This book was fairly chaotic with no real consistency. There are a plethora of details given about each characters movements with little done to describe the puzzle rooms or puzzles to the reader. Oversaturated with various mythological references and fairly hard to follow. Character development was nonexistent and for some it went backwards. Hard to relate to characters, the author starts introducing us to each character but then gives up after three and jumps into the main even leaving the other three characters unknown to us. Overall, felt like a book that combines saw, cabin in the woods, and escape room in a very jumbled way.

I wanted to love this because I love puzzles and escape rooms. I just think I have very particular taste in horror and rarely does modern horror work for me. I think it’s just me.

In Puzzle House, we follow six strangers as they work together to figure out why they’ve all been summoned to the home of deceased puzzle master, Alexis Vasiliev. Having been named as beneficiaries in Vasiliev’s will, they must complete a series of six puzzles in order to collect his $150M fortune or else leave with nothing. It quickly becomes clear that these rooms are deadlier than they appear, and the feeling that they’re being watched as they work through these escape rooms only adds to the tension.

Puzzle House was such a fun read! This book was a great mix of “Escape Room” and “Saw.” Duncan Ralston writes a fast-paced story with a great mix of mystery, suspense, and horror with smart puzzles and well-developed characters. This was a pretty solid read, and if you are into locked room mysteries, I think you should add it to your TBR!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wicked House Publishing for the digital copy!

I enjoyed this book. It’s funny how it was able to stick with me. I started reading this book Back in Oct, got away from reading for quite some time yet I still had this book with me when I picked it back up to finish it.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me t reeive this book for an honest review.

This book is filled with mystery, drama and unexpect the unexpected.

I enjoyed this book from beginning to end.

Duncan Ralston is one of my favorites, always such great writing and keeps you on your toes. I loved all the characters in Puzzle House, especially Joy the ex wife. I read this in about 3 days, it was very fast paced, I wanted to know what happened next. Very saw meets an escape room, the man knows how to write good horror. Would reccommend this book to anyone who enjoys the thriller/horror genre! I put Duncan in the same realm as Grady Hendrix.

This book was entertaining. We are following six strangers that are hoping to get a piece of a very successful puzzle maker’s inheritance but when they show up to this weird house to read the will they realize it’s not going to be as easy as they thought it was going to be. They have to survive deadly trials designed by the famous puzzle maker and only one of the six can win the full inheritance but who will it be and will they make it out of this house from hell? This book will take you for a fun ride.

I have received an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Eh, 3 stars. It was a fast, interesting read, but I'm not sure I would have read this had I known it was going to end on a cliffhanger.

Your standard gory horror, with very little suspense. Having never seen "Saw" or "Cabin in the Woods" (but having read their synopses) this feels like a mashup of the two. I'm pretty sure this guy has never tried to draft a house before because the mechanics of what he's describing don't really make sense, and the house itself isn't supposed to be supernatural, right? So how do they handle sand storage and cultist dungeoneering?

Not the worst horror I've ever read, decent writing and a titillating plot, but it feels flimsy. I don't believe I'll chase down any sequels.

I wanted to love this book because of the cover but unfortunately that was not the case. From the first chapter there was nothing pushing me to want to keep reading. It was a quick read though, will definitely try another book from this author.

Absolutely what I expected from Duncan Ralston. Any fan will love it. This is something that I want a physical copy of for my collection. Highly recommend it.

Thanks to the publishers for sharing this one. It was a page turner, and I liked the puzzles. My full review appears on Weekend Notes.

I like the cover and title. But unfortunately, the story was not for me. I have other books on my Kindle by the author that I will read in the near future.

Honestly, I was expecting a whole "escape room" mixed with "saw" vibe. I love it when I'm totally wrong. 6 Strangers in a hell house trap, with weird occult paraphernalia and musings, when people start getting killed the fun is just beginning. Not only was this filled to the brim with nerve shattering scenes, it was intelligent with weirdly specific occultist knowledge. Gotta love when an author does research to make a book that much more creepy. Scenes so visceral that you felt like you were going through a Labrynth in hell right along with the characters. Ralston is here to stay when it comes to horror.

A super quick super engaging read. From the very beginning it captivated my imagination and kept me enthralled to the very last pages. Perfect read for the escape room junkies who thrive on violence. Smart puzzles and well delivered characters make it a great read.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc

This is a really good book if you love the movie escape room like I did it was a quick and fast fun read I loved it so much I want more

I enjoyed this book overall. The concept was really interesting - some dude is gifting his entire fortune to random people he never met...but only if they solve some puzzles first. I found the goddess stuff a little tiring and found myself skimming a bunch of that, but the rooms themselves were interesting and I liked the characters. But that ending was a lot. Hopefully, Duncan will be gifting us with a continuation on this story because if not, that was just mean.

This was an absolutely fantastic thrill ride that checks off every single thing about a great mystery, thriller, horror, suspense - you name it, the book's got it. This entire book is a prime example of what a completely bizarre, yet well developed thrilling book is. I was so enthralled and lost into the wonders of this and how well it was written. This was my first Duncan Ralston book to read and I was immediately a fan just after a few pages. Why the hell did I wait so long to read this?!

Locked room mystery, more than locked mansion and everything else surrounding this made this novel an always-recommend when looking for something so deliciously good for the brain. I liked each and every character, even the minor ones. Even though the events were so intricately woven into the timeline, I was definitely more into the characters themselves and how Ralston explored the humanity side of our behaviors. Don't hesitate to pick this up. Go for it and get ready for such a wild game!

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This was so worth it!

Omg this was amazing! I love escape room thrillers and that had the added creepiness and tension. It was so perfectly plotted out with plenty twists and turns. It's so well written and I flew through it in a few hrs. I could not get eoung of it. An absolutely amazing story

This was a fun quick read. Escape room premises are always pretty interesting because it puts various people in high pressure situations. Very intrigued from the start and the action gets started pretty quickly. Definitely recommend.

Great idea for a book but did not hold my interest for long. For me, I felt it was a slow read for me & the characters were not memorable.