Thank you to Netgalley and Wicked House Publishing for an ARC copy of Puzzle House.

I LOVE escape rooms so I had to give this one a try. It was kind of like an escape room and the Saw movies mashed together. I found it to be a page-turner and difficult to put down because I wanted to see how it all played out. Unfortunately, that's where my praise for the book ends. I didn't feel connected to any of the characters and didn't really care if they lived or died. The story also contained a ton of really obscure information about ancient gods/civilizations/religions that didn't add anything to the story and distracted from the suspense of the rooms. The ending was by far the worst part..it didn't answer any of the important questions or give any closure to the story. To me, this was really just not worth the read and I would recommend skipping it.

Unable to post directly to Goodreads due to an ISBN error. Please find my review here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5704271937

I'm completed wowed by Puzzle House! I love puzzles and the high stakes mystery involved with the whole story was just fantastic. I definitely didn't see the ending coming the way it did.

Well I’m already a Ralston fan! So I was excited to read this. I’m an avid escape room player so this put two of my faves together!!! And it was a crazy puzzle that I had thought I had figured out but nope. I wonder if he will go into a second book with this? I could totally see that and if he did I’d be in line to snatch it up! I love his work! Don’t let some of the reviews from some of his gory work fool you, this man is an amazing writer and knows how to tell a great story! Thank you for allowing me access to the eARC!

When I saw that Duncan Ralston had a new book out, I immediately jumped on it. In the past few months I’ve read Woom, and it is one that sticks with you. I absolutely loved it. Now if you’re trying to compare the two, then Puzzle House is NOT extreme horror. It is more Saw / Escape Room. There is terror and some gore, but nothing like Woom, I really enjoyed Puzzle House. I love reading about puzzles especially when they are deadly. I enjoyed the characters. There were ppl to root for and some to hate. I flew thru this book and recommend if you’re a horror fan, whether it’s extreme or if you’re looking to get into reading horror.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Wicked House Publishing for the opportunity to read and leave and honest review

Thank you Net Galley and Wicked House Publishing for the advanced copy of Puzzle House by Duncan Ralston, out September 15, 2023!!

For anyone who liked Escape Room, Saw, and/or the Puzzle Master, this novel is definitely for you!

This story follows 6 strangers that are all brought together in a house were they have to work through rooms, that are puzzles, in order to escape & win the ultimate prize. They quickly learn that each puzzle only ends with a sacrifice and only 1 person will win in the end.

Not too much horror but definitely a lot of thriller aspects that keep you on your toes and turning pages.

I have to say (in my very own opinion), I loved it up until the ending and I think that definitely brought it way down for me. While most of the puzzles went way over my head because I do not have a lot of background knowledge in the history behind them, I was still very invested. However, once the winner emerged into the new world, I was disappointed because I just felt it took a weird unexpected turn. With that said, it is a quick thrilling read that will keep you entertained, and I am glad I gave it a read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wicked House Publishing for this ARC! I had read Woom by Duncan so when I saw he had another book coming out, I was curious.

This is definitely not extreme horror like Woom, but super creepy nonetheless! This felt like the movies Escape Room and Saw meshed together. This was a fact paced story that I really enjoyed!

Puzzle House is like Saw meets National Treasure with a touch of the apocalypse just for good measure!

I wasn't sure where this book was going at first. Six people are told they've each inherited a fortune from a man they don't know (except for his ex wife). And all they have to do is solve some escape room type puzzles at his estate. Easy, right?

If you've read this author previously you know some horrifying things are going to happen and we find out quickly that these puzzles are deathtraps in disguise. But things get worse...far worse!

I loved this book. The characters were great, the concept was amazingly well done and written, and the diabolical kills were excellent. And the end was unexpected but was like the cherry on top. What has been unleashed!? I'm sure this will be a series and I'm definitely looking forward to the next.

I highly recommend this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Wicked House Publishing for allowing me to read an advanced copy of The Puzzle House.

When I found out Duncan Ralston was releasing a new novel I jumped on it as fast as I could. I will recommend Woom all day everyday to horror readers, so that when I began reading The Puzzle House, I was a tad disappointed that it was more thriller/suspense than horror. Don’t get me wrong, it has horror elements, but coming from Woom, I guess I was expecting The Puzzle Room to be more in your face shock factor.

This story keeps the reader hooked the whole way through, and is a good quick thriller read. I did feel the cult/ancient history involved was very well thought out and written as such. As for the characters themselves, they have good back stories, but I didn’t find myself behind any one person. Meaning I didn’t connect with any of them. I was eager to see who I thought would make it through though.

Some cons to this book for me personally is I feel it could have been just a tiny bit more detailed in some places. I felt in certain spots it would jump ahead without describing a situation or scene fully. It didn’t hinder the story too much, but I’m a very vivid reader so I had to stop a couple times and reread parts where it felt a bit rushed.

Also I was hoping to be able to solve the riddles and rooms with the characters but I have absolutely no background knowledge in the material in this book, so I was just here for the ride and unable to play along.

I will recommend this book to those who enjoy puzzles, riddles, mythical themes, and for anyone looking for a quick read. Thank you again NetGalley and Wicked House Publishing and to Duncan Ralston for the read!

NOW LISTEN TO ME. I’m going to need a second book. I enjoyed this so much, I read it in one sitting! The world building that was started during the last chapter was phenomenal and totally scary! I NEED to know what happens next. This was seriously the best 5 star read I’ve had in a while. So many unexpected things happened throughout the book, it really kept me on edge. There was no lull throughout the whole book, and the character introductions were so good. If I’m being honest, I was just expecting something along the lines of the Escape Room movies, but I was given SO MUCH MORE. The story took a much darker and cataclysmic trajectory. I highly recommend this read. I could easily see this one going viral on booktok and bookstagram for sure. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I had never read Duncan Ralston before, but I had heard good things about Woom and Ghostland. So when I saw the ARC for this book was available through Netgalley, I thought I'd give it a shot.

I'm normally into horror and this was more of a mystery/thriller with some horror elements, but I do like a good mystery and sometimes just want something fun and different.

I really enjoyed some of the suspenseful moments created by Ralston and it seemed as though he may have done a lot of research in preparation for this book. I had fun at times trying to figure out the riddles for the characters to get to safety and was genuinely curious how it was going to end for the first half of the book. Unfortunately, many of the puzzles seemed to become convoluted and the story became a little too difficult to suspend my disbelief.

Most of the characters were at least initially grounded in reality before becoming caricatures of themselves that happened to have very specific knowledge a little too far outside of the realm of reality. While others were stereotypical caricatures from the get go.

There is a lot of suspension of disbelief in horror, but what really keeps me turning the pages is characters that I like or like to hate with realistic dialogue, a good plot, or just being an overall fun read. I spent most of this book rolling my eyes and wondering how often action stars can think to rely on their "parkour training" while in life or death situations.

Ultimately, I would have enjoyed this book more if it had been a little more grounded in reality. It might have been easier to suspend my disbelief and just enjoy the ride.

Thank you Netgally and wicked house publishing for the ARC of puzzle house.

This was my first Duncan Ralston book and will not be my last. This was a fast pace closed room horror book. I was hooked early in and could not stop reading. If you are a fan of puzzles and horror this is the book! I was not expecting the way this would turn and was pleasantly surprised.

I really enjoyed this. Just the right side of creepy and gory. The revelations of each of the characters was interesting to see. The ending disappointed me but maybe I just kinda didn't want the occult stuff to be real.

Twisted and Chilling!!

Puzzle House reeled me in after 4 chapters of introducing the characters with a little bit of their backstory. I devoured this book for 2 days only as it is such an easy read and a page-turner!

I think it would be great to turn this one into a movie!

Thank you to Netgalley for an Advance Review Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, Netgalley and Duncan Ralston, for the ARC. I leave this review voluntarily and happily. Also, thank you to Wicked House Publishing.

This book was amazing! There were some typos here and there, but this book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Filled with suspense, fear, gore, and horror, it was well worth the read. You certainly root for your favorite character to make it out in the end, but I won't spoil anything.

A man known as the Puzzle Master creates the Puzzle House an extremely deadly escape room game for six individuals. They all have their talents and weaknesses. All of which are needed to get through it all. There are death, scares, puzzles, and so much into this story.

Of course, I do wish there was more to the ending. The book takes a twist I certainly was not expecting!

The theme here I'd say is that money will drive people to do horrible things. Of course, facing horrible situations and kindness can be found in the least likely people, too.

Definitely still needs another round of edits as there were multiple sentences that weren't finished and the page set up was not coherent at times. Otherwise, I enjoyed the book and how it went a different direction than I expected.

Six strangers are listed as beneficiaries in the will of deceased puzzle master Alexei Vasiliev. The catch: they must attend an in person reading at his home. Upon entering, the door shuts and locks, trapping the strangers into Alexei's puzzle house of horrors. I loved everything about this book. The switching POVs between Henry, Oscar, and Joy helped give fresh eyes to the various events. All the characters felt real, as did their fear. The pacing, attention to detail, and general tone created an atmosphere of tension so thick I could not put the book down. Puzzle House will be a hit for fans of horror, thrillers, and escape games.

Well wasn’t that weird, readers.

You know me by now. You know how much I love an escape room horror. You know how many of them are sadly disappointing.

This one was okay. Some of the puzzles were interesting, and the characters had a few good moments. But the thing is, I think concepts like this one work best when the characters come to life off the page. It’s why I loved the Escape Room movies so much. If you don’t have likeable characters to root for I feel like… what’s the point?

I wanted Atkins to have a redemption arc :(

Also most of the cult stuff was a bit confusing, and though some of the puzzles were spooky, some were hard to grasp because the locations weren’t described in much detail.

Not all bad, though! Give it a go if you like escape rooms.

This could have been five stars, it was sooooo close to five stars. Maybe it’s a 4.9 star

But why oh why did this have to turn into extreme supernatural. This was such a fun read but the supernatural part made it a little too much for me.

Review Copy

In PUZZLE HOUSE Duncan Ralston channeled Agatha Christie, the writers of Indiana Jones and The Traitors. He killed it.

OK, bad pun. But he really did a kickass job. It's such a fun, fast, easy read with the twists you want in all your mystery/thrillers.

I took a break at 0ne point and came back to settle in for another couple of hours of fun reading and you know what happened? The book ENDED! NO! I wanted more. What a great story. Make sure you add this to your tbr now. Great job Duncan!

What a wild ride! I feel like I'm smarter after reading this book. I don't think I could get past the first escape room but I'd hope I would be with others as smart as they were.

I was pretty excited when I saw this book being promoted in one of my FB groups and then happen to see it on NetGalley. I had to jump on the opportunity to read and review before the masses. Puzzle House did not disappoint. I didn't know who would make it to the end.

I have to give Ralston props on this story. He either did a ton of research or is the smartest person in the world.. probably the latter. 10/10 would recommend!