Scan barcode
meelmeman's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I listened to the audiobook version and I have to say that Diveen Henry’s performance takes the book from a 3.5 to a 4.25. For example, sometimes I would read along with the book and feel confused about dialogue. Matheson’s sense of character voice is STRONG, don’t get me wrong, but it can be difficult to parse through who is saying what. Henry’s distinct characterizations and the consistency with which she delivers each and every voice were crucial in my ability to comprehend the plot and maintain interest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Rape, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Police brutality
kirstym25's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Dementia
midnightmarauder's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, Murder, Medical content, Blood, Cursing, Gaslighting, Gore, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Confinement, Death, Stalking, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Dementia, Excrement, Animal cruelty, Suicide, Vomit, and Sexual content
reno_percival's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Torture, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Rape, Kidnapping, Grief, Gore, Violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Death of parent, Death, Body horror, Blood, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
porqueerestanvicky's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Gore
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Rape
ibjilln's review
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Body horror, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Death, Grief, Infidelity, Racism, Blood, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Suicide
Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Dementia, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
jettaparadis's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
It was slow paced for the first half of the book and then really gained momentum and I couldn’t put it down
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Rape and Drug use
archaicrobin's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Firstly, this book reminded me of one of my favorite crime, mystery, noir tv shows The Killing, and I loved it. Much like The Killing you have a female inspector/detective named Anjelica Henley, with a dark past and a penchant for having no work life balance at all. In fact her marriage is on the rocks, her family is falling apart, she had an affair with a former lover and current colleague, and on top of all of that she’s been given a newbie detective in training to tag along as she’s finally back out on the streets. Much like our main characters in The Killing!
While the characters, tone, and pacing are reminiscent of The Killing, that’s about it. The Killing focuses on one murder while The Jigsaw Man follows detective Henley and her new partner in training Ramouter as they try to catch a gruesome copy cat serial killer who idolizes another and even more gruesome serial killer labeled The Jigsaw Man whose known for dismembering his victims and spreading them out like jigsaw pieces. As the body parts keep piling up Henley falls harder and harder into the case.
Matheson does a great job of blending the process of investigation with the narrative of the story in a way that I didn’t want to our the book down. This is a big book at almost 500 pages but the author’s writing style and short chapters made this fly by for me! I loved reading about the characters and how they interacted and worked together to try and solve their case! I love police mystery thrillers and this book was one I didn’t realize I desperately needed until I started it!
If you’re at all into thrillers or crime dramas I would suggest picking this up and also watching The Killing if you haven’t yet because it’s also great and has such similar vibes. Excited to find out that The Jigsaw Man is also the first installment in the Angelica Henley series and I can’t wait for the next book!
While the characters, tone, and pacing are reminiscent of The Killing, that’s about it. The Killing focuses on one murder while The Jigsaw Man follows detective Henley and her new partner in training Ramouter as they try to catch a gruesome copy cat serial killer who idolizes another and even more gruesome serial killer labeled The Jigsaw Man whose known for dismembering his victims and spreading them out like jigsaw pieces. As the body parts keep piling up Henley falls harder and harder into the case.
Matheson does a great job of blending the process of investigation with the narrative of the story in a way that I didn’t want to our the book down. This is a big book at almost 500 pages but the author’s writing style and short chapters made this fly by for me! I loved reading about the characters and how they interacted and worked together to try and solve their case! I love police mystery thrillers and this book was one I didn’t realize I desperately needed until I started it!
If you’re at all into thrillers or crime dramas I would suggest picking this up and also watching The Killing if you haven’t yet because it’s also great and has such similar vibes. Excited to find out that The Jigsaw Man is also the first installment in the Angelica Henley series and I can’t wait for the next book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Blood, Death, Gore, Rape, Torture, Murder, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Violence
amandas_bookshelf's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Dementia, Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Confinement, and Torture
Moderate: Rape, Addiction, Alcohol, and Drug abuse
beanjoles's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Murder, and Rape
Moderate: Dementia, Mental illness, and Sexual assault
Minor: Drug use
I’ve tagged body horror because there isn’t a more specific content note, but click if you want more info on what that entails: