The Puzzle Master

A Novel

By: Danielle Trussoni

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini

Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

Reality and the supernatural collide when an expert puzzle maker is thrust into an ancient mystery—one with explosive consequences for the fate of humanity—in this suspenseful thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Angelology

“This novel has it all and more. In the nimble, talented hands of Trussoni the pages fly.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, PopSugar, Bookreporter, CrimeReads

All the world is a puzzle, and Mike Brink—a celebrated and ingenious puzzle constructor—understands its patterns like no one else. 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. But it also left him deeply isolated, unable to fully connect with other people.

Everything changes after Brink meets Jess Price, a woman serving thirty years in prison for murder who hasn’t spoken a word since her arrest five years before. When Price draws a perplexing puzzle, her psychiatrist believes it will explain her crime and calls Brink to solve it. What begins as a desire to crack an alluring cipher quickly morphs into an obsession with Price herself. She soon reveals that there is something more urgent, and more dangerous, behind her silence, thrusting Brink into a hunt for the truth.

The quest takes Brink through a series of interlocking enigmas, but the heart of the mystery is the God Puzzle, a cryptic ancient prayer circle created by the thirteenth-century Jewish mystic Abraham Abulafia. As Brink navigates a maze of clues, and his emotional entanglement with Price becomes more intense, he realizes that there are powerful forces at work that he cannot escape.

Ranging from an upstate New York women’s prison to nineteenth-century Prague to the secret rooms of the Pierpont Morgan Library, The Puzzle Master is a tantalizing, addictive thriller in which humankind, technology, and the future of the universe itself are at stake.

©2023 Danielle Trussoni (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“The many irresistible elements in Danielle Trussoni’s The Puzzle Master include Mike Brink, a preternaturally brilliant man billed as ‘the most talented puzzleist in the world.’”—The New York Times

“This immersive, brilliant book is a labyrinth of ciphers, cryptograms, logic puzzles, word puzzles, and a doozy of a conspiracy. Wouldn’t you like to experience a book so singular?”—The Minneapolis Star Tribune

“[Trussoni] is at the top of her game in involving the reader in the puzzle-solving process, making the most of historic settings, including the Pierpont Morgan Library, and making the book’s Da Vinci Code–like trappings pay off. The Kabbalah meets the New York Times crossword in a brainy thriller.”—Kirkus Reviews

Nope

It was too long and too ridiculous. The “genius” was surprising obtuse and it had all my least favorite traits: demons, boorish characters and hints of religious claptrap.

Genre confused

A smattering of this and that. Too many genres and pieces of information that are loosely tied together making the storyline a tad confusing.

The story started out okay

Then it became so crazy and unbelievable. Just not a great book. Couldn’t wait to finish it to be done vs not wanting to put it down.

Kept My Interest

Another good story from a talented writer. I found the naming of each chapter, it interrupted the flow of the narrative

Very unusual ending

The story wrapped various scientific scenarios with religious beliefs and made for a compelling story

Great until the “Twist,” which forces woke messaging on religion

I mostly enjoyed the novel and it’s premise. I enjoy well-researched fiction with plenty of history to give the story a sense of grounded-ness, a la Dan Brown’s better works. And, this did not disappoint in that aspect. The narrator convincingly portrayed several characters. My issue comes from the author’s portrayal of the nature of God and a seeming effort to twist it from revealed truth found in scripture to something elevating genetic anomaly from abnormal to divine. I would have preferred an alternate explanation to the puzzle with an exploration of heavenly parents as opposed to a single Father. An alternate explanation I think fits just as well without the wholesale destruction of the value of scripture. It’s where I thought the author was going and I was hugely disappointed when she didn’t. Sorry if I’m being vague but trying for a spoiler-free review which I hope still makes sense.

GOOD READ

I liked this book, although difficult to keep everything straight at times. It keep my attention throughout the book.

Almost good...

You lost me when the man with the photographic memory had to "write it down."

Interesting until near the end

I was drawn into this story quickly and enjoyed it until the last few chapters. It started to get a little too “out there” for my taste. A different direction and this would have been a great book.

Loved it!

I couldn’t put it down. Anyone who like’s Dan Brown books should like this. I found it fascinating.