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The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers

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The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers

By: Samuel Burr
Narrated by: Penelope Keith, Russell Tovey
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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 Friendship Genre Fiction Mystery Feel-Good Heartfelt

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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  
both compelling and moving. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. it doesn't matter if the reader likes puzzles or not.

wonderfully original book

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Just a really enjoyable, clever story. Gives you all the feels and has some good characters - same vibe as Thursday Murder Club. Left me feeling warm inside. Give it a go!!

Cosy, clever, sit with a cuppa!

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Spotted this book in a review when it said that the audible would be narrated in part by Penelope Keith, a favourite of mine, so I thought I’d give it a go. Glad I did. Russell Tovey the other narrator was good as well. As with many narrators some of the voices of different characters are better than others but not enough to ruin it. The story was well crafted with the character of Clayton well developed . I really enjoyed being along side him as he tracks the clues. I think it worked well as an audiobook with the alternating chapters being read by each of them. There is a pdf of the puzzles included but not essential to the book.

Enjoyable read

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Such a wonderfully involving story that lifted me at a time when I needed it most.

Great in every way

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A beautiful story! An easy listen but totally absorbing and very unusual. Definitely a feel good read!

Beautiful!

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Beautifully written and read. Quirky, uplifting and absorbing. It's perfectly possible to enjoy the story without getting hung up on the puzzle aspect.

Thoroughly enjoyed

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Cosy but interesting story. Standout for me was the narration especially Penelope Keith. I don’t know why I’ve never heard her read a book before.

Penelope Keith’s narration was sublime

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Such a good hearted story leaves you smiling. Narrated fantastically by Penelope Keith and Russel Tovey

Utterly brilliant

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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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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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