<i> I thank the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC</i>

This is my first 1 * read in 2023. I thought of giving it 2* when i was at 80% of the book, just to keep my 'no 1* ' record intact, but the ending was so bad that this doesn't deserve anything more. I requested for this book because the description was intriguing. But this was a waste of time. I might not be the target reader for this kind of book.
I didn't find the puzzles or the solutions anyway clever. The participants discuss some ancient history, rituals, symbolism and easily come up with solutions.
Even the random selection of participants and the conspiracy theory was laughable. The plot was incidental and riddled with plot holes.

The ending seems to suggest a sequel, but I won't be reading any other book by this author

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.

I just finished this book and I'm left wondering what the hell just happened? This cliffhanger! Maybe there will be a sequel? I think there is definitely room to explore a sequel, because I have so many questions. What is it with Infiniti? How did Atkins become evolved? What was Vasiliev's goal?

If you're looking for Escape Room in novel form, this is it.

Puzzle room drama + reality TV bickering and mistrust = a great read! The ending didn't disappoint either :)
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review!

Fun and fast paced. It was thrilling and the puzzles were fun. It kept me wondering what was going to happen in the end. It was a nice short book that didn't take long to read and kept me interested.

Hall is a ex cop turned prisoner offered a choice to go to a will reading and give some money to his wife or be put with people he put in jail. Six people are invited to this will reading.. only one of them knows the deceased this is no ordinary will reading. They are trapped inside the house. They have six deadly puzzles to solve. Can anyone escape? Full of twists turns and action. Fast paced intense read.

Puzzle House was a quick read and interesting story. It started off so good with the character building in the beginning but I did felt like I got lost along the way. The majority of the storyline was the challenges based around gods and mythology making it hard for me to decipher exactly what was happening. If I had more knowledge of those things prior to reading, I think I would’ve found it easier to follow along. Overall, it was still a good read.

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC of Puzzle House by Duncan Ralston.

This book is reminiscent of the Escape Room movies. There is a good amount of body horror, so it is not recommended for the faint of heart. There are some shocking twists and it keeps you on the edge of your seat.

6 strangers are invited to the house of Alexei Vaseliev for the reading of his will. Only one of them actually knew him, his ex wife. He is a well known puzzle master and has created a house of puzzles. The winner of the puzzle house will receive his fortune. The strangers soon learn that the puzzles are life and death and only one will make it out alive.

This book was a fun ride from beginning to end. The writing isn’t distracting from the main story and the characters felt real. I really enjoyed the puzzles and bits of knowledge added in. My only frustration is a wish we had a little more closure as to why/how at the end. Since this was a puzzle book I expected there to be a logical reason. Still a really great read!

"The Puzzle Room" by Duncan Ralston presents an intriguing premise that captures the reader's attention from the start. Especially for someone who does escape rooms regularly like me. However, the pacing at times feels uneven, with moments of intense suspense followed by lulls that hinder the overall flow. Also if you dont know much about Egyptian or older history parts are really hard to follow. Additionally, while some characters are well-developed and relatable, others lack depth and could have been more fleshed out. Despite these shortcomings, the unexpected twists sprinkled throughout the story do manage to create moments of genuine surprise. Overall, "The Puzzle Room" offers an enjoyable read, but falls slightly short of reaching its full potential.
Thank you NetGalley, Publisher, and Duncan Ralston for the ARC!

I almost rated this one 4 stars until I read the last page. I was so mad at how it ended! I really enjoyed the book as a whole, though. It gave me Saw vibes which I loved. I did kind of guess some things throughout which I knocked a star off for just because I thought it could have been more surprising. If the last page was wrote differently or maybe a little more was added to it, it would have easily been a 4-4.5 star read. I really enjoy Ralston’s work, so either way I’m glad I read this & would recommend!

Puzzle House: A Novel by Duncan Ralston left me exhausted! Once I started reading I just couldn’t stop and although some descriptions were incredibly graphic and gory I just kept going - just like the characters in the story.

This would make an amazing movie as it is very visual and fast moving. Absolutely incredible and scary. A thriller that leaves one breathless and heart pounding! Characters are vividly developed adding depth to the story.

The publisher’s blurb is excellent:

Six strangers arrive at the home of preeminent puzzle master Alexei Vasiliev for the reading of his will. Among them are the deceased's widow, who'd already begun divorce proceedings, a virologist troubled by actions in his past, and a convicted murderer on day release. The potential beneficiaries will split Vasiliev's $150M fortune if they participate in his last great work.
The choice is simple: leave the house with nothing or continue in the hope of solving the six interconnecting escape rooms within this house.
Once there, the participants soon discover Puzzle House is far deadlier than it appears, and that making their way through the rooms may be a matter of life and death. Someone is watching their every move, toying with them, turning them against each other. With their lives on the line, they are forced to wonder, is it all just a deadly game created by a gleeful sadist, or something far more sinister?
Highly recommended!

This review is based on a complimentary copy from Wicked House Published via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#PuzzleHouse:ANovel #NetGalley #NetGalleyBingo - reviewed right after finishing

This book follows six strangers who arrive at the reading of the will of a puzzle master named Alexei Vasiliev. Some know him (including his widow) and others have no idea what they're doing there.

They learn that they will earn his $150M fortune if they proceed through and solve his puzzles.

This was billed as Saw meets Escape Room - and it definitely has some of those elements at its core. However, I didn't feel the stakes of this. I am always down for horror for horror's sake, but we really didn't get an opportunity to understand anyone's motivations so the stakes didn't feel real. It was a fun read, but ultimately I felt a bit underwhelmed.

Listen this book was SO SO GOOD ! The world building, the character building and development , the in depth descriptions, all of it. So much happens at the end of the last two chapters I was literally on the edge of my bed reading this. This book is not even officially out yet but I NEED to know what happens next !! This book kind of reminded me of a Saw meets the house from the 13 ghost movies? Maybe even cabin in the woods but WOW. This was so good I could not put my phone down reading it. So many things happen in this book it is absolutely insane. Greek mythology, conspiracies, mystery, murder, rituals , and a puzzle house?!
So glad I was able to read the ARC of this.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Six people find out that they are being invited for a will reading for an inheritance from someone that they don't know (well, five of them don't know the deceased). They wind up in a mystery house, trying to earn the money by finding their way out of all the rooms. But one by one, they start to not make it on to the next room.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. It seemed like an interesting premise, a cross between Saw and Escape Room, both of which I like. But it just never really fully sucked me in. There was some back story happening with a corporation, but I never feel like that was well explained and just made it more confusing to follow. The characters didn't seem very well developed or likable. I feel like there was a lot of back story that could have been developed more but wasn't, which made me feeling like I was always missing something.

The good things - great concept, plenty of potential, and a decent ending. Just wish it had been developed better.

Excellent book! If you are a fan of the Saw movie franchise, then you will enjoy this book. It kept me guessing what would happen next and to whom. Are they good guys or bad guys? Are the good guys bad? Are the bad guys good?

Six strangers come together for a reading of the will of puzzle master, Alexei Vasiliev. Among them are the puzzle master's ex-wife, a convicted murderer on day release, and a virologist. Each person stand to inherit a portion of the $150 million dollars with one caveat: they remain in Vasiliev's home-turned-escape room and solve the six puzzles.

If you love the Esape Room movies and Saw, you will absolutely love Puzzle House! This is a very quick read that will have you engrossed with the mythology behind each puzzle and how each of the beneficiaries plays a role in this dangerous situation. I loved each character, and my only request would have been more back story to each one, but this would have prevented the fast pace, which I absolutely loved. This book played out like an action thriller movie in my head. It is so much fun. Five stars from me!

I'm not sure what I just read. Don't get into this book thinking it is going to be an easy, lighthearted, puzzle mystery. I feel that the book had so much potential, and then it took a hard turn. 6 strangers, locked in a house, having to solve puzzles to escape the house. Once it turned into sacrificial, demon worshiping, strangeness, I lost interest. I did finish the book, however, I would have liked to know more of what happens once the house was escaped.

As I read this, I had very high hopes. I loved the concept - giving very SAW-like vibes. A good mix of thriller and horror. Overall, I really enjoyed the story. However, the way it was written felt very choppy and difficult to be drawn in. While there was so much detail, so often I felt a lack of cohesiveness that lends to immersive story-telling.
Additionally, the pull in of an overarching enemy being in control felt thrown together.

*Small note, at the beginning, a character receives a CT scan and the tech is referred to as a technician. This is inaccurate. Individuals who perform the scans are Technologists. While this is minor, I am a CT Technologist, and it is widely known in our field that we dislike being misnamed*

As a whole, this is an enjoyable novel if one is not looking to be immersed in a world and just told a story.

This would normally be my kind of book, I went into it thinking it was going to be like saw., but I was rather. disappointed as it was very confusing and hard to get into..
thank you netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this for a honest review.

Puzzle House was a great thriller! It’s Escape Room meets Saw!! Without giving too much away, the story is about strangers that come together due to being named as a beneficiaries on a will from a complete stranger. They all have to meet together at a house where they must complete the puzzles in each room I order to move to the next one. As the story progresses hidden secrets from each stranger come to light making them each wonder who they can trust! I enjoyed this book so much! Looking forward to reading more from this author!!!
Thank you NetGalley and Wicked House Publishing for this Arc in exchange for an honest review.