Member Reviews
DI Anjelica Henley was stabbed when apprehending serial killer Peter Olivier but now she’s back on full duties again. She’s called to the discovery of body part on the banks of the Thames - it appears that there are two victims that have been dismembered. She can’t help but recall that Olivier dismembered his victims and it soon becomes apparent that there is a copycat killer. Henley struggles to keep focused as the case takes a toll on her marriage and a former relationship with a colleague becomes a distraction.
Great read from the first chapter - thoroughly enjoyed it. A great debut novel and hopefully there will be more about Anjelica Henley in the future. .
Thanks to Netgalley, HQ and Nadine Matheson for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.
This book is definitely one that dud not grab me from the first page, in fact it was actually one I set to the side multiple times. Something was off in the beginning, which made it to where I almost did not finish. Thankfully, I decided to try a few more pages, because as it progressed, it was exactly what I wanted! After the initial sort of unexciting beginning, it finally hooked me and did so with a fast paced, thrilling story! It was well written, which os likely why I kept giving it a shot passed the initial slower beginning. Overall, I do highly recommend it, as I think many will love! They may be like me, with the beginning sort of deterring them to another book, but after that, they’re will be blown away!
Will make sure to use low Amazon reviewer number on release date and buzz around platforms!
There was a bit too much gore in this book for my liking, and it did drag in some places but overall it was a good read.
I'll be looking out for the next one by this author
Well, good bits first. I loved the police characters in this book, they all felt three dimensional and had interesting back stories. I also liked the banter between them and the way they all look after each other. I didn't think it really explained why the main character was so nasty to the trainee at the beginning? An extra 'pair of hands' is always useful and everyone has to learn. So, what didn't I, personally, like? I'm really fed up with the police characters being targeted, leading to a 'thrilling' denouement. Very, very, overdone. A police procedural, at its heart, is a whodunnit so all the reader needs to know is the who, why and when! Cliff side/dockside fights honestly don't add much to a story. The other problem I had is that the book is way too long, which made it repetitive and lost most of the tension because of it. A longer book is not necessarily a better book! I feel that with sharp editing this could have been really good, but, by the end, I just didn't care!! That brings me to my last pet hate, an ending where you know the bad guy will crop up in a later book. This is such a marketing ploy to boost sales of book 2, and, to be honest, the bad guy in this wasn't enigmatic enough for me to want to read about him again. Give the book an ending please. In conclusion, as much as I loved the characters, I won't be reading any more of this series. Two stars because the characters were fabulous, otherwise it would have been one star.
Inspector Angelica Henley has returned to her role on the front line following a long period of desk duty. She had been stabbed by a serial killer known as ‘The Jigsaw Man’ who was now safely behind bars in a secure prison,
Her first case is scarily similar to the MO of the jigsaw killer. An arm is found on a riverbank, a torso is found on some rocks by the river and a leg is found not far away from the river.
Henley's investigations lead her to believe this is either a copycat or someone acting on behalf of the jigsaw killer.
She needs to speak to Olivier, the jigsaw killer, in prison to find out what he knows and who he has told about the mark he carved into his victims’ skin as the same mark has been found on the recent bodies.
Her husband is unhappy that she is back on her old job and after she receives a severed head delivered to her front door in a box he gives her an ultimatum. The job or her family.
This is a fantastic debut and I hope to read more from this author. I especially hope there is a follow up to this one as the ending has left me hanging. I would recommend to fans of murder thrillers / police procedurals.
Thank you to HQ for an advance copy of the book to review.
This book can be a bit gory and gruesome in places but if you have read the book's premise this should not be a surprise.
A viscous and sadistic serial killer is behind bars. The police officer who put him there is called to a crime scene with an identical m.o. Has the wrong person been convicted or is there a copycat?
It took me a while to get into the book, although you are straight into the story, there is quite a lot of background catching up going on as you read. I would not say there are lots of twists and turns to the plot because, like a jigsaw, the pieces are all there, you just have to put them together in the right way. You can see where the story is going, you just have to go on reading to keep up. Hannibal Lecter eat your heart out, well he would probably eat someone else's!
Wow! A gripping and suspenseful thriller that had me on the edge of my seat. I loved the complex character of DI Henley and learning her backstory, and Peter Olivier is the perfect villian, both terrifying and charming. I hope this will not be the last we read of DI Henley and the team.
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.
A great first book from this author. There are lots of characters and quite a bit of detail. The story is slow in places but then becomes very fast paced. Not for those with a weak stomach as it is also a bit gory, but then it is a murder novel. Well worth the read.
The storyline is a gruesome thriller about a serial killer with a copycat MO. Body parts appear all over the capital with a personal marking to indicate that there must be a link to the original serial killer. There follows a cat and mouse chase to determine the perpetrator. The book was average but far better than I could write and a little slow in places .
I loved the idea of a new detective set in and around Deptford, I thought the beginning had promise and it definitely gripped me, where it fell a bit flat and what also makes me groan, is this idea to have a complicated and complex driven detective who's life is hard and what with a serial killer on the loose and her life goes figuratively speaking tits up... I just got a bit bored. I feel that nowadays there is too much of a thing for detectives to have shitty lives and even shitty work, I just would like for once to have a detective who has a fine family life or if not that then no family and just gets on with his job. I just felt reading this that there was too much of an emphasis on how her life was going from bad to worse, and to be honest by the end I didn't like her character or any of the detectives. I wasn't convinced by the end of the book it just left me feeling disappointed due to how outrageous it was, but having said that it was very gripping, and yes thrilling. and having said all of that I am looking forward to the next instalment .
DI Anjelica Henley has been on desk duties since returning to work after being seriously hurt arresting serial killer Peter Olivier, dubbed The Jigsaw Man by the press.
When body parts are discovered on the banks of the Thames Henley is asked to take the lead on the case.
The post mortems reveal marks on the bodies that link the killings to Olivier but he is in prison, so is there a copycat on the loose.
Struggling to find anything that links the victims, Henley realises that in order to unlock the case she may well have to speak to Olivier, but is she ready to face the man who almost killed her and will he be willing to help?
Fast paced, this was a “I’ll just read one more chapter” books!
This is a really difficult book for me to review as I was looking forward to I so much after having read the overview but overall I was left feeling disappointed by some parts of the book.
The plot was a well executed one but far too over complicated and I also think the book was just too long and at times I felt my concentration waning but I wanted to keep reading as I was desperate to know just how to would all pan out and I’m so glad I did as it was a great ending.
Please don’t get me wrong there was a lot that was good about this book, the characters were interesting although not particularly likeable and the plot well crafted I just felt something was missing but again perhaps this was just me.
So a read that I found ok and I will look out for more books from this author as I feel she has a lot more writing to come.
My thanks to NetGalley and HQ for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Unfortunately this book didn’t meet my expectations after reading the book description I thought I was in for a real treat, but I must admit I was left feeling disappointed and under whelmed. When I first started reading The Jigsaw Man I thought it seemed similar to many other crime thrillers I’ve read over the years. I found the pacing really slow, I’m one of those readers that likes to get to the thick of the action ASAP or I find my concentration wanes. I did feel this book was padded with irrelevant details, which could have been left out. Gory in parts this book was an ok read but when you read as many crime thrillers as I do I’m looking for a read that grabs me from the off.
I loved this book! It had me gripped from the very beginning. I like that you had the back story of the original murders and how they were linked together. The pacing of the story was great and made it really easy to read and I liked that the chapters were quite short. I've read a lot of books about murders and crimes but this one still managed to stand out for me as an enjoyable read. I love the relationships, the characters and there was enough of a side story for Henley that meant you had a proper feel for her. This was just a fantastic and addictive read and I highly recommend it!
Definitely not for the faint hearted. There is much blood and gore in this story with a serial killer the main suspect even though he is still incarcerated in HMP! The recently promoted female detective Angelica Henley is our heroine who is having the usual problem of trying to balance work and home life. She finds looking after young Ramouter, the trainee, a chore she could really do without but he is doing his utmost to stay strong when faced with various horrendous murder scenes. Henley has seen the likes of our serial killer before and is still suffering from the after shocks but....there is a copycat on the loose! The characters were well drawn and the story certainly gathered momentum and kept me gripped right till the end, The conclusion was such that there may be room for a sequel! I would definitely read it if this should be the case though perhaps one with a little less gore!
An excellent debut novel by Nadine. Dark, gritty and engrossing. Fast paced with well drawn characters and plot. I hope the writer continues and publishes again
This book was incredible! So fast paced and had my heart in my mouth most of the time I was reading! Raced through this book as I needed to know how it ended! Absolutely brilliant book I will be recommending to everyone!
The Jigsaw Man by Nadine Matheson is a fast-paced gruesome thriller that I really enjoyed, and I hope there is a sequel as the author has left a cliff hanger at the end of the story. So, I am keen to find out what happens.
DI Anjelica Henley has just come back from leave after bringing the serial killer known as The Jigsaw man Peter Oliver to justice of his crimes. He kills and chops up his victims and leaves their body parts all-over South-East London DI Henley is investigator of the SCU. When her first case back is a serial killer with the same M.O as the jigsaw man. But it can’t be him as he is locked up in Belmarsh Prison. There must be a copy kat killer on the loose. But when DI Henley visits him in prison to see if he has told anyone of his exploits, Peter Oliver is not happy with the copy kat killers’ workmanship and somehow escapes to hunt the killer down.
Thank you, HQ, for a copy of The Jigsaw man. I really enjoyed these dark police procedural from Nadine Matheson and I hope this story continues. I have heard this is a debut novel which before I realised, I would have thought the writing is from more accomplished writer. The story is slow at first due to the back story of the characters but the second half it became fast paced, great storyline and plot. But a very gruesome one. Some if you don’t like that type of book this maybe not for you. But I think it makes the story more thrilling.
A tale of about a serial killer and a copycat engaging in a dangerous game..
This began as a really captivating story, however, the characters are unlikeable., the Copycat is revealed before the end of the story, and many of the loose ends aren't 'tied up' at the end of story.
This is an average book that does not encourage the reader to think or use their imagination, rather, 'it spells everything out', which may be why it is unnecessarily long.