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The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers

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About this listen

'Utterly beautiful. I adored it' JOANNA CANNON

'Hugely uplifting and wonderful' AJ PEARCE

'A ripping yarn full of warmth and wonder' BETH MORREY

Sometimes finding your place in the world is the greatest puzzle of all...

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...

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Samuel Burr (P)2024 Orion Publishing Group Limited Coming of Age Cosy Editors Select Genre Fiction Mystery Parenting & Families Relationships Feel-Good Heartfelt

Editorial Review

A puzzler’s dream
Told through a dual perspective that combines prose with puzzles, The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers is a debut unlike any other. Performed by actors Penelope Keith and Russell Tovey – and including a preface voiced by the author – it’s an enchanting mix of cosy mystery, treasure hunt and puzzle in and of itself. Simply put, it’s a puzzler’s dream. Raised by a group of older, eccentric puzzlemakers, Clayton’s past has always been unknown to him. But after his maternal figure, Pippa, passes away, the story really begins. Listeners join Clayton as he pieces together the clues of his parentage and his past, told alongside flashbacks to Pippa’s founding of the Fellowship decades earlier. And if the mystery isn’t enough, the story’s quirky characters, gentle humour and deep appreciation for puzzles makes it one that simply cannot be skipped. —Michael C., Audible Editor

All stars
Most relevant
This is a moving and unique story beautifully read by Dame Penelope Keith. Love the idea that we are all a puzzle we need to solve ourselves. Also the combination of well drawn older characters with a young man finding himself. Bravo!

Heartwarming and satisfying

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The ‘then’ and ‘now’ style with their separate and very appropriately cast narrators culminated in a satisfying conclusion. The sense of period comes across well, the style is formal and a tad old fashioned, but in a good way. Think Agatha Christie or similar.

Burr’s style is sometimes a little over-descriptive for me, but the word pictures build a tangible sense of place and characters.

Some of the voice acting helps with the large cast of characters, but the narrators occasionally took this to extreme. The puzzles within the book might have been better written down, so be prepared to write the occasional note.

Overall, this book was enthralling because it wasn’t like anything else. The story had the qualities of an old sofa, familiar if not always comfortable, but well worth sitting on nonetheless. Lovely to hear Penelope Keith’s RP accent, little changed from her 70’s ‘Good Life’. Russell Tovey read with huge empathy and understanding of his main character and was an excellent choice for the part. Occasionally, edits in the performance were noticeable, but overall sound quality superb.

Gentle, unfolding plot.

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Totally different kind of book. In equal parts had me wanting to pause to solve puzzles and continue listening to find out how the story ended.

Like nothing I’ve read before

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Lovely characters. Really wonderful voices narrating. A totally charming story which I loved. Look forward to more from the writer.

Charming and thoughtful

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I enjoyed this book for it's characters, especially Pip. It was easy to listen to, nothing too upsetting or offensive, just pleasant.

A gentle, kind story.

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