A Clever, Chilling, and Utterly Addictive Festive Thriller

The Christmas Jigsaw Murders is the perfect mix of mystery, menace, and festive atmosphere—with a dark twist. Alexandra Benedict masterfully weaves a gripping plot, full of clever clues, chilling twists, and a sense of urgency that keeps you turning the pages.

Edie O’Sullivan is a brilliantly sharp and unconventional protagonist, and her dynamic with DI Sean Brand-O’Sullivan adds both tension and warmth to the story. The jigsaw puzzle element is pure genius, making this a truly unique whodunnit.

If you love a Christmas crime novel with brains, heart, and a sinister edge, this is a must-read. An absolute festive treat—just maybe don’t read it alone on a winter’s night!

Irascible, curmudgeonly solver of puzzles and creator of crosswords, Edie O'Sullivan is hiding from Christmas, her least favourite time of the year. On December 1st, she receives a package from an unknown person, calling themselves Rest in Pieces. It's a jigsaw puzzle made of six pieces, and shows part of a crime scene. The enclosed message in the box tells Edie that there will be four or more murders by Christmas Eve, unless Edie can figure out the puzzle.

Edie contacts her great nephew and adopted son DI Sean Brand-O'Sullivan, and they work hard to solve the clues, But they're not fast enough, and a man is attacked and found near death with a jigsaw piece in his hand. Sean worries for Edie's safety, and the potential her questions and actions will have to muddle the investigation, so he shuts her out.

She decides to keep investigating on her own, as she receives more pieces, and more people are killed. With her ninety-year-old neighbour's help, Edie begins slowly piecing through the clues, which point unfortunately to her past, which she refuses to discuss or divulge till it's almost too late.

Edie is a totally frustrating person; she's the type of person who thinks that her bad memories and trauma are best left unexamined, and instead used them irritate and push everyone away from her.

Sean is a gentle, kind man, whose patience is frequently tried by Edie, who despite her deep love for him, refuses to accept his partner, and keeps critical information from his investigation, because she does not want to deal with her past and many bad decisions.

Much as I found Edie frustrating, I enjoyed the mystery and character interactions. The story moved along well, and there were sufficient twists to keep me entertained. I also liked how this was a little like Dickens' Christmas Carol, as Edie must undergo a transformation by confronting errors in her past. I loved Edie's elderly neighbour Riga Novak.

This isn't my first book by this author, and I hope to read more by her.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Shuster UK for this ARC in exchange for my review.

As an avid jigsaw puzzler and mystery lover I was so happy to get this book!

The story kicks off when Edie O’Sullivan, a reclusive crossword setter, receives a box of jigsaw pieces that, when assembled, reveal part of a crime scene. Along with the puzzle is a chilling note promising that four or more people will be dead by Christmas Eve unless she solves the mystery.

Edie ropes in her nephew who's a police inspector, to help her crack the case. But as more bodies turn up, each with their own jigsaw pieces, it starts to look like Edie might be the ultimate target. Still, with her sharp mind and determination, Edie’s the only one who can fit the pieces together and catch the culprit.

The book has plenty of twists and extra clues hidden throughout the story for readers who like a bit of interactive fun. While I enjoyed this book more than the previous one, I’m not sure I’d rush to pick up another in the future. Still, it’s a decent Christmas mystery with some clever ideas, and it’s worth a read if you enjoy a bit of puzzling along the way.

Edie O'Sullivan, 80 year old crossword setter and Christmas hater, receives a hand delivered package in the post with puzzle pieces. Once put together, it shows a blood splattered scene. The sender, 'Rest in Pieces', has set Edie the task of solving the puzzle to prevent people from dying. She turns to her great nephew (who she raised as her son) DI Sean for help. Soon dead bodies with extra puzzle pieces begin to be found. Can Edie solve the case before too many people get hurt?

I wanted to love this but it fell flat for me. There was nothing likeable about the main character, which isn't needed for a book but if you're going to have an anti-hero as the main protagonist, you have to still want to root for them.

The reveal of the story was super unsatisfying, there's no way for the normal reader to put it together and solve it yourself, which takes half the fun out of it. The culprit seems to come out of nowhere at the reveal, it's very frustrating. Not cosy enough to be a 'cosy' crime, no clever enough to be a more serious murder mystery. It had potential but ultimately not for me.

Brilliant! I’ve been waiting until the season to read this, and it was well worth the wait.

There’s a mix of everything in this book - romance, regret, worry, anger, love…..tension, stress, murder!!!!!!!!

Overall, this isn’t your average Christmas murder story - there is a lot more too it - but it’s also a cracking Christmas murder story!

My thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

In The Christmas Jigsaw Murders we join Edie who before Christmas receives some jigsaw pieces that make a crimes scene and a challenge for her to find out who the killer is and stop them before 4+ people are killed by midnight Christmas Eve.
With some help, Edie sets out to solve this puzzle but her loved ones are at risk.

This was really good, fast paced, unpredictable. Another successful book from this author. Would recommend.

A cosy somewhat quirky Christmas themed mystery. The characters were interesting and the idea novel and while the murders were somewhat serious overall it was still fun and enjoyable read and fit the cosy style. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

It has been a fantastic book and very fun with the puzzle, until the last four, five chapters. There the story has started to take too many twists and turns, when it could have been much simpler. This was the one I liked the least of the three. Still, I recommend it.

I loved the Christmas murder game so when I saw this book was written by the same author I knew I had to read it.

Filled with interesting and lovable characters, gripping story line and edies quick tongue this was unputdownable.

Any crime fiction lover worth the title loves to solve mysteries and an added bonus to this book is the 'side quizzes' the author has hidden amongst the chapters.

Definitely a 5 star read.

A solid festive murder mystery with the very quirky Edie. I loved the puzzle elements and although it felt a little slow in places, I enjoyed it!

I'm a bit late with this one - but the date was wrong on NetGalley.

Edie Sullivan, an octogenarian, is a bit of a loner and a lover of puzzles - setting crosswords keeps her occupied. With Christmas approaching, she is avoiding everyone even more that usual; to say it's not her favourite time of year is a bit of an understatement. When she finds a hand-delivered box on her doorstep it proves to contain six jigsaw pieces which, when joined together, make up part of a crime scene. Also included is a note warning of more deaths unless she finds the other pieces of the puzzle before Christmas eve. Edie contacts her nephew for help, DI Sean Brand-O'Sullivan but when a body is found near to death, he is warned by his superiors not to share any information with his aunt whose prowess is known to all. But Edie is not that easy to control ...

This is a very enigmatic read - I was never quite sure what was going to happen next. I did, however, love the characters and would be delighted if they appeared again. I lost track of the story from time to time but that probably more down to me than the book. If you enjoy a mystery, the author has set other little puzzles to enjoy along the way. For me, this is a four star read.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

Edie is a curmudgeonly old soul who is not fond of most things or people. She sets cryptic crossword puzzles and knows she is more intelligent than most people. When someone sets her a puzzle she has to solve it before too many people get killed. Definitely worth a read.

A good festive read with a bit of murder added in. I liked how occasionally you would get chapters from the killer, without giving anything away. Edie is the main character who is an avid puzzler who also creates them as her job, she gets sent some puzzle pieces and has to solve the puzzle or more people will die. I loved the character progression, and she is the type of character you aren't meant to overly like, you find her a bit stuck in her ways and rude, but the book shows you why she is like this and also allows her character to develop throughout the story.
It was a bit slow paced at times for me, and I think I prefer previous Christmas books from Alexandra Benedict, but I would still read more and I did enjoy this one, just not as much.

Alexandra Benedict is an author I always feel challenged by,her story and her puzzles. This story is a bit darker than the last book, however I thoroughly enjoyed it and the old lady. I couldnt solve the puzzle but had fun trying lol!!! Definitely worth a read

My second Benedict and I can honestly say what a vast improvement between her first and this one. Benedict has really honed her craft and utilised her skill with puzzles and jigsaws in a really impressive and compulsive way.
Great mystery, interesting set of characters and a satisfying conclusion. Exciting to see her develop even more as an author.

Alexandra Benedict is a sort of Christmas tradition and I always feel challenged by her story and her puzzles.
This story is a bit darker than the other but I thoroughly enjoyed it and the old lady.
Didn't solved the puzzled but had fun
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I requested a copy of this after absolutely loving The Christmas Murder Game by this author. Although completely different in plot, tone and characters, this didn’t disappoint, and I was instantly drawn into the life of Edie, a confident and sarcastic eighty-year-old woman who seems to dislike most people. There were lots of vibrant characters to suspect, along with the inclusion of puzzles to solve which complemented the main plot.

Did I manage to solve any puzzles or guess who the murderer was? No. But I thoroughly enjoyed trying to and that’s the main thing.

If you love cosy Christmas crime, cantankerous old people and can do a cryptic crossword without crying* then you’ll love The Christmas Jigsaw Murders.

*puzzling skills optional 😅

Never one to be put off, I do like to give authors a second chance. This third novel from Alexandra Benedict was certainly better than the second. I haven't read the first, so cannot possibly comment. This book appealed to me, as I do like a jigsaw.

So when Edie gets delivered a box of jigsaw pieces, that when put together resemble a crime scene and with a note saying, there will be four or more people dead by Christmas Eve, she sets out to try and solve the mystery.

Calling in help from her nephew, who happens to be a police inspector, they set out to solve the mystery. When more bodies turn up, each with jigsaw pieces, it seems that perhaps Edie is the intended victim. However Edie has all the pieces and she can put together the right picture so the culprit is found.

These books are intriguing as there are many other clues and references to be found in the book. Although I didn't really pay any attention to that as they are not necessary for the story. Just a bit of Christmas fun, which is what these stories are and I whilst I enjoyed this book more than the previous, I would be reluctant to perhaps pick up one again.

Alexandra Benedict has built a reputation on her Christmas murder mystery books, with three interactive mysteries released in as many years. After enjoying The Christmas Murder Game, this year’s Christmas Jigsaw Murders felt like the perfect festive whodunnit.

The story itself is intriguing - Edie, a 80-something crossword writer becomes embroiled in a murder investigation when the killer sends her jigsaw pieces, warning her people will die by Christmas if she doesn’t solve the case. Edie is a great character, she is brusque, says what she thinks and doesn’t care what anyone else thinks. When his parents died tragically, Edie took in her nephew, Sean, who has grown up to become a Detective Inspector. However, Edie also has a secret, and evidently a hidden past which we don’t know about.Between them, Edie and Sean both must investigate to find out exactly who is behind the jigsaw murders. Why has Edie been sent the jigsaw pieces? But of course, Edie is not officially allowed to investigate, but when she recieves further pieces, they come with a warning not to involve the police. So of course Edie must investigate in tandem with Sean.

As the book progresses and more, seemingly disconnected murders occur, it becomes a race for Edie to solve the puzzle before Christmas.

The plot for this one is slightly contrived, and there are certainly a few moments which stretch plausibility. If you are looking for a fair whodunnit where you can solve the clues, this book is maybe a little bit tricksy. However, in this book, it felt like the plot was less important than the characters themselves and the part they had to play in the unfolding drama. Benedict has built a compelling cast of characters, from our tempramental and sarcastic protagonist Edie to her lovable neighbor Riga and even Sean and his supporting officers. The relationships between Sean and Edie, and Edie and Riga are sweet, funny and heartwarming. It’s incredibly refreshing to read a book that centres not only one elderly woman as the protagonist, but two and shows such a wonderful friendship.

One major aspect of Benedict’s novels is that she embeds puzzles throughout. This time we had three: hiddens Dickens anagrams, Fleetwood Mac song references and a letter ‘jigsaw’ at the start of each chapter. Alongside this there were plenty of Dickens easter eggs (or should that be Christmas presents?) to spot. These aspects are a puzzle lover’s dream and I’ll admit, I spent more time solving the anagrams than I did trying to solve the actual murders! If you aren’t a fan of these puzzles, the are probably easily ignored, they just add a fun extra dimension to the book.

The Christmas Jigsaw Murders is a fun, festive cracker of a book. It might not be the most cohesive and well plotted mystery, but it’s full of Christmas spirit, If you love a bit of crime at Christmas Benedict’s books make for great festive reading.

I enjoyed this book and had to keep reading to find out who the murderer was and it had a very good ending.