Like many people, I get book recommendations after reading professional reviews. Like not as many people, though, I get some from reading reviews in a puzzle-themed magazine – specifically Games World of Puzzles. Samuel Burr’s The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers was one such pick.
The book centers around a British manor that the country’s top puzzlemakers and enigmatologists have called home for decades. The highly talented crossword constructor Pippa Allsbrook founded the Fellowship after recruiting esteemed colleagues with different specialties that included quizzes, mazes, and cryptograms. Over the years, the Fellowship has received attention for its communal way of life as much as for its challenging creations. The members become more than just a Fellowship: they become a family.
The family gets an unexpected addition when a baby, Clayton, is left on the doorstep in a hatbox. Twenty-five years later, Clayton and the members find themselves mourning the passing of Pippa. Pippa leaves a message for Clayton in the way she knows best: a crossword puzzle. The puzzle is itself a solution to a different a puzzle – that of Clayton’s identity. For Clayton, this may be one of the most difficult things he’s ever had to solve.
As a puzzle aficionado myself, I enjoyed how much the novel showed appreciation for puzzles in a variety of forms. Getting to know the quirky cast of cruciverbalists, trivia masters, maze makers, and other engineering enigmatologists was delightful. Clayton’s personal journey and the found family element add heartwarming touches in this gentle read that even non-puzzlers will like. This is also a good choice for fans of Freya Sampson and Eleanor Brown. |
