The Puzzle Master

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni
Narrator: Edoardo Ballerini
Published by Penguin Random House Audio, Random House Publishing Group on June 13, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Thrillers / Supernatural
Length: 11 hours 14 minutes
Pages: 384
Format: Hardcover, Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon | Audible | B&N | Kobo | Libro.fm

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.

I enjoyed this one! I love a good puzzle as much as the next guy, but Mike Brink is a savant in the realm of puzzles, and this story is a doozy of one. Quite a few things are going on so the reader needs to pay close attention to keep track of all the threads in this story. I liked the various twists and turns worked into the plot that kept me guessing and I couldn’t wait to see how everything would come together before this story drew to a close.

Mike Brink’s life changed on a football field when a brain injury left him with acquired savant syndrome. He loves puzzles and can’t resist the one involving a woman serving time for murder. The mystery at the center of this story is pretty complex and takes more than one unexpected turn. Mike was a great character, and I couldn’t wait to see him figure out what was happening.

I listened to the audiobook and thought that Edoardo Ballerini did a wonderful job with the story. I believe that this may have been the first time that I have listened to this narrator’s work and I must say that I was impressed. He did a great job of bringing Mike Brink and the rest of the characters in this story to life. I found his voice to be very pleasant and had no problems listening to this audiobook for hours at a time. I am certain that his performance added to my overall enjoyment of this story.

I would recommend this book to others. I was completely entertained by this intelligent and action-packed story that left me questioning everything at times. I hope to read more of this author’s work very soon.

I received a review copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group and Penguin Random House Audio.

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