The Jigsaw Man by Nadine Matheson is a very clever police thriller. Anjelica Henley works for the SCU, with Stephen Pellacia as her boss and former lover. Henley was involved with the original jigsaw case, when Olivier was convicted of killing and cutting up seven people and also tried to kill Henley. Someone is a copycat killer, killing and cutting up body parts and leaving them to be found. Henley is assigned the case and it is her first active case since Olivier attacked her. In taking this case and becoming an active police officer once again Henley is putting her marriage to Rob and her young daughter’s lives at risk.
As the body count mounts up all of the officers in the murder squad will be involved in trying to find the copycat killer and when Olivier escapes from prison the case gets even more complicated.
Highly recommended

This was a great, gory police procedural for fans of Val McDermid. INtricately plotted and some interesting themes, I'd been keen to read more from this author.

A great story of meticulous serial murder and revenge. This book kept me hooked from the first to the last page. Thank you to Netgalley and Nadine Matheson for the opportunity to review this book

There is potential with this author. The story was full of interesting characters who are fully three dimensional. It is easy to care for them and their struggles with balancing home and work life.

The plotting lets the book down. It is silly and unbelievable. In my opinion, there will be good things to come with this author but she is it yet there.

Brilliant debut - tense, twisty and cleverly done. A refreshing new voice in the crime fiction world.

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL SERIAL KILLER MYSTERY TO RIVAL ALL OTHERS!

Reading the premise of this book actually left me unnaturally excited, I absolutely love a gruesome serial killer tale and this ticked every single box there was.

When body parts start appearing all over London an investigation is opened. Headed by Detective Inspector Anjelica Henley and her partner Salim Ramouter you see the case unfold. It looks like the work of one Peter Olivier aka The Jigsaw Man who Henley has a past with.. but Olivier is behind bars already!

At times it felt like this was a second book in a series because of the past references to Helnleys story so I can't wait to see what the author has in store for us next as I've got a feeling we'll learn more and more the longer the series goes on.

Dark, gory and gritty. Atmospheric and mind twisting with an unbelievable plot.. I LOVED IT!

The most fantastic debut by an author I will be watching for very closely!

The biggest 5*

Huge thank you to netgalley and HQ for the ARC.

The Jigsaw Man is a good crime thriller but beware it is a bit gory. I am sure this will be the first of many books featuring DI Henley. Well worth reading.

I struggled badly with this book and I'm sorry to say that as I love a crime thriller, usually the gorier the better.
I thought this sounded great, but It was a chore to get through it, I found it was gory just for the sake of it, none of the characters were particularly likeable and the police just seemed inept and incapable.
I felt like even near the end of the book it was like not much had happened and the constant backstory references were annoying, as if I was several books into a series and had missed the first few.
Thanks to Netgalley and the author for my eARC in return for my honest review.

A dark, gritty and gripping story that kept me one the edge.
Good plot and character development, a tightly knitted plot.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This often felt like the 2nd book in the series with the back story of Olivier and Henley however this was explored in plenty of detail in the book. I really liked the character of Henley although I found the mistakes she made in her personal life a little hard to understand - it was understandable why the case meant so much to her but the decisions she made surrounding others involved in the case were certainly stupid at times, especially when she had so much to lose.

I liked the character of Ramouter, someone who just wants to do good for his family and the public and I would love to see more from him. Olivier was a repulsive man and I really do hope that what many characters believe at the end is true. I was a little disappointed with the reveal of the copycat as I felt they weren't shown much in the story and other characters would have made a lot more sense however I was very impressed by the novel and will definitely be checking more of the authors work out.

TDC Salim Ramouter has been partnered with DI Anjelica Henley when body parts start appearing around London. It looks like the work of a murderer Peter Olivier, known as the Jigsaw Man, but he is already behind bars. Henley has history with Olivier, whom she has hoped she would never see again! Both Henley and Ramouter have interesting back stories and work very well together.
This is a debut novel from Nadine Matheson and I cannot wait to read more. This story is full of tension,violence and mystery.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for granting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I think Matheson‘ writing has real potential. The characters are very well written and lifelike. The setting is immersive and realistic. The plot is interesting and engaging. However, the female lead detective whose husband is making her choose between the job and her family? It’s overused and due to this I found it tedious. Ramouter’s situation is much more interesting and fresh so I hope this is explored further. I also found although it was gripping, it wasn’t always pacey and I did at times find myself struggling to pick it up to read which isn’t something I want with a crime thriller. Overall it was an average read for me but I am excited to see how the author progresses.

If you know and love your darker thrillers, then the names Chris Carter, M W Craven and M J Aldridge will already be lining your bookcase shelves. Nadine Matheson is going to become a must have name amongst them!

There’s a new partnership in the police procedural world for us to get behind, between DI Henley & TDC Ramouter, who I am looking forward to seeing more of as the series develops further, and a notorious serial killer who thinks he has the monopoly on dismemberment and branding.

The Jigsaw Man is a cracking debut and a new up and coming series that I am looking forward to reading more of – Highly recommend.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #HQ, #HarperCollinsUK, and #NadineMatheson for an ARC of #TheJigsawMan in exchange for an honest review.

A spine tingling debut thriller. Fast paced and gripping I did not want to put this book down. I cannot wait to read more by this author.

If you like gritty crime thrillers then this is a book that should be on your radar. Not for the faint-hearted as there are some pretty brutal murders. If, however, you do like your crime to be a bit more bloody then give this a go.

This is the first book in the Inspector Anjelica Henley series and I loved it. The story begins really well and has a strong hook to it. The main character is Anjelica, aka Anj or Helnely. She has been on office duty after the brutal case of Peter Olivier, a man that she helped hunt down and resulted in injuries to herself.

There is a new wave of murders and body parts are being discovered around the London area. This looks to be the same sort of modus operandi as Olivier, but with some slight differences. Some of the similarities were only known to a select few people. How to catch the copy cat of an already incarcerated killer? Well, you go to see the incarcerated one!

This is a very addictive crime thriller that starts the series but gives a background to its main characters. There is a good amount of detail on the main players and they soon become very recognisable. Given this is the start, there is already a nice vibe going on between some of the characters and their backstories and working relationships are filled in to give a bigger picture.

This story also has a psychological edge to it in respect to Henley and her previous run-in with Olivier. I do like how the author did play on this a little but not too much. Trying to juggle work, family and having a trainee detective with her, she has a full plate, to say the least.

This novel has a good amount of twists, when you think things are going in one direction the author deftly turns and takes you on another route. This is a great intro for a new series and also for me to this author. I will be keeping an eye out for more Henley books in the future.

This is one for crime fans who love a good, gritty and at times brutal police procedural thriller. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and I would definitely recommend it.

I'd been excited to read THE JIGSAW MAN by debut crime writer Nadine Matheson since seeing her speak on a panel with Vaseem Khan, SA Cosby, and Lloyd Otis at last year's Locked Up Festival. A criminal lawyer in London, Matheson had won the City University Crime Writing competition then completed the Masters in Creative Writing (Crime/Thriller Novels), a course I hold in high regard given it's taught by the brilliant Claire McGowan and I've spoken to past grads at crime writing festivals.

Matheson brings a new voice and perspective to the darker end of police procedurals, waters where the likes of Mark Billingham, Val McDermid, and Luca Veste play so well. THE JIGSAW MAN is an exciting tale entwined with serial killers, plural, that delivers a good mix of familiarity and freshness.

Detective Inspector Angelica Henley is struggling professionally and personally. Perhaps even failing. At work she's been deskbound since returning to duty after a vicious stabbing that easily could have ended more than her career. At home her husband is getting increasingly frustrated with her attitude, behaviour, and choices when it comes to their marriage and young daughter. He wants her to put them first, but Henley has instead retreated into her job; a dangerous choice, not just physically.

As a black woman working for the Met, Henley's wider family and community isn't exactly ecstatic about her career choice either. When body parts begin to appear near the River Thames, DI Henley is put back on more active duty, and sucked into a case that forces her to confront her past traumas.

Body parts and a serial killer. Is someone copy-catting the notorious Jigsaw Killer, Peter Olivier, who Henley put behind bars but barely survived? Or is Olivier manipulating things from prison?

There's an awful lot to like about Matheson's debut, which is a very good read. I was increasingly fascinated by DI Henley, who along with being dedicated with a keen sense of justice and wanting to help can also be frustrating and foolish. She's messily human, even if readers may not 'like' her or the choices she makes at all times. Matheson gives us a strong look at the impact of crime on those who try to solve it, the PTSD that can follow violent incidents and threaten relationships and more. DI Henley is doing her best in tough circumstances, but still ends up hurting others with her behaviour and choices.

Olivier is an interesting character - a villain who serves as something of a 'tweener' character, both chilling and charming, both helping and harming our hero. There's notes of Hannibal Lecter, though that's a rather unfair or overblown comparison to draw of course, for any author let alone a debutant.

Henley's new partner, Salim Ramouter, is a bit of a gem, providing an interesting foil to our heroine with his inexperience and enthusiasm tempered by his own problems on the family front. Matheson has a pretty good touch for character overall, across the entire cast. There's shades of grey and plenty of very human messiness. That, combined with the diverse perspectives makes for an intriguing read that offers something of a fresh spin on the serial killer sub-genre, from a promising new voice.

Overall, THE JIGSAW MAN is a pacy crime thriller with plenty of tension and some nice character depth, that flows well and explores some interesting issues beyond solving the case. Worth a look.

I am no stranger to a gritty Crime Thriller, I mean I love them the grittier the better and this one definitely hit the level. Nadine Matheson I felt brought something extra to this book and I felt like I was back in the Police again. This is the first book in quite a while that I have stayed up past midnight reading as I needed to know what happens.

The book follows Detective Inspector Angelica Henley. She has gone through it, she survived being attacked by the Jigsaw Killer that is now serving several life sentences in prison but someone has started killing again with the same modus operandi that Peter Olivier aka the Jigsaw Killer had. DI Henley suffered at the hands of the Jigsaw Killer and is struggling with her own mental health, having to face him again along with issues with her work and home life, you can see her crumbling.

Boy oh boy, I LOVED this book. Seriously I started it on Tuesday (13th April) and stayed awake until past midnight so I could see what happened. I was invested in DI Angelica Henley, I wanted to know what happened not only with the Jigsaw Killer but with her personal life as well.

The book starts with her finding two bodies dismembered and strewn across South East London. You can see DI Henley struggle from page one, with her suffering from PTSD and struggling with her personal life due to her job. I could feel the tension she was suffering and the several ways that she was pulled. I will say coming from a Police background there is a bond that you have with your fellow officers. You see and hear things that you wouldn’t if you weren’t working within the Force. The tension that I saw between Angelica and her husband is what I have felt, you feel that when the partner isn’t part of the “clique” they don’t understand. It is hard to leave the job at the office when you are trying to protect and serve.

Lets get onto the gruesome bit.

So there are definitely trigger warnings in this book. There is mention of Sexual Assault, Assault, dismemberment, kidnapping, talk of suicide.

The book at times is GRUESOME. I mean you get Forensic details of the bodies that were found. This doesn’t bother me as I enjoy reading about it and found that they were pretty accurate and needed in this book. You can tell that Nadine Matheson had done her research and that she knew what she was talking or in this case writing about.

The characters are some of the best that I have read. DI Angelica Henley is relatable, you can feel her emotion throughout the book not only about getting justice for the victims but as her as a person. I also want to say that I really liked that she was a POC and that Nadine Matheson wrote about the struggle that Angelica had being a black woman in the Police Force and the stigma that she had not only from her family but others due to her profession. I liked that Henley had her faults, she was suffering from PTSD and trying to overcome it without help. I felt that she needed to hit rock bottom before she acknowledged that she needed the help.

Trainee Detective Constable Salim Ramouter was another favourite. Again he has a backstory that broke your heart but you can see the willingness he had to learn and be the best he can be. The fact that he got on well with Henley is always a bonus and I liked their interactions they had.

Right onto the villain – Peter Olivier aka the Jigsaw Killer. He is pretty much the best villain there is going. He was a victim himself of sexual assault and badly assaulted whilst in the army and the perpetrators were found not guilty. He went off on a crime spree killing those that had hurt him. This all came throughout the book and you didn’t get bombarded with all the information. You can see the relationship between Olivier and Henley and it made the book that much more enjoyable to me.

I liked that the book felt it should of been the second in the series after the events of what happened when the Jigsaw Killer was on the first rampage. I did however thoroughly enjoy the book and felt that Nadine Matheson had brought enough backstory to this book that allowed you to follow the investigation.

I am desperately hoping that there is going to be a second book with all the characters as I feel invested! Also with a certain uncertainty at the end I need to know what happens now!

Thank you for the advanced copy of this which is definitely not for the faint hearted. A great story, well written and scary! I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading another by Nadine.

Good tense thriller. The author has us guessing and keeps you on the edge with this story. Would love if follow up novel as you are left wondering.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I really enjoyed it, not for the faint hearted as the murders are quite graphic, but a brilliant story with great characters, I can’t wait to read more featuring this detective.