The Puzzle Master

In a gripping performance as puzzle constructor Mike Brink, Edoardo Ballerini expertly narrates Trussoni’s (The Ancestor) latest, a thrilling race to solve an ancient puzzle that may hold the key to immortality. Brink is surprised to be summoned to a women’s prison to visit Jess Price, who was convicted of murdering a man five years earlier and has not uttered a word since. Brink, who has an unusual ability to instantaneously solve puzzles, is asked to consult on a mysterious puzzle Jess has drawn. Brink is drawn to Jess and soon realizes she may know how to unearth the God Puzzle’s secrets. Ballerini’s performance as Brink is multilayered, capturing his self-confidence and vulnerability; this complexity contrasts nicely with the self-serving deviousness of his nemesis, the wealthy Jameson Sedge, who is desperate for the God Puzzle solution. Ballerini captures the wide range of emotions Brink feels—fear when being pursued and held at gunpoint by Sedge’s lackey, suspicion that Jess is possessed by a demon, and desperation as the two break out of prison.