The Puzzles Behind The Escape Game: When Mystery Becomes Interactive

What makes a mystery truly immersive? In this guest post, author Gina Holder shares how the puzzles in The Escape Game became more than clever plot devices. They are woven into the suspense, the characters’ emotional journeys, and the unfolding secrets of Ives Mansion. From escape-room inspiration to the challenge of writing riddles worthy of a genius heroine, Gina takes readers behind the scenes of crafting an interactive mystery designed to keep them turning pages and solving clues along the way.

 

When I set out to write The Escape Game, I knew I didn’t just want to tell a suspense story—I wanted the reader to feel like they were inside one.

Enter the puzzles, riddles, and challenges that make up the heart of the novel.

Not just as background details or clever clues sprinkled in for atmosphere, but as living, breathing pieces of the story itself. Each puzzle is tied directly to the mystery of the Ives Mansion and Demi’s father’s disappearance, and each one moves the story forward in a very real way. Solving them isn’t optional—it’s survival.

I love escape rooms and logic puzzles, the way they pull you into problem-solving under pressure. That feeling of urgency, where every second matters and every detail could be important, became a huge inspiration for the book.

In The Escape Game, these puzzles aren’t just intellectual challenges, they’re emotional ones. They force the characters to make decisions under stress, reveal secrets they’d rather keep buried, and sometimes lead them closer to danger instead of safety. Every clue has weight. Every answer comes with consequences.

What I love most is that the puzzles also reflect the emotional and Spiritual journey of the characters. As Demi gets closer to uncovering the truth about her father, the challenges become more personal, more layered, and more dangerous. It’s not just about solving a riddle. It’s about what it costs her to keep going.

One of the most interesting challenges in writing The Escape Game was balancing complexity with clarity, especially because my main character, Demi Kayne, is a bona fide genius.

Demi can see patterns most people miss. She thinks in layers, connections, and possibilities that unfold almost instinctively for her. Which meant I had to design puzzles that made sense through her eyes—but still felt accessible, fair, and satisfying for the reader. I never wanted a moment where the puzzles felt convoluted or impossible to follow. At the same time, I couldn’t simplify things so much that Demi’s intelligence lost its edge.

The answer, for me, was in structure and intention. Every puzzle had to be grounded in logic the reader could follow, even if Demi could reach the solution faster or see deeper layers within it. I wanted readers to feel challenged—but never excluded. I wanted the puzzles to feel fair but not easy, satisfying but not predictable. The goal was always the same: to make the reader feel like they’re right there in the room, racing against the clock alongside the characters.

If I’ve done my job well, readers won’t just be following the mystery in The Escape Game—they’ll be inside it, trying to solve it right along with the characters.

And I can’t wait for you to experience it.

Genre: Mystery & Romantic Suspense

Author: Gina Holder

Release date: May 5, 2026

Other books in the Game Masters series: The Puzzle Within

Purchase here

Twenty years ago, the world’s leading enigmatologist disappeared, leaving behind a cipher no one could solve… not without his journal.

Puzzle shop owner Demi Kayne has spent twenty years hoping her father would return home. When she discovers his hidden journal, she finally uncovers the clue she’s been waiting for—but it leads somewhere far more dangerous than she imagined.

Liam Shepherd, a missionary and escape-room enthusiast, is searching for answers of his own. His sister has vanished without a trace, and the trail of clues leads him straight to Demi—and the secrets hidden in her father’s journal.

Their search brings them to the eerie Ives Mansion, where its brilliant and reclusive owner has designed a deadly challenge. Once inside, Demi and Liam realize they’re no longer guests.

They’re players.

Trapped inside a twisted real-life mystery game, they must solve a series of lethal riddles before time runs out. Each puzzle brings them closer to the truth about Demi’s missing father and Liam’s sister —but also deeper into a carefully crafted game where the stakes are far higher than they’re ready to face.

With the clock ticking and lives hanging in the balance, Demi and Liam must confront their fears, their pasts, and the faith that may be their only hope of escape.

In this gripping Christian suspense novel, every clue matters—and every mistake could be fatal.

Can Demi and Liam solve the final puzzle before the game ends…or will the escape room become their tomb?

 

Gina Holder is a Christian, award-winning author of romantic suspense and cozy mysteries filled with faith, intrigue, danger, romance, and epic twists you’ll never see coming.

She’s had an infatuation with books for as long as she can remember. She loves sharing uplifting messages from God’s Word and introducing readers to new and new-to-them authors on her blog. When she’s not writing, Gina enjoys playing the piano, cooking, reading, watching Hallmark mysteries, and solving “escape room” puzzles. She loves growing in her craft as an author. She published her debut novel in 2017. Gina lives in Wyoming with her husband and daughter.