I love this book! I got into it so quickly and easily and finished it in 2 days, I would have finished it sooner if I didn't have to work and sleep lol

The premise of this novel sold me immediately. Think Saw meets Indiana Jones, and add a handful of very interesting characters- You get Puzzle House.
It has been a long time since I've stayed up half the night to finish a book, but I watched my clock tick closer to sunrise as I burrowed under my covers, incapable of putting it down. An interesting mix of horror, mystery, intrigue, and history that creates a delightfully fast-paced story.
While I did have a few personal issues with some of the background (I can't imagine any person being mad at our MC for the actions they took), I truly loved most of the characters. Duncan is wonderful at creating interesting and dimensional characters, and he showcased it masterfully in this novel.
I desperately hope there is a sequel in the works and look forward to reading more of Ralston's works.

I am an Escape Room enthusiast. Whenever I go on holidays, I search out Escape Rooms. I love a good riddle and problem solving challenge so naturally when I read the title and synopsis of this book, I HAD to read it.

Quick overview: Six strangers are summoned to the reading of a will. Alexei Vasiliev is known as a puzzle master and he's leaving his fortune to those who can escape his biggest escape room yet.

The six invited guests are:

Joy ~ the Widow
Henry ~ the Prisoner
Oscar ~ Doctor of Medicine
Rudy ~ Professor
Ilena ~ Senator
Jessica ~ University Dean

and we also have a 7th uninvited guest
Atkins ~ Henry's Prison Guard

They are given a choice to leave the house with nothing or to play the game in hopes of winning money. How hard could it be to solve escape room mysteries they think and all chose to play on not knowing the game is much, much more than just successfully solving a riddle, If you fail, you could die.

Once the guests are in the house and the game begins, there is no downtime at all in this book. Each room is full of tension, suspense and had me on the edge of my seat. The riddles/puzzles were not easy and I am pretty sure I would have failed miserably in this escape and unfortunately, many did in this book.

I was not expecting the book to go in the direction it did. What started out as a normal world ended up...well...I cannot say without spoiling it lol...you are going to have to TRUST ME on this when I say READ THIS BOOK lol

Go in with an open mind, big imagination and expect the unexpected. I re-read the ending twice to fully digest everything. It does have gory parts. Not for the faint of heart.

This would be a perfect read around Halloween for all the feels!

Solid 4 stars. Thank you to Net Galley and Wicked House Publishing for the opportunity to read and review an advanced electronic reader copy of this novel.

I HAD to jump on this book when I saw the author and then read the premise of this book. If you're a fan of the Saw movies, you can see why! This book was amazing and kept me on my toes the whole way through. I cannot wait to see what Duncan comes up with next! Thanks to NetGalley and Wicked House for giving me access to this ARC of Puzzle House!

Move this one to the top of your TBR list ASAP! This was absolutely fantastic! At first, I got a ‘Glass Onion’ (Knives Out movie) vibe, then it went in more of ‘Cabin In The Woods’ (again movie) direction, but of course it proceeded to grow even darker and incomparable to anything else I’ve read. I wouldn’t expect anything less from Duncan Ralston. There are a solid few characters that are obviously favorites, super easy to connect with and root for. Duncan’s writing is superb, he has an effortless flow of story telling ability. It’s easy to get lost in the PUZZLE HOUSE for several hours, I read the whole thing straight through in one day. It’s intense and things escalate fast! All I can say is I HOPE there will be a sequel, I’d really like to follow this story even further!

Thank you to NetGalley, Wicked House Publishing, and Duncan Ralston for the early opportunity to read this book. Easy and well deserved 5 stars!

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

Escape Room meets Saw in the ultimate game of survival for the chance at 150 million dollar inheritance. The Puzzle Master creates an environment for 6 strangers, 'competitors' who, unbeknownst to them at first, are all linked together somehow. The book follows the 6 through each test, revealing their links along the way until it is all revealed at the end. Very fast paced and creative, the only thing missing in this book is a definitive ending...possibly leading to a sequel or just leaving it open ended for the readers.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of this book. A deceased puzzle master bequeaths in his will his fortune to six people if they go into his puzzle house and can get through the gauntlet of escape rooms. Can they escape and get the money? What happens if they can't get out? I like the plot and the cover of this book, I found it interesting.

I usually love reading books by Duncan Alston, but for some reason I could not get interested in this book. I’m use to the gross and gory writings from him. This was to laid back for me.

I received an ARC copy of Puzzle House by Duncan Ralston!

This book was such a fun read! It reminded me of the saw movies and had me hooked from the very beginning! How far would someone go for money? You see that play out as the book progresses in a fun and interesting way! (Well not fun for the characters lol!)
Would definitely recommend this book to a friend !

Six strangers come together as the will of Alexei Vasiliev, one of the world’s top puzzle makers, stipulates that they must take part in his latest work to receive a portion of his fortune. The strangers don’t seem to have a connection. Henry, previously a cop, is in jail for murder and Atkins is the security guard sent to accompany him. Then there is Oscar, a doctor riddled with cancer, Illeana, a state senator, Rudy, an archaeologist, Jessica, a dean at a university, and Joy, Alexei’s estranged wife.

They meet at Alexei’s house and are immediately thrown into a puzzle. Six rooms await them where the puzzles will test not just their mental abilities, but their desire to survive at any cost. Will working together be the way to go, or is it a case of fewer survivors means more money...

I really wanted to love this book as it started out so well with the different characters being introduced and yet still being in the dark about their connection. Then, as we moved to the house and the puzzles, it became a lot more complex and unless you are a fan of mythology and know quite a bit about ancient history when it comes to gods and beliefs, then it’s tricky to keep up as the facts just keep coming. Sometimes it was quite difficult to picture the puzzles and in one instance the chosen solution was very odd as there were other things around them that could have done the same thing. I guess it’s in keeping with the room “belonging” to a character.

The connection is eventually explained but it’s a slow reveal and seems buried under the facts of the puzzles themselves. The whole experience is exposed to have been years in the making and I felt the reader needed to really allow for literary leeway. As I was reading, I was going yes okay, hmm, and then the eyebrow raises got a bit too much. The ending, well... it’s like the book went in an entirely different direction and left it open for a sequel.

The writing was good and the proofing well done but the book left me feeling ambivalent about its success.

Puzzle House is an escape room horror tale that thrills from start to finish. Six strangers gather at the mansion of puzzle master Alexei for the reading of his will. They are informed that if they can complete his final 6 puzzles, they will gain access to his $150 million estate. Saying more might venture into spoiler territory and it's probably best to go into this one without knowing more.
Duncan Raslton is best known for his splatter punk book Woom, and while there is some gore in Puzzle House it is toned down significantly. With Puzzle House Ralston builds in-depth and relatable characters with a fast-paced plot. There are twists that are hard to predict and a few scenes that induce genuine terror. This book was not what I expected but in the best way, and it's a perfect Halloween read.
My only complaints: I wish there were more details on the ancient civilization aspect and I felt like the ending was very abrupt. Maybe there will be a sequel?
Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

This was... An experience. The premise is fascinating - strangers pulled to the house of a deceased puzzle master to solve the house and inherit his wealth. But they learn quickly that they didn't tell them the catch: it's win, or die.

The characters in this were amazing. I really truly loved Oscar, Joy and Henry. I feel like each of them had in depth back stories and could have had books dedicated to them individually. The pace is quick and tense, and the descriptions visceral.

It wraps up quicker than I think I like, thus the three stars. Feels a bit like maybe it was meant to be a "part one"? Regardless, I had a great time with this.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wicked House for allowing me to provide an ARC review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author, I was able to read this spooky book! I wanted to love this book but I did not care for the ending. It left me kind of confused and wanting to know more on how the characters story ended.

Puzzle House is like the book version Saw mixed with cult vibes, and I absolutely loved it!

After the death of the wealthy puzzle master, Alexei Vasiliev, six strangers are brought together to take part in his last ever game, but little did they know that it may be their last, too.

With the chance to win $150m, Alexei's estranged wife and 5 other strangers are invited to his home for the reading of his will, but there's a catch. All of the invitees must take part in his final puzzle - the escape rooms he has created.

This book gets very dark, very quickly. It's filled with violence and uncomfortable situations which really keep you on edge. It's a short read, making it easy to binge in one sitting which is always quite refreshing. The ending definitely takes a wild spin which I really didn't expect!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

A murderer, actress, anthropologist, doctor, senator and dean of admissions are ordered to a will reading. Unsure of what that means for them, they go. What happens after is not like any will reading I would EVER want to go to. A written version of the SAW movies but with more meaning. When you feel bad for a murderer you know the writing is good. My heart broke throughout the whole book. And while graphic, it wasn't nausea indusing graphic. Everything that was disturbing was truly needed to make this story the story it became. Duncan Ralston did a fantastic job at capturing my heart. The reason why those 6 were chosen still wasn't 100% answered, it was mentioned, I wish it was explained a little more but I think that kept the mystery of it.

I hope there's a sequel because I need to know what happens next. I kept flipping the pages going there has to be more. I need to know more!

Puzzle House: A novel is just another example of how well-rounded Ralston is as an author. I mean, for christ sake, this is the same man who brought us Woom! Don't get me wrong, Puzzle House has some fairly unique death scenes, but this isn't going to be a book that turns your stomach.

Absolutely phenomenal world building and character development. I loved the creepy "Saw" meets Escape room from hell vibe from the setting. I was on edge reading about the various puzzles, I would have died... no joke.

To be honest, at the beginning of the book, I saw it going in one direction, and then, by the middle, it was apparent things were headed in a completely opposite direction! This book will definitely keep you engaged and on your toes.

Puzzle House is fast-paced, decently gruesome, and overall, it's just a bloody good time. The only reason I am giving it 4 and not 5 stars is that the ending irked me. It left me with so many questions...Ralston, I can not be alone in thinking that we want a sequel, sir!!!

There is more than I could say, but I don't want to give too much away just yet. Perhaps I'll be back closer to release day!

As always, thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes for this. At the beginning it feels like someone created a novel of the Escape Room movies, with a Saw twist and I really dug it. Ludicrous puzzles, big reward at the end, cast of characters who all have a dark past? Sign me up. However as the story progresses it starts to get muddled fast, and takes a lot of big twists and turns that did nothing for me. The ending left me feeling like I had wasted time too sadly.

I will grant it that it's a breezy read. Took me about 3-4 days to finish.

I had some high hopes for this one after hearing it compared as Saw meets Escape Room, two franchises I adore. I must’ve set the bar a little too high because I couldn’t help but be a tad disappointed. The book is short and had too many characters that we don’t really get to touch on in a meaningful way. I will say it is very fast-paced and has no shortage of shocking moments. There were some really great death scenes, too, which is not always easy to do. I also loved all the history and background information about rituals. I just wanted to spend more time with this characters in a terrible situation. Had I loved the ending a bit more, this probably would’ve been a 4 star read. I’m not sure but there might be a sequel? It was definitely set up for one. Die-hard horror fans will probably have fun with this one but I think it could’ve been a little better.

Okay, so I'm struggling to find the words to explain how much I loved this book

It had so much to love, escape rooms, saw vibes, ancient Gods, body horror.
The way Duncan manages to make you connect with characters so quickly has become one of my favourite things about his writing.
It was honestly one of my favourite short reads I've read in a long time. The ending was so far from what I was expecting. It's less than 200 pages so it's a great short, fast paced read.