiar faces from the previous book. I wouldn't say it's essential to read the Puzzle Master before picking up this book, but there is a lot of background that would be easier to understand by starting from the beginning. The themes surrounding artificial intelligence felt especially poignant in this moment in time give how quickly AI has become a part of our daily online existence in the past year. This book made me want to turn off my phone and throw it away!

It's so obvious how much research and care goes into Danielle Trussoni's books. As enjoyable as the thriller elements of this book were I equally enjoyed learning about the Japanese setting, history, and culture that are deeply threaded through the book.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this advance copy. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars, rounded up.

I enjoy suspenseful reads without a lot of dark crime and gore, so Trussoni's Mike Brink series fits that bill. In the first novel of the series, we're introduced to Mike Brink, who, through a traumatic brain injury, developed an off-the-charts skill in seeing patterns immediately and solving puzzles.

In The Puzzle Box, Brink is roped into another twisty mystery involving his digital nemesis, Jameson Sedge. He is invited to try to solve The Dragon Box, a mechanical puzzle box that has been shrouded in rumor and mystery for decades. Anyone who has attempted to solve the puzzle has not lived to tell about the experience. The Japanese Imperial Family is not the only group that wants what the puzzle box leads to. A sinister group is waiting for Mike Brink to bring them another tool in their quest for digital domination.

I found the book entertaining and enjoyed following the puzzle trail. It was creative, and the fleshed-out characters added to the enjoyment. It's a great escape read!

I recently read The Puzzle Master so I was excited to get my hands on the second installment of this series, The Puzzle Box. I’ll start by saying that you can absolutely read this as a standalone as many important details are brought back up and explained BUT of course, you should read them both. Mike Brink is such an amazing character and I loved seeing his growth from the first book. I’m absolutely amazed with the author’s writing style and I’m so impressed with the research that must’ve been done to write this. Great read!