The Jigsaw Man

I don't normally like serial killers and police procedurals, but this one was so fast paced and twisty! We got a bit of the detectives' home lives, but not too much. The detectives didn't seem too perfect or too broken either. It was a well told well balanced police procedural. So good!

I wanted to love this book so bad, but it was very ok. The subject matter made it interesting and got me through 500 pages to the end, but I kind of felt like:

• The prologue was completely unnecessary and kind of set a weird tone for the beginning of the book (felt like a rushed infodump that we would have discovered anyways)
• Most of it was incredibly predictable
• The “plot twists” happened in the last 40 or so pages (again, out of 500)
• I still don't completely understand why Delaney or Elliott died??
• Overall, I felt that the plot was very lackluster with some sprinkled in gore that keeps the reader going

I wanted to like Henley, but I feel like the reader is kept at an arm's length, and not because of her personality. She is stuck in a weird 2D/3D limbo where she is constantly on the brink of character development (or at least more realized or likable to the reader, maybe?) but we never quite get there. The chapter where Olivier confronts the copycat lacked gusto - not what I would have hoped for in the rising action.

I will say that I appreciated the character diversity and the way the author shines a light BIPOC discrimination within law enforcement. Again, the book wasn't my favorite, but I think it was a great start for the author. Not sure if I plan to read the next Anjelica Henley installment, but maybe I'll pick it up on a whim one day and give it a shot.

2.5 stars

A intriguing police procedural with a gritty and chilling investigation plot, but very lacking in pace and overly drawn out. Didn't feel connected to a single character and ended up bored by the end of it.

May give the second book a try to see if that one is any better.

Really enjoyed this book. Hoping the Henley series continues soon.

I liked: The suspense in this novel is worth the read.
I missed: I found the characters bumbled around a bit. I wish I understood the protagonist's motives. Henley was so wishy-washy and mean I found it hard to feel bad for her except in the scenes that were obviously bad for her–trying not to spoil anything :)
I will likely pick up #2 just to see how the love interest storyline plays out.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
—

“You never know though. This could still be a nice, straightforward investigation.”

Henley didn't reply as she picked up her bag, because every nerve in her body told her Pellacia believed that even less than she did.

THE JIGSAW MAN

The CSI team hadn't arrived by the time Henley had left [spoiler]'s home. Anthony was en route to a shooting on the Kingsland Road, but had promised to dispatch two of his team with unrealistic promises of paid overtime. Henley could feel the anger overwhelming her as she walked back to her car. Someone had dropped the ball and no one was taking responsibility. She was doing everything that she was trained to do, to the best of her ability, but it didn't feel as though it was enough. As if she wasn't enough.

she does

Stanford turned his back on the body. Henley knew how he was feeling. They thought they had seen it all, until life presented them with a fresh kind of hell.

The Jigsaw Man

THE JIGSAW MAN

This was an incredibly pleasing debut. A tightly woven police procedural type thriller that can also successfully stand its own ground as a stand alone novel.

I loved the POC representation in the story, both Ramouter and Henley and how refreshing it was to have the main characters in a thriller plot be non-white. Something which is surprisingly rare in the thriller genre or in my experience anyway.

This story follows Inspector Anjelica Henley who has had previous issues with the infamous Jigsaw Killer Olivier. But when dismembered body parts start getting dumped around the Deptford area and the MO is strikingly similar to the Jigsaw killer murders, Henley becomes embroiled in finding out what happened. But if Olivier is safely behind bars then who is the new murderer and what could his possible connection to the original Jigsaw Murders be?

A clever fast paced thriller. With sharp and tight plotting. This book is incredibly dark and disturbing. Content warnings for rape, dismemberment, murder and horrific violence. If you prefer your murder mysteries more cosy and more tame then I wouldn't recommend picking this up. But if you can handle the gore and the graphic nature of the violence in this book then I would say this is the next great thriller to be sinking your teeth into!

Thanks to the author Nadine Matheson, HQ and Netgalley for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

From the very beginning I knew I would love this novel, from the proof cover to the blurb this was definitely a book for me. I love a good thriller especially one that is set in and around the UK. The added bonus for me with The Jigsaw Man is that it is set in South East London, my old stomping ground so I loved the fact that I could visualise each and every place Henley visited.

Nadine Matheson knows how to grip and shock her readers and from the opening pages of the prologue I was truly hooked; a man walking his dog stumbles upon a severed arm, a group of archaeology students find a headless torso and a kitchen fitter discovers a severed leg. What an opening!

Matheson's characters are extremely realistic and not without their faults and failures. I couldn't help but warm to Henley; a daughter, mother, wife and an inspector. Balancing all of those different roles became a real challenge and at times Henley got it completely wrong. You could see how torn, riddled with guilt yet how focused and determined she became on catching the serial killer, jeopardising her family's safety. Although Henley's previous case had left her traumatise and scarred I loved the twist that she had to reach out to the very person who attacked her in order to gain some meaning to this new case. The Jigsaw Man, a serial killer who previously tried to kill Henley and who she successful put behind bars may hold some answers into the dismembered body parts being scattered over London. Is this a copycat or has Olivier got some unfinished business and an accomplice on the outside to continue what he started?

This police procedural is everything you would expect it to be: it's graphic and disturbing in places, fast paced, action packed and has a real focus on its characters. Comforting and terrifying at the same I found myself using every spare moment of my time to pick it back up. For a debut novel this definitely packs a punch and I cannot wait to see what Matheson writes about next. I would love for this novel to continue as a series as I was very invested in the characters.