Samuel Burr

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.… (mehr)

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.… (mehr)

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 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.… (mehr)