Reviews with content warning for Body horror - The Jigsaw Man

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!

Content Warnings

ibjilln's review

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

archaicrobin's review

Go to review page

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!

Content Warnings

More...