Samuel Burr

I enjoyed the quirky, brainy characters of this book. They are all puzzlemakers of varying types - crosswords, jigsaws, mazes, trivia, codebreakers, and more. However, the most important puzzle is one that Clayton has to solve. He was left as a baby, and taken home by Pippa, the cruciverbalist. Now an adult, Clayton tends to the funeral of Pippa. He finds that she has left him a puzzle, to find his birth parents.
Told in 2 timelines, we learn the history of the group and follow Clayton's journey as he tries to find himself, and his birth parents. Puzzles are sprinkled throughout the book to lead him on the journey.
Clever.… (altro)

A group of puzzle makers live in a commune in Britain. Pippa Allsbrook, the founder of the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers, raises a baby as her own after discovering him on her doorstep. When Clayton Stumper, the baby, is in his twenties, Pippa passes away. He is then given a series of clues that Pippa prepared ahead of time to solve the question of his true identity.

The novel alternates between Pippa’s story of the founding of the Fellowship and Clayton’s story of his search for his real parents. Pippa has provided many clues in the form of a crossword puzzle, and Clayton must solve each clue to get to the next one, and get closer to solving the riddle of his parentage.

Throughout the novel we meet the puzzlemakers, who are all a bit quirky and eccentric. Some invent word puzzles, some jigsaws, some lifesize mazes.

The book is basically a quest for Clayton to uncover the secrets surrounding his birth. “It is a story about love and family and what it means to find your people – no matter what age you are.”

I thought I would enjoy this more than I did. I love word puzzles as well as jigsaws, but I just couldn’t suspend my disbelief for several of the plot elements (no spoilers). I never engaged with Clayton and thought the novel dragged. Hmmm, how about 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.… (altro)

Abandoned on the doorstep of a house belonging to a collective of puzzlers, Clayton Stumper is a twenty something old fogey. He doesn't know what he wants from life but when his adoptive mother dies, Clayton has the opportunity to discover the secret of his birth. As his quest takes him away from home Clayton learns the truth about himself.
There are many rave reviews about this book and it is good. However, for this reader, it's not that good! The puzzles are fun and easy enough to solve. The story is nicely put together with an eclectic cast of characters but it is really predictable.… (altro)