The Jigsaw Man

A Novel

By: Nadine Matheson

Narrated by: Davine Henry

Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

"A heart-pounding roller coaster ride." (Tami Hoag, number one New York Times best-selling author of The Boy)

*A Crime Reads Most Anticipated Book of 2021*

A serial killer and his copycat are locked in a violent game of cat and mouse. Can DI Anjelica Henley stop them before it’s too late?

On the day she returns to active duty with the Serial Crimes Unit, Detective Inspector Anjelica Henley is called to a crime scene. Dismembered body parts from two victims have been found by the river.

The modus operandi bears a striking resemblance to Peter Olivier, the notorious Jigsaw Killer, who has spent the past two years behind bars. When he learns that someone is co-opting his grisly signature - the arrangement of victims’ limbs in puzzle-piece shapes - he decides to take matters into his own hands.

As the body count rises, DI Anjelica Henley is faced with an unspeakable new threat. Can she apprehend the copycat killer before Olivier finds a way to get to him first? Or will she herself become the next victim?

Drawing on her experience as a criminal attorney, debut novelist Nadine Matheson delivers the page-turning crime novel of the year. Taut, vivid and addictively sinister, The Jigsaw Man will leave you breathless until the very last minute.

©2021 Nadine Matheson (P)2021 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited

not bad

it moved well but for the first time ever I have to say that the narrator's deep sighs and breathing was distracting to the point where I would get confused about which character was talking. overall enjoyed the theme/concept. Sure we'll see Olivier in the future.

Narrator drove me nuts

Each character sounded the same and so many inhales. Almost ruined the book for me. No one starts every sentence they speak with an emphasized inhale. Every single character did this.

Good central characters but slow plot

Love the narrator of this as well as the central main police characters. But the plot brought in too many "suspects" with little for me to care about in solving the mystery. Wanted to just skip to the end about 3/4 in. Will skip the 2nd book bc of it's subject matter (don't do cult ritualistic stuff) but hope to catch Henly (in the same voice as here) in future books.

Hard to focus on such a monotonous narration

I'm just getting into this book but I keep losing the plot because of the narrator's unenthusiastic droning.

Slow Narrator and Clichés Ahead

It took two tries to listen to this book. I couldn't put my finger on what it was about the narrator at first, part was the lack of substantial difference in the characterizations but ultimately I realized it was her cadence. On my second attempt at listening I set the speed to 1.5 (1.25 would have been perfect but it wasn't an option) and found I could follow much better. As a story, it wasn't terrible but there were some frustrating clichés used, for example, one character "Let out a breath they didn't know they were holding". Seriously authors, STOP WRITING THIS. I found the killer(s) interesting, but ultimately didn't quite understand the motives of the initial killer - he seemed like a prop for the main storyline, which I'm very interested in hearing about, but it took too long to develop.

I was also a bit frustrated at the lack of care these detectives seem to take in their case. They go into danger alone, every time possible and in the end of the book, nearly the entire squad is injured in one way or another. It seemed very unrealistic and a bit exasperating. Ultimately, it wasn't a terrible read, and I'll visit this author's characters again if we can find a better narrator.

Very enjoyable

This was an enjoyable serial killer thriller. Fast paced and a hell of a debut. It had the perfect amount of gore, as well as suspense that kept me sucked in from start to finish. Although, I wasn't the biggest fan of the main character, I was intrigued to see what would happen next with her. Looking forward to the next one in this series.

Good reader, almost worth it

The reading was great and kept me going until nearly the end. The story was more of a Hollywood movie script. Hannibal Lecter style. I did like the character development, though the characters did not seem much like detectives, more like office workers. But like real people, which was nice.

Pretty good

An entertaining listen. It was hard to follow at times but I think that was due to the narrators soothing voice more than anything. I found myself tuning out at times but I’m not sure if that was because I was so relaxed or if the writing was just missing something. I enjoyed the plot although it was hard to keep track of all the characters at times. I haven’t checked yet but I am hoping for a sequel. I think this would do well as a series.

The character development

LOVED this book!!!!! I’m dying to see if a sequel will be made- the ending was so so suspenseful, excellent listen :)

Fantastic Detective story!

Normally, I listen to audible when driving, long commute, but with this novel I could not stop listening once the car stopped!
I had to know what was next and just couldn't stop!
Angelica Henley is a very, very good female character and I already can see Cush Jumbo playing her in a Neflix adaptation of this novel!
I cannot wait for the next Inspector Angelica Henley novel!