Danielle Trussoni started writing, she says, “because I needed to understand my family.” Her first book, the memoir Falling Through the Earth, is about her relationship with her father, a war veteran haunted by his time in Vietnam. It was named one of the ten best books of 2006 by The New York Times, which called it “searing” and “spellbinding.” Trussoni has gone on to write five bestselling novels, all of which, in different ways, are about secrets and figuring out how the past informs the present. Her novel The Puzzle Master tells the story of a savant whose genius for solving cryptic puzzles thrusts him into an ancient mystery that threatens his life. It was named a 2023 best book of the year by The Washington Post, followed up by its equally popular sequel, The Puzzle Box. Trussoni is also the author of The Fortress, a memoir about her marriage.