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ibjilln's review against another edition
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
__olivia__'s review against another edition
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
0.5
I've got to say I'm pretty disappointed. Why on Earth was this book so long? Why was it so hard to follow? How did the stakes feel so low even though some guys are murdering people?
Why is the main character so unlikable? Actually, I have an answer for that one: she repeatedly cheats on her absolute fool of a husband and then says things like, "it was inevitable." Like, why are you getting mad at him for accusing you of cheating when you are cheating on him?? Honestly, all the characters were either flat or unlikable.
I guess a couple pages were "thrilling," but thanks to the massive page count, they end up being *at most* 2% of the book.
Why is the main character so unlikable? Actually, I have an answer for that one: she repeatedly cheats on her absolute fool of a husband and then says things like, "it was inevitable." Like, why are you getting mad at him for accusing you of cheating when you are cheating on him?? Honestly, all the characters were either flat or unlikable.
I guess a couple pages were "thrilling," but thanks to the massive page count, they end up being *at most* 2% of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Torture
archaicrobin's review against another edition
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 against another edition
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
kshertz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I don’t really understand why I continue to read gory books when I’m terrible with gore. I guess because I just really love mysterious books and sometimes there’s dismemberment in them. All in all it was really interesting and I couldn’t really see the ending coming which I always like in a mysterious book. But for me it was so gory that I was mostly pushing through instead of enjoying it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Blood, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Torture
erinandbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
This book is amazing. Firstly, it's brilliant to see a genuinely good detective series with a black female DI front and centre.
It's the first book I've read that genuinely made me jump. It's not for the faint hearted. It's very graphic and gruesome.
The only thing is, I think some of the prison writing was unbelievable to me having worked in that area. But maybe if I hadn't have known what the inconsistencies were, it wouldn't have mattered at all.
Brilliant but now I need a lie down an an episode of Schitts Creek before I can sleep.
It's the first book I've read that genuinely made me jump. It's not for the faint hearted. It's very graphic and gruesome.
The only thing is, I think some of the prison writing was unbelievable to me having worked in that area. But maybe if I hadn't have known what the inconsistencies were, it wouldn't have mattered at all.
Brilliant but now I need a lie down an an episode of Schitts Creek before I can sleep.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Torture
treztumbleweed's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Gore
Moderate: Torture and Sexual content
markedwithanm's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Torture
kaleley's review against another edition
dark
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
4.25
great thriller, wish the sequel was out and I'll definitely be reading it when its released.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Torture, and Gore
Minor: Dementia, Drug use, and Sexual assault
bookswithmybulldog's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Gore, Torture, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Minor: Drug abuse