The Jigsaw Man follows Detective Inspector Anjelica Henley as she fights to solve a string of murders in London that leave the victims dismembered. The murders are similar to murders that have happened prior, to which a man, Peter Olivier (dubbed "The Jigsaw Killer"), did the exact same thing. But, because Olivier is incarcerated at the time of the new murders, it is up to Henley to figure out who is doing the killings, and why. 

Joining her is Trainee Detective Constable Salim Ramouter. Henley, a tough and well-respected detective, isn't too fond of him initially. Yet, as time goes on, the pair become close and work well together to solve the case. 

What I liked about this book is how fleshed-out the characters were. I related a lot to Henley, as she is another person who puts up a tough exterior, but internally, is very fearful and anxious. She had a traumatic incident with Olivier at the time of his arrest, which left her with a panic disorder. The incident prevented her from working for a while, but she stayed determined to solve the crimes and despite being fearful, pushed through and did her best to stop the murders. 

Ramouter is well-written too, even though I would've liked to see more of his thought-processes when it came to solving the murders. 

Olivier is written almost too well. He is a haunting, sociopathic individual with little regard to how other people feel. Why he begins to murder people is explained briefly at the start of the book, but I would've wanted to see a bit more about his childhood and how it may have affected his mental state. 

Overall, this book was an enjoyable read. I look forward to reading the rest of the series and more from Nadine Matheson as a whole. 

Intense. Dark. Gritty. I was impressed by The Jigsaw Man and the lead investigator, Angelica Henley on the case. Being pulled back into a serial killer case that resembles the exact case that took her off field work a few years prior.

Forcing her to confront the past while trying to stop the bodies from piling up. Henley is a complex character who's committed to her job and her young daughter. But there's not enough of her to go around and the culprit seems to be four steps ahead of her. 

The narrative is written in a steady, consistent manner that delivers information to the reader in third-person. This helps to keep readers informed without being too distracting or overly pretentious. I felt the close were laid out in a what that I could piece together elements of information of the case along with the detectives.

Olivea's character was one for the books because he was truly bone chilling creepy and conniving. He lives up to the hype that we're given about him in the beginning. And he really doesn't take kindly to someone else creeping onto his "reputation" as the Jigsaw Man.

I feel there's a lot that can be said about all the elements of this case having to do with Henley and the killers. I would recommend this book to crime podcast enthusiasts and thriller readers alike. 

there was so much i loved about this book but i was pretty disappointed in the ending. for SO much build up it felt really anticlimactic. and for almost 500 pages we should get a sound ending i think. i was just wanting more of a twist or just something to make the story more interesting. i also hated DI Henley. i don’t think she was a good person and she repeatedly makes poor decisions but always makes an excuse to why she’s the victim and to why she continuously gets what she wants. however, i loved the writing style and most of the other characters. it kinda felt like reading a criminal minds episode which was super fun! 

This is an impressive debut, police procedural thriller novel and is definitely a tense read. 

However, the majority of the tense action takes place in the last 10 (short) chapters of the book and is done in a manner that feels rushed and needing to be quickly wrapped up. This is no more evident in the back to back chapters where there is a huge mistake with details. 
<Spoiler> When Kirkpatrick is taken and we finally get the POV scene in chapter 95 of Pine getting ready to torture and dismember Kirkpatrick, we are given the graphic scene of Kirkpatrick having his arm sawed off. "... He couldn't ignore the feeling of the skin on his right arm being gently tugged and the river of vibrations as the saw went back and forth. He couldn't shut out the heavy groaning sound as the saw made its way through bone. Then it stopped... He could see the bone now as his arm hovered in front of his face .. he didn't close his eyes as the blood from the separated arm fell..."
As well as additional reference to his leg then being sawed through. Only to have chapter 96 tell us that "his hands were tired behind his back" and that " Henley...cut the cable ties binding Michael's wrists and feet". 
It just gets worse. In chapter 98 we are told that Kirkpatrick is "being treated for dehydration and shock. He hasn't got any serious injuries." As well as a statement from him that "Pine...was going to come back and was going to start by cutting off his left arm..." Which directly contradicts chapter 95 where his arm is graphically cut off.  </Spoiler> 

Needless to say, this oversight, although perhaps minor to the book as a whole, took me completely out of the story. There was no coming back from that for me, and the rest of the book (4 ch.) wrapped up far too quickly and without a full resolution to completely redeem itself. 

Gruesome but super engaging page-turner. This is a thriller that definitely lives up to the moniker. I felt as though I were reading a CSI episode or similar, and I mean that as a compliment to the author! She did a tremendous job walking us through the ins and outs of the investigation whilst maintaining a sense of mystery and tension. Olivier is a truly frightening villain, and Henley is a brilliant but archetypically flawed detective. It’s a match made in thriller heaven. 😅 Can’t wait to pick up the next book when it is released!

I particularly appreciated how thoroughly grounded this story is in its setting. I’ve never been to London, but having read the book I now know more about its neighbourhoods, traffic patterns, types of buildings and features of the Thames, etc. Because the descriptions of the setting are so realistic, I spent a lot of time searching the Google Maps street view to see some of the places mentioned. I recommend tearing your eyes away from the page periodically to do this, if you aren’t familiar with the city!