Puzzle House

By: Duncan Ralston

Narrated by: Joe Hempel

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?

©2023 Duncan Ralston (P)2023 Podium Audio

great story/ narrator

this book will keep you guessing and bitting your nails to the very last sentence! I was engaged in every part. if you love a book you have to work to figure out the next move this is the one for you! narrator is excellent!

horror without a point

I think the puzzles in this puzzle house were clever, but I'm not into unending horror an unrealistic plot and a dismal ending. it was very well performed and I'm sure there are many who like this genre and enjoyed this.

Lots of surprises

I loved this book! I couldn’t stop listening! So many great twists and turns….all the way through to the end! I highlight recommended.

Favorite Release of Spooky Season

After the death of a wealthy puzzle maker, six strangers are contacted about their share of his enormous fortune that’s been left behind. Gaining the inheritance, however, will be no simple feat, and only the cleverest of them will make it out alive.

They say a story should include one type of conflict: man vs self, man vs man, or man vs environment. Puzzle House is a masterpiece for the way Duncan Ralston was able to seamlessly use all three in the plot. I’ve been excited for this book since midway through summer, and when I finally got my hands on a copy, it didn’t disappoint.

The characters were fleshed out well, and it made it difficult further in the story when things started to go south. The puzzles in each room were creative, and I loved trying to figure out what the answers were before the characters did.

I listened to the audiobook version, and I couldn’t pause it. I just had to know what happened next. I ended up listening to the entire book in one go.

The ending left me feeling as if there’s a possibility of a book two, and if there is, I can’t wait.

Puzzle House is a Matryoshka house of puzzles!

Duncan Ralston’s Puzzle House reminds me of a crossover between the infamous Saw movies and what is probably a lesser known, but in my opinion, smarter, scarier, and underrated film called, The Cube, with a little bit of Tomb Raider and Egyptian History mixed in for flavoring.

It’s smart, really smart! The man did his research for this novel and it shows. The story never allows you to forget that it is in fact an intricately twisted, torturous, and convoluted puzzle. A puzzle of pain, both physical and mental.

And though the book presents us with an evil dungeon master, or puzzle master as the case may be… don’t lose sight that the real puzzle master here is one crafty author, Mr. Duncan Ralston. With skill and finesse he has woven together one heck of a tale and built one hell of a puzzle, after puzzle, after puzzle, in a puzzle, after puzzle.

Never lose sight of that! You can solve the final puzzle if you keep a good watch!

I wasn’t watching and boy was I surprised! 😮 Wow, what a book!!