The Puzzle Box

A Novel

About the Book

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “A fun, DaVinci Code–style blend of puzzles, mysticism and high-octane action” (People, Best Books of the Month), from the author of The Puzzle Master
 
“This rip-roaring adventure thriller is an escapist puzzle box of delights: a neurodivergent hero, an unsolvable mystery, and death hanging over every move.”—Catherine Steadman, author of Something in the Water

Two sisters. A lost imperial treasure. The world’s greatest puzzle master has twenty-four hours to solve the most dangerous mystery of his life . . . or die trying.

A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR


It is the Year of the Wood Dragon, and the ingenious Mike Brink has been invited to Tokyo, Japan, to open the legendary Dragon Box.

The box was constructed during one of Japan’s most tumultuous periods, when the samurai class was disbanded and the shogun lost power. In this moment of crisis, Emperor Meiji locked a priceless Imperial secret in the Dragon Box. Only two people knew how to open the box—Meiji and the box’s sadistic constructor—and both died without telling a soul what was inside or how to open it.

Every twelve years since then, in the Year of the Dragon, the Imperial family holds a clandestine contest to open the box. It is devilishly difficult, filled with tricks, booby traps, poisons, and mind-bending twists. Every puzzle master who has attempted to open it has died in the process.

But Brink is not just any puzzle master. He may be the only person alive who can crack it. His determination is matched only by that of two sisters, descendants of an illustrious samurai clan, who will stop at nothing to claim the treasure.

Brink’s quest launches him on a breakneck adventure across Japan, from the Imperial Palace in Tokyo to the pristine forests of Hakone to an ancient cave in Kyushu. In the process, he discovers the power of Meiji’s hidden treasure, and—more crucially—the true nature of his extraordinary talent.
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Praise for The Puzzle Box

“A fun, DaVinci Code-style blend of puzzles, mysticism and high-octane action.”People
 
“Technically, they’re novels. But what bestselling author Danielle Trussoni writes are riddles, wrapped in mysteries, hidden inside enigmas. . . . A puzzle-filled mystery that feels like an inheritor to The Da Vinci Code, where the arcane and the logical meet (and lead to twists).”—Today

“Trussoni has been a horror fiction star since 2010’s Angelology. This follow-up to 2023’s The Puzzle Master makes clear she’s bigger than any genre. Can’t wait for the movie.”—Bethanne Patrick, CultureWag
 
“The stakes are higher, the puzzles more intricate, and the danger more immediate.”The Bookish Elf

“You’ll hit the ground running in this rip-roaring adventure thriller that sends you across the breadth of Japan in search of ancient answers. Trussoni’s novel is an escapist puzzle box of delights: a neurodivergent hero, an unsolvable mystery, and death hanging over every move.”—Catherine Steadman, author of Something in the Water

The Puzzle Box by Danielle Trussoni is a mind-bending, enthralling adventure filled with mysteries and intricate puzzles. I found myself turning the virtual pages of my Kindle, unable to put it down.”—Rekha Rao, The Book Decoder

“In this sequel, Trussoni touches on themes of balance and contentment . . . She also raises questions around human vs. artificial intelligence, a relevant subject for today as we grapple with the possibility that companies like OpenAI and tools like ChatGPT have opened to us.”—Pei Chen, BookBrowse

“The Puzzle Box is a rare treasure: a gorgeous and immersive exploration of power, sisterhood, and culture wrapped in an addictive page-turning adventure filled with royal secrets and mystery. . . . A must-read!”—Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of Searching for Sylvie Lee and The Leftover Woman
 
“Who should read Danielle Trussoni’s latest? Readers who love storytelling so fresh and original that it resists labels.”—A. J. Finn, author of the New York Times bestselling The Woman in the Window and End of Story

“The Puzzle Box [is] an ingenious fast-paced adventure that goes from New York City to Japan.”Lesa’s Book Critiques

“The race to the finish and the hopeful final solution to the Dragon Box challenge keeps the pages moving as quickly as the frenetic pace. The Puzzle Box is a top-notch thriller that is so much fun to read.”—BookReporter

“Trussoni’s ingenious Mike Brink returns for the challenge of a lifetime in this superb sequel to The Puzzle Master. . . . Even better than its predecessor.”Library Journal, starred review

“A smart, captivating novel about unraveling secrets.”Kirkus Reviews

“A first-rate thriller. More, please!”—Booklist
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Excerpt

The Puzzle Box

1

Ise Grand Shrine, Japan


February 23, 2024

The Year of the Wood Dragon

The Shinto priest runs to the temple, lifting the hem of his robes to keep from tripping. There isn’t time to waste. The first light of dawn is falling through the trees, casting long shadows over fresh-­fallen snow. Soon, his brothers will enter the sanctuary and sit before the shrine in prayer. Soon, the most important day of his life will begin, and with it the sacred duty he’s spent years preparing to fulfill.

The priest shakes the snow from his robe, bows, and steps into the temple. Incense, thick and fragrant, fills the air. Beyond the shoji doors, candles flicker at the altar, their light bending over copper vessels and pooling over the tatami, leaving him with an impulse to fall to his knees and pray.

It’s instinctual. Ingrained. Every day for the past twelve years he’s arrived at the temple before sunrise to sit in meditation before the altar. He’s never questioned his duty—­not why he’s there, not what would happen if he failed. None of them did.

And yet, over the years he’d gathered fragments of information about the precious object he guarded, whispers of the lore surrounding the emperor’s Dragon Box. He heard that, during the war, the emperor hid the box to protect it from American bombs. In the years since, it had moved to shrines across Japan—­Ise Grand Shrine, Atsuta Shrine, the Three Shrines Sanctuary at the Imperial Palace—­where priests kept watch day and night, guarding it with their lives.

He’d heard rumors that the box hid a treasure, perhaps an ancient text, maybe even an artifact belonging to the imperial family itself. He’d heard of its dangers: One look will blind you; one touch will burn your fingers to the bone. He believed the warnings. Some decades before, a young priest had died cleaning the altar, and no doctor could explain why. The truth was not meant for men like the priest. And so he hadn’t asked questions. One indiscretion, the slightest capitulation to curiosity, could be disastrous.

Bells ring in the distance, calling the priests to prayer. The first ray of sunlight falls through the shrine and spills over the floor, illuminating the altar. The seconds rush past, faster and faster, outpacing him. He must hurry before the others arrive. Now is the moment.

Kneeling before the altar, he opens the doors of the tabernacle and there it is: the Dragon Box. Large, the size of two outstretched hands, the box is made of bands of hardwood expertly cut and joined to create a single block. On its surface, composed of curls of inlaid wood, is the twisting shape of a dragon.

The priest sees only the surface, but inside the box, wrapped in layers of deadly traps, lies an ancient enigma, one that has waited thousands of years to be solved.

His instructions are clear. He must wrap the box in a square of silk and carry it to Tokyo. He must not touch it; he must not even look at it. He knows this as well as he knows his norito. And yet, as he gazes down at the Dragon Box, his resolve wavers. Could it be true what they say?

One look will blind you; one touch will burn your fingers to the bone.

He runs a finger over the surface of the wood, feeling the subtle ridges of the jointing, seeking out an opening, slipping a fingernail into a groove, applying the slightest pressure. The razor cuts quick, the blade hot and bright as fire, and draws blood.

Wiping the blood away, the priest wraps the box in silk, ties the ceremonial knot, and tucks it under his arm. Bowing to the altar, to the growing sunlight, to all that he serves—­the kami, the emperor, the mountains, the seas—­he turns and rushes away.

But already, a seed of poison has dropped roots in his bloodstream. Before the sun will set over the shrine, before the priest fully understands the terrible mistake he’s made, he will be dead.

About the Author

Danielle Trussoni
Danielle Trussoni is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels The Ancestor, Angelology, and Angelopolis, all New York Times Notable Books, and the memoirs The Fortress and Falling Through the Earth, named one of the ten best books of the year by The New York Times Book Review. She writes the monthly horror column for the New York Times Book Review. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and winner of the Michener-Copernicus Society of America Fellowship, her work has been translated into more than thirty languages. More by Danielle Trussoni
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