I was intrigued by the premise of The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers by Samuel Burr, having a real craving for cosy mysteries with heart this year. How did the book measure up to my expectations?
Thank you to Random Things Tours for including me on this blog tour & to Orion Books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Clayton Stumper is an enigma.
He might be twenty-five years old, but he dresses like your grandad and drinks sherry like your aunt.
Abandoned at birth on the steps of the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers, he was raised by the sharpest minds in the British Isles and finds himself amongst the last survivors of a fading institution.
When the esteemed crossword compiler, Pippa Allsbrook, passes away, she bestows her final puzzle to him: a promise to reveal the mystery of his parentage and prepare him for his future.
Yet as Clay begins to unpick the clues, he uncovers something even the Fellowship have never been able to solve – and it’s a secret that will change everything…
Publication Date: 9th May
TW: death, grief, sexism, cancer, suicidal ideation, car accident, homelessness
My Thoughts:
The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers was an absolute delight to read. It was full of warmth, love and terrific puzzles.
This is such a strong debut. Burr has excellent characterisation and transforms the standard coming of age narrative into a brilliant puzzle for Clay and the reader to solve together. I loved how we got to explore the creation of the society through Pippa’s perspective and see it flourish through Clay’s. Both of them are flawed characters in many ways, but that just made them all the more believable to me. Pippa is determined, very intelligent and sometimes a bit too stubborn and set in her ways. Clay is kind, smart and a bit naive in navigating the world.
A core theme of this book is that of loneliness and the importance of community, friendship and found family in overcoming it. There is one particular scene on Clay’s journey that highlights the beauty of a simple act of kindness, the restoration of humanity through simple conversation and connection. In Pippa’s narrative, there is also an embedded narrative along the same lines that speaks to previous tragedy.
Burr does not shy away from the darker moments in life, but the resounding message is one of hope and light. There is pure joy in these pages. Found family is always a trope that warms my heart but this is taken to a wonderful place here, with the sharpest minds coming together and forging their own community & sense of family. The puzzles are so much fun and you can solve along with the characters or have it unpicked for you later in the narrative. They add an extra dimension to the book that is endlessly fascinating and shows off the cerebral skills of these characters. I also have to quickly shout out the central relationship that develops with Clay, which has an adorable meet-cute, great chemistry and a dynamic that realistically builds into something beautiful.
The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers is the perfect, uplifting cosy mystery read. Burr bursts out of the gate with a heart-warming ode to found family, the craft of puzzles and beginning to write your own story.
Thank you for reading and you can check out the rest of the tour stops below!
A Short Book Lover 
Thanks for the blog tour support x
LikeLiked by 1 person