Blurb:

There’s a serial killer on the loose.

When bodies start washing up along the banks of the River Thames, DI Henley fears it is the work of Peter Olivier, the notorious Jigsaw Killer. But it can’t be him; Olivier is already behind bars, and Henley was the one who put him there.

The race is on before more bodies are found.

She’d hoped she’d never have to see his face again, but Henley knows Olivier might be the best chance they have at stopping the copycat killer. But when Olivier learns of the new murders, helping Henley is the last thing on his mind . . .

Will it take a killer to catch the killer?

Now all bets are off, and the race is on to catch the killer before the body count rises. But who will get there first – Henley, or the Jigsaw Killer?

Review:

I first heard about this book when Nadine Matheson spoke at an online festival in the summer and I’ve been keen to read it ever since. Matheson’s voice is a fresh one in the crime writing world and her writing is incredibly polished for a debut novel.

In the letter to readers at the beginning of my copy of the book Matheson writes that she wanted to write about someone like her. She has succeeded in doing this: DI Anjelica Henley is black and grew up very near to where Matheson herself grew up, but I feel The Jigsaw Man does much more to address these inequalities as she explores issues such as racism, sexism and interracial relationships, not just through the detectives, but through the victims and suspects and this gives a much more realistic view of the community about which she writes.

It is also very rare that an author allows us to get so up close and personal with a killer like Olivier and The Jigsaw Man is all the better for the fact that we are invited to look inside Olivier’s mind as Henley (and we) try to work out what makes him tick. He’s a brilliantly written character and I had chills down my spine during all the scenes where he appeared.

The Jigsaw Man is cleverly written with quite a complex plot and I loved trying to see how all the pieces would fit together (no pun intended). As the novel reached its conclusion, it became very tense and I was desperate to find out if the killer would be caught.

I do hope this is the beginning of the series, as I really liked the characters in the novel. They all have interesting stories and I would love to be able to find out about them in more detail.

The Jigsaw Man is available from Amazon.