In PUZZLE HOUSE by Duncan Ralston, six seemingly random people are invited to the reading of a will of a person that only one of them apparently knows. Each can inherit $25 million just by attending. Of course, there is just a little bit more to it than that. This is an interesting thriller as you work to solve each character with each challenge they face.
This is exciting, intriguing, and fast paced. Another great book by Ralston showing just how versatile his writing is.

I just finished Puzzle House, a Novel by Duncan Ralston and here is my review.

When Alexei Vasiliev dies, his $150 million dollar fortune is left to 6 individuals. Five of whom had never met the man. The only catch is to get their share of his fortune… They have to complete six interconnecting escape rooms.

Seems easy enough until the participants realize that the rooms are far deadlier than meets the eye. Every room gets more intense and the time limits make things even more hair-raising. Someone has eyes on every choice they make and every life that is lost.

Someone has been keeping tabs on them in the real world as well, making each person turn on the next. Can they make it out alive? What kind of a person creates a deadly game and what will they find at the end?

OK this book could have been 100 pages longer and I would have been all over that! GUHHHH the ending! I have sooooo many questions!! I hope there is a sequel and I need answers.

Why these 6 people? A couple you can guess but the others….. Tying up loose ends but what are the loose ends!!! I loved all the occult stuff. LOVED IT. I really enjoyed how the whole story came together. Why did they pick Hall? This I never really understood hence why I hope we get a sequel. I need to know more about the book and all the ancient lore. I could fall down one heck of a rabbit hole.

I liked the build up and all the puzzles. It was really a great book! The writing was exceptional and detailed, it was obviously well researched.

I’m going to find more of the authors work as I love their style and the attention to detail that went into this Saw meets escape room…

Out now so grab this horror-rific masterpiece today.

4.5 stars.

Thank you @netgalley and #wickedhousepublishing for my gifted copy

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The Escape Room franchise (please let them make a 3rd one!) is a guilty pleasure of mine, so once I read the blurb for Duncan Ralston’s newest book I knew two things. I wanted to read it and I’d be more or less predisposed to liking it. I mean six strangers lured to the home of a deceased puzzle master with the chance to win the man’s fortune? Sounds somewhat similar to that original Escape Room movie I secretly (well not so secret anymore I guess) have watched way too many times. What can I say, I love puzzles and escape rooms. I must first say I’ve only read one of Ralston’s previous books, and it’s the book he’s probably best known for: Woom. And oh boy if you haven’t read that one let me warn you that it is brutally over the top gross/gruesome (intentionally so). Being both utterly revolting and strangely engaging at the same time. I knew all his books were not like that and yet having that as my sole experience with his writing, I wasn’t sure what to expect of this new book. And while the premise was indeed somewhat similar to Escape Room what I really ended up experiencing was some crazed mash up featuring elements from Escape Room, 13 Ghosts, the Saw franchise, and a hint of Cabin in the Woods. The book does indeed feature some brutality and gore, though not even remotely in the vain of Woom. I enjoyed the story, the interesting cast of characters, loved the twists (even though I saw a number of them coming well ahead of time), and enjoyed the ending, though I feel there may be some out there that might find it a bit vexing. It’s a quick read, coming in at just a bit over two hundred pages and features a tense and intense fast moving twisted story. Well worth the time. I'd like to thank Wicked House Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Puzzle House.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R6Y3L71ALPBUX/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

4.5⭐️ This book is a mixed between a giant escape room and the movie Saw. It also brought to mind the movie The Mummy because there’s some ancient history and a deadly book.
This book was so fun and hard to put down with jaw dropping moments.
If you’ve read Woom and loved it like me or can’t read Woom because of what it is, do not pass by this book. It is nothing like Woom, it’s not gross and disgusting, it is totally different and also fantastic.

Puzzle House by Duncan Ralston was an intriguing Escape Room-esque story with intriguing plot points and great sequencing. It was a fun read!

I received a review copy of this book from the author/publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

This was a fun ‘Escape the Room’ fast-paced horror story.

There were a lot of twists that continue to make this story intriguing. The more I read, the more I wondered who would be left and would they make it out.

Recommended for anyone looking for a good thriller, with a touch of horror and a very intriguing storyline.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Wicked House Publishing for providing me with an advanced readers copy.

This book was unbelievably fun. I love Duncan Ralston's writing style and enjoyed seeing how he applied it to some of my favorite horror/thriller/mystery tropes.

When I was a kid, my favorite book, hands down, was the Westing Game. For the unfamiliar, the Westing Game is a classic children's novel in which a group of strangers are named as potential heirs to the fortune of eccentric millionaire Sam Westing. In order to inherit, they must first solve the mystery of his death.

Puzzle House starts with a similar premise: game obsessed billionaire Alexei Vasiliev is dead and names as his heirs a group of apparent strangers, most of whom have no obvious connection to one another. There's Henry, currently serving 15 years for murdering a fellow cop (plus Atkins, the guard sent to accompany him); Oscar, a doctor with terminal cancer; Rudy, an eccentric archeologist; Jessica, a dean at the university where Rudy works; Ileana, an ambitious state senator; and Joy, Vasiliev's estranged wife.

The will requires that the six heirs attend the reading of the will in person, but when they arrive, they find that inheritance won't be a simple process. Vasiliev set up a series of escape-room-like puzzles for them to solve, and only those who make it through all of them will be able to inherit. The stakes of failure? Death, apparently.

The puzzles are designed to get under the players skin (figuratively...and sometimes literally), hinting at the skeletons in their closets. The puzzles also pull symbols and ideas from the old gods of various cultures in increasingly strange and troubling ways. From the get-go, they must make brutal sacrifices in order to survive (Remember the movie Saw? Yeah.).

Both Ralston's writing and the puzzles themselves balance cleverness with gore in a satisfying way, and the tension just keeps ratcheting up the farther into the puzzle house the players get.

I'm a sucker for any horror story that draws from ancient mythology, especially if it isn't limited to Western pantheons, so I was stoked to see references to gods from around the world. I'm also an archaeologist, though, so I tend to be super critical when those sorts of themes are handled poorly. As always, though, Ralston does a pretty damn good job with research, and I was really pleased with how he carried it off.

All in all, this book was a wild ride and exactly the sort of horror that I love to read.

Even though I had a free review copy of this book, I still pre-ordered it because Duncan Ralston deserves my money.

(thanks to Netgalley, Duncan Ralston, and Wicked House Publishing for the free review copy)

I was worried I wasn't going to be able to take this book seriously when I realized a few pages in that it was the same author who wrote the book Woom, but I found the character introductions and the world building in the last few chapters both to be well thought out and not at all silly like I found Woom to be (not that Woom was bad, I just found it silly and I am not a reader who tends to go for silly).

But I must say, I'm a big fan of the concept of escape rooms, and also a big fan of the Saw series and this book had elements that reminded me of both which definitely contributed to how much I liked it. I'd love to read a sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley, Wicked House Publishing, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

#Netgalley has provided me with an arc for my honest review of #PuzzleHouseANovel so here that goes ...

The description of this book is amazing & immediately grabbed me. You want more just from that .. I could tell this author just went on a horror movie marathon & I'm sooo into that especially with Halloween coming

BUT this book fell so flat for me I'm actually sad . The first 57% isn't bad but you're I was just hoping for more I guess I expected too much & yeahhh didn't happen. I have so many questions ! I feel like this book was left incomplete in so many ways.

- why these 6 people ?
- why all the Greek mythology ?
- why was dude so angry with these particular peeps ? Or just in general angry or was it psychosis ?
- why were the puzzles so weird ?
- what was that ending ?

I prob have more questions but I'm still asking myself what I read ???? It's such a trip !
This book had a lot of potential I felt . Great idea .. poor execution.

This is my first Duncan Ralston book, and I wouldn’t say it was a bad book, but it wasn’t exactly good, either. It was a suitably fun read with a cool plot, but suffered from a great deal of negatives that affected my reading enjoyment.

My number one negative would be the predictability. I knew who was going to be left at the end from the time everyone got to the titular Puzzle House. I figured out the central mystery faster than the actual character in the book did. I could go on.

I also expected this book to be somehow more horrific? There were certainly some “rooms” inside the Puzzle House that made my horror fanatic side happy, but then there were some that made me just shrug. I would’ve liked either a little more balance or for everything to be a little more amped up.

Now, the ending. The ending, that was something I truly enjoyed. That was great.

Maybe I’ll re-evaluate this book once I read more Ralston and can get a finger on the pulse of his works. We’ll see. But for now, this is just an average read for me.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you. Personal policy dictates that since this title received a rating of three stars or less the review will not appear on social media.

I was provided with an ARC of this manuscript in exchange for my honest review.

So, personally speaking. I love escape room thrillers. Part of that is because I love escape rooms in real life, and I love the puzzles. However, the other part is because escape room thrillers are great for exploring character psychology. What are people willing to do to ensure that they survive? Would they sacrifice another? How resilient are they? At the end of the day... what is most important to them?

So, I was really looking forward to this based on the premise. PUZZLE HOUSE is about a puzzle master who dies. In his will, he invites four people to his house-- three of which have no direct connection to him-- and has them complete puzzles in his house, but... not everyone may survive.

Unfortunately, for me, it didn't quite live up to expectations. There are times when going against an audience's expectations can work great. It's good to go against the mold and try new things because when it works it can be surprisingly delightful. However, there is also a reason genres tend to form as they do, and it's important to ensure that if something changes, it's something that will ultimately make the story better.

As I said, the reason why escape room thrillers are so great is because it's a good way to explore psychology. But that only works insofar as the story remains grounded in reality. Without getting too much into the details, this escape room takes a turn into the supernatural about halfway to two-thirds of the way through the story. Because it takes such an abrupt departure from reality, it kind of loses the thing that makes escape room thrillers unique.

Additionally, the supernatural elements aren't worked super cleanly into the story, so the audience never gets the full backstory as to how the puzzle master was connected with them, what the mysterious corporation (mentioned a few times throughout the book) had to do with them, why these specific people were chosen to participate, etc. It feels like there are loose threads even after the story has finished.

There is a particularly confusing moment in the last pages of the novel that doesn't really make sense given all the supernatural events that have happened. I can't get into it too much without spoiling the entire story, but if you choose to read: you'll know what I mean when you see it.

Overall, I cannot personally recommend this book, but that's my own personal opinion, and everyone is entitled to their own. Just because I didn't enjoy it doesn't mean that someone else won't.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy to read, and review.

This book doesn't stop. From page one, you are dragged into this world of madness. It was incredible. I did'nt want to put it down. Every Time I read a Duncan Ralston book I end the book pleased. He doesn't go light on the horror, and I love that. This book keeps you on your toes. If you're into escape rooms, horror, puzzles, than I really think you'll enjoy this book. You will not be disappointed.

Six strangers are summoned to the home of a deceased puzzle master with the chance to inherit a fortune--but there's a catch: go home with nothing if you don't solve the six escape rooms within the house.

If you are looking for a fun and edgy horror novel, I highly recommend "Puzzle House" by Duncan Ralston. I rate this read a 4 out of 5 stars. I was intrigued with why the beneficiaries were written into the puzzle master's will and where this story was going to go. I anticipated some dark secrets and clever puzzles, and Ralston did not disappoint!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wicked House Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

WOW........ This book is amazing! Gripping page turner that I could NOT put down. Literally lost hours of sleep so I could find out what happens next, and now I am hoping there is a sequel. I immediately downloaded another of this author's books for today. Premise: Six people that have absolutely nothing in common are notified that they are included in the will of an eccentric puzzle master. Only one has ever known him personally. When they arrive for the reading of the will, they are tasked with completing a series of escape rooms, if anyone leaves, they all forfeit their rights to the fortune. The author is extremely inventive with these rooms, and the twists and turns are believable, but definitely unexpected. I am waiting on pins and needles to see if a second book will be released!!!

Duncan, why did you end things THERE!? This was so great - fast and twisted. If you like the Saw movies but want something not quite as grotesque as that, and if you like escape rooms, then this one's for you! I got a little confused at times about who was doing what and where, but overall, I would recommend for fans of horror with a supernatural and/or mythological element.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

PUZZLE HOUSE is scary, gory, implacable Horror containing evil both of human design, of conspiracy (think global-takeover new-world-order intent), and of Evil Beyond in the Lovecraftian Cosmic Terror sense. So most of the Horror possibilities are brought into play here, and excellently so. This is a "Who can be trusted?" type of approach, and believe me, not many can be, because almost everyone here has an agenda: some because they are truly evil, some because they're trapped metaphorically between a rock and a hard place [Scylla and Charybdis], some because wrong-place-wrong-time, and some because Cosmic-Entities-Don't-Subscribe-to-human-morality-or-Ethics. Even though PUZZLE HOUSE is complete in itself, I can only hope Mr. Ralston will have in mind to continue this engrossing theme.

I had seen this title pop up a few times on social media, and early reviews had me intrigued. Yes, I'm also guilty of judging a book by its cover as well. This cover is just so good.

First, I just want to say that I need to see this adapted for the screen asafp. The limited cast of characters was a perfect blend of likable and unlikable, with me still wanting to see more of the unlikable characters. I loved the escape room feel of the house and the way that the rooms were designed. I do wish that we got more of a back story, some more insight into why each person was chosen.

While mostly grounded in reality, the end twist threw me off a little, but the more I think about it, the more I like it.

As a movie lover, this was giving me vibes from multiple movies. From House on Haunted Hill to Saw to Escape Room to Cabin in the Woods. Just overall, a quick, fun read.

Review made possible by netgalley in return for a review of the honest variety, the only way I know how.

This book was very frightening indeed. What started out as an escape house (although not a typical one) turned into a contestant’s nightmare. Each person chose for the competition has a specific reason for being part of group. The action begins right away and each solution to the rooms is quite gruesome. The group realizes quickly that they must work together but someone will probably die. As the group dwindles and more about the secret group comes to light, the stakes become even higher. What will the survivor find at the final escape room?

"I wish Rudy was here to translate all this stuff." Yeah, me too.

The book blurb made this story sound so interesting. Six strangers has a chance to split an $150 million inheritance. All they have to do is solve six escape room-like puzzles. I was totally hooked and so excited to read this book. It started off good with interesting characters. And then the puzzle fun comes in. Except it was a convoluted mess with the ancient mythology and gods and goddesses. It was unbelievable and I lost interest. Hated the ending.

Thank you to NetGalley, Wicked House Publishing and Duncan Ralston for an ARC of "Puzzle House: A Novel".

A review of Puzzle House by Duncan Ralston. Publication date: September 15th, 2023.

Brief Synopsis:
After the death of a puzzle genius, six strangers are brought together. Suspicion runs it’s course through the strangers that have to work together, trust each other, and hope to survive. Puzzle House is full of allusions and interesting character situations that will leave you guessing what happens next. There is definitely a few jaw dropping moments and some that were a bit gory, but palpable. The ending leaves you wanting more and was written in a way that leaves the door open for just that.

Characters: There were characters you cheered for, and characters you really hoped met their demise. In fact, I had hoped things would have worked out differently for one. I won’t say which way I wanted the pendulum to swing, but I know we can’t always get what we want. Character development was pretty good for several of the characters, however I would have liked to know more about Atkins.

Author Writing Style: Duncan’s style of writing made it a breeze to finish quickly. It was such an interesting, good read for me that I was sad when it was over.
The use of allusions and the details of the house was brilliant. I don’t want to give anything away, but those elements woven into the story was chef’s kiss for me.
Overall, this was such a different premise from anything else I’ve read. Originality on all fronts for this novel.
4.5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this fantastic book in exchange for an honest review.