The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers

When I first heard The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers mentioned I knew there was no way I could resist a book with that title. Having just finished reading it I can say that the whole story offers just as much quirkiness and joy as the title does.

When Clayton Stumper was a baby, he was left on the steps of the house owned and lived in by the members of the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers. These great minds of their generation were known for their amazing puzzle skills - you name it, they were brilliant at it. Think crosswords, mazes, jigsaws, code-breaking, arithmetic and so on. Clayton is brought up by the Fellowship but primarily by the woman who started it all, Pippa Allsbrook. When Pippa dies she leaves Clayton a trail to follow to find out show more more about who he really is.

One of the characters in this book says something along the lines of "everybody loves a puzzle", and isn't that the truth? We all enjoy a puzzle of some description and I really loved the puzzles contained in this story. Not only are there some actual puzzles dotted throughout, but the real brainteaser is the one that Clayton has to solve and I took so much pleasure from following his journey from a fairly closeted life to realising what he wants from his future.

Every character is a darling in their own way. I had particular soft spots for Pippa, who was a crossword compiler, and Earl, a mazemaker, but I thought every single one was perfectly drawn. Each has their own little idiosyncrasies but they're all united by their strengths and abilities in the puzzling arena. Clayton is so lovely too. The story follows him on his quest, whilst in alternating chapters we are taken back into the past to the formation of the Fellowship and the introduction of the members.

This is a debut novel by Samuel Burr and I know it is going to fly high. It's utterly charming in every way, such a comprehensive delight to read and populated with characters that just jump off the page. I absolutely adored it. show less

“The magic was always in the solving, never in the solution.”

This was a lovely cosy mystery about the main character following a series of puzzles and riddles. He’s sent from one place to another through London, and I liked how real locations were used for the clues.

There are two timelines, the first is about Clayton, 25 and unsure what to do now that the leader of the fellowship and his mother has passed. The second is about Pippa, following her as she starts the fellowship and turns it into the lovely place Clayton knows.
The dual timeline made the story itself a puzzle, because the bits and pieces of information from one timeline relate to the other and vice versa.
Pippa does not want to ask for help with numbers, but the next show more chapter Clayton reveals that she taught him to ask for it, indicating that something must have happened. There are also some words in bold and crossword pieces that fit together perfectly.

I only have one gripe with the book. The idea that Clayton is incomplete as a human and needs some sort of puzzling journey is a stark contrast with the sweet and lovely fellowship of puzzlemakers.
I generally dislike stories that put such high stakes and value on DNA. Clayton finding out who left him for Pippa to find won’t turn him into a different person or change his love for Pippa and Earl and everyone else. I do like that the book specifies how this is only spurred on by Pippa’s death, but still, it felt a little jarring. show less

Quirky puzzle makers of all kinds come together to form the Fellowship of Puzzle Makers with Pippa the driving force. Told in two time periods, we learn the history of all the members and how the Fellowship evolves and sustains itself. After Pippa dies, she leaves clues for Clayton Stumper, the child that was left on the steps of Creighton Hall as a baby, to solve the mystery of his parentage.

I immediately fell in love with old-beyond-his-years Clayton and take-the-world-by-storm Pippa. The Puzzlemakers are all genuinely fascinating individuals who choose to live their lives together and contribute to each other's successes and the family of the Fellowship. The story follows Clayton as he embarks on a journey to discover who he is ... and also who he wants to become. There are, of course, puzzles, clues, and riddles to help him along the way along with Fellowship members playing important roles in his journey. This is a simply charming book filled with love and the message that family is oftentimes so much more than just blood relatives. I highly recommend this wonderful book. *I received an advanced reader copy of this book show more from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. show less

After the death of the main mother figure in his life, who was a talented cruciverbalist and founder of the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers, Clayton Stumper decides to track down his biological parents.

A quick, fun, read which allows the reader to solve the puzzles along with the main character. I declined the invitation with the cryptogrid (a combination substitution code and find the words), though, as I felt it would be doable but tedious. Apart from that, I really enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed this charming story told in two timelines. There is so much heart in this book and all the characters are clever and kind. It was a much needed respite from daily chaos. So glad I found it.

The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers is about a 25-year-old Englishman called Clayton whose adoptive mother has recently died and who decides that now is the time to find his birth parents. Of course, since he was raised in a commune of puzzlemakers—crossword setters, jigsaw crafters, hedge maze creators—Clayton's search for his origins will require him to solve a series of clues.

In the right hands, this hook could make for a good cosy mystery about found family and friendship, but this didn't work for me. I found it trite and clumsy. Sentences clanged (god, the use of epithets), the characterisation failed to convince, what plot there was didn't make much sense if you thought about it at all, and while we are told over and over again show more what an amazing, life-saving tonic the friendship of this group of people is, we don't see it. I also found it baffling that a book that seems to be aimed at people who are into puzzles included ones that were so very weak, or that had people talking about sudoku puzzles five years before the things were invented. (Lots of weird mistakes like that throughout the book: someone talks about having a "bucket list" 20 years and an ocean away from where the term is coined.) show less