The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers
ISBN: 9781398712324
Description
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.
Reviewed on 12th April 2025
I bought this book, eventually, after being attracted to the hardback’s cover art on the shop shelves. And picked it to read when I wanted something light, and it delivered.
It’s a sort of coming-of-age story, albeit about a 25 year old, who was adopted as a baby and is starting to research his past through a series of puzzles set by his adoptive mother. Through alternating chapters we see him solving the puzzles, and the history of events leading up to his adoption.
It’s a good fun story, which takes minimal effort to read. The reader can choose to attempt the puzzles or just wait for the characters to get there. In many ways it was the easy read I was looking for.