The Christmas Jigsaw Murders is the story of Edie O'Sullivan and the most recent Christmas that will change her life. Edie detests Christmas but loves puzzles and builds jigsaws to relax. On December 19th, she receives a jigsaw that will do anything but. A mysterious package arrives at her door with a small jigsaw puzzle and a note. Edie has to solve the jigsaw puzzles and the clues in them in order to save the lives of four people before Christmas. She reaches out to her son/great-nephew, Sean, a local detective inspector. When someone is attacked that seems to be linked to the puzzle, Edie had to investigate without crossing the police. Will Edie figure out what is going on and why she was targeted in time?

This is an enjoyable cozy murder mystery, while still a little graphic with the murder scenes, that I would recommend to anyone. That being said this is not some great work of fiction but instead a fast, fun read that works as a great pallet cleanser/beach read book. If you want something attached to the holiday season without it being a Christmas themed romance, this might be for you.

The Christmas Jigsaw Murders by Alexandra Benedict
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Edie is a renowned crossword puzzle setter and a grouchy loner. One day she finds an envelope at her door with six jigsaw puzzles pieces and a note. The note says people will die unless Edie is able to complete the puzzle and stop them. It is signed Rest in Pieces.
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What I liked:
-I do love jigsaw puzzles so I liked the puzzle pieces clues.
-I thought the mystery of who was behind “Rest in Pieces” was done well because it definitely hooked me and kept me reading.
-I do love books with curmudgeonly old people.
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3.5⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 I enjoyed this book but didn’t absolutely adore it.

The Christmas Jigsaw Murders had an intriguing premise, but unfortunately, the execution fell flat for me. The book got off to a very slow start, making it hard to engage with the story. While the pace picked up around the midpoint, it was almost too late to salvage the experience. If this hadn’t been an ARC, I probably would have marked it as a DNF.

The female protagonist was one of the biggest issues. It felt like the author was trying to give her a strong arc, transforming her over the course of the book. However, the execution made her almost impossible to relate to—or even like. While she had moments of being a "lovable grump," these were repeatedly undermined by actions or thoughts that made her seem unredeemable. Lovable grumps can be fantastic characters, but they need depth and glimpses of kindness to balance their rough edges. Unfortunately, that depth was missing here, leaving the transformation at the end abrupt and unconvincing. What could have been a heartwarming journey ended up feeling forced.

The mystery itself was underwhelming. I enjoy being challenged by a good twist, but the lack of early clues or subtle foreshadowing made the reveal feel less satisfying. The villain wasn’t hinted at until right before the big reveal, making the twist feel unearned. Red herrings are great when used well, but here they felt overly obvious and left the actual culprit feeling like an afterthought rather than a cleverly concealed threat.

I wanted to love The Christmas Jigsaw Murders. A Christmas mystery is right up my alley, but this one missed the mark. If the pacing, character development, and plotting had been more carefully crafted, this could have been a much more enjoyable read.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3

Thank You Netgalley for this early arc of The Jigsaw Murders. I enjoyed reading this as a fun holiday read. It was really good and I would recommend reading it. I rated this a 4 stars.

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately, this book didn't work for me. I felt like the main character was not very likeable and I just didn't care for the mystery. I also just felt like the characters lacked development and the plot was just boring.

I hope others love it.

Unfortunately, this book was a DNF for me. I decided to give up on this story at 36%, so I did give it an actual chance, but the characters were unlikeable, in my opinion, and the mystery was not compelling.
Edie O’Sullivan designs crosswords for a living and is challenged by a murderer to solve a puzzle herself. She is given clues in the shape of an actual puzzle and with her nephew, who happens to be a police officer, and a neighbour she decides to look into the case.

On paper, this premise should have worked for me, but in reality I had to force myself to read a chapter before I dove into another book again. There are too many great books out there and that is why I decided to quit this one. This book will be the right book for some people, just not for me.

The Christmas Jigsaw Murders by Alexandra Benedict

This is the perfect Christmas read for fans of Agatha Christie and/or Sherlock. It’s got that type of mystery that only a particular person can interpret the information for and solve. It’s also got a hint of Scrooge/A Christmas Carol vibes. It will keep your heart pounding from the thriller elements and warm your heart from the wholesome family vibes. I highly recommend for someone looking for a holiday themed mystery!

TWs: dr*gging, k*dnapping, inf*delity, loss of a loved one, more

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy of Alexandra Benedict's 'The Christmas Jigsaw Murders' in exchange for my review.

I wanted to like this book. I thought the premise was very clever but the unfolding plot was mildly chaotic and the big reveal fell flat. The worst part was the main character. It is incredibly hard to find the motivation to keep picking up a book when the main character is such an awful person. I felt that the author over burdened Edie was so many dark, negative feelings. She was hateful in some conversations and I found myself skimming pages to avoid wallowing in her self-pity and anger.

I wouldn't recommend this book personally.

This was a lovely read. Filled with mystery, twists and turns.
I would recommend this book outside of the Christmas season.

Fabulous! What a great start to reading this author, I will grab more around the holidays! I believe she has other Christmas stories and if they are anything like this one, you’re in for a treat!

This book was agonizingly slow. I was almost tortured trying to get through it. I feel as the though the book could have had the pace quickened and been cut in half and it would have been a thousand times better. There was so much unnecessary detail, so much slow dawdling around before getting to the plot points.

I think a slow thriller is agonizing as it doesn't leave you in the kind of suspense that wants you to push forward needing to know what's coming next but it's okay if the characters are fantastic. Edie is one of the worst book characters and MCs I have ever read. She's so insufferable I found myself not caring if she solved things or not, I only wanted Sean to not have to get hurt because of her. SHe's awful and makes it even harder to get into the slowest paced book I have read in a long time.

Over all this book was not for me. I know others really enjoyed it and I am glad but it was just not my cup of tea (even as a thriller reader)

I really thought i was going to love this one. I feel that there was great potential for this read, but found that it found flat and i found it confusing at times.

In The Christmas Jigsaw Murders, we follow Edie who is in her 80s and passes her days by both creating and solving crosswords and other puzzles. One night during the lead up to Christmas, puzzle pieces arrive at her door, picturing a crime scene that has not yet taken place but seems to be threatening people around her and goading Edie into investigating, no matter if her policeman nephew lets her join the investigation or not! When people start turning up dead and more puzzle pieces appear, Edie feels the pressure build to solve the mystery faster, all while she avoids the police who do not want her joining in with the investigation!
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I doubt many can say that they liked Edie, or many of the other characters in this book, however, despite their at times unpleasant and rude personalities, the characters of this story really did make this book what it was! Edie is a grumpy old woman, and various other characters are depicted in negative lights, which show the realistic side of the stress of Christmas, murder investigations, and the various other personal struggles depicted. I would have appreciated one or two loveable characters, however thats just me wanting someone to kind of cling on to in the story.
I liked that Edie was depicted as a single lesbian (with other sapphic side characters introduced) and her nephew Sean as a married gay man looking to adopt. It was a nice casual inclusion of LGBTQIA+ diversity where it wasnt a main focus (no romantic interest) but still part of the story.
While reading, I had a few ideas of who the murderer was but did not end up solving it before the reveal. I'm not even sure if it was possible for the reader to make any connections before the reveal scene, and I do prefer for there to be some hints.
Overall this was a fun murder mystery read, it wasn't overly Christmasy however had a slight Christmas theme so is good for those who want to read a Christmas book because everyone is reading one, but doesn't want to read a full on festive Christmas book (after all, Edie does not like Christmas)

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press, Alexandra Benedict and Netgalley for gifting me this ARC in exchange for a review 🩷

The Christmas Jigsaw Murders was on my radar after I noticed a friend on Goodreads mark it was 'want to read' and that meant it caught my eye. Then I'm scrolling on NetGalley after finally setting up an account there and I see The Christmas Jigsaw Murders available for review. I applied and was approved, and I was so excited to get started!

I knew therefore it was going to be an early read in December - and I loved that this wasn't going to be a Christmas Spirit building kind of a book. With a title like 'The Christmas Jigsaw Murders' I knew what I was getting into! And it made my heart happy to read a Christmas thriller/ murder mystery!

Our FMC, Edie is unlike most FMC's I read about - no matter the genre... That's because Edie was an 80-year-old who creates crosswords for newspapers... She was not your typical main character. I loved her bah-humbug nature and her strained relationships with her grand-newphew / adopted-son and neighbour. It was so refreshing to read! Not only that but this author had taken the time to learn about the Crossword hobby and that made Edie feel really alive and invested in her hobby (that or is also incredibly good at Crosswords and wanted an excuse to write about them!).

I really enjoyed the mystery behind who Rest In Pieces was - and I absolutely fell for the red herring of the story!! I liked the idea of this serial killer leaving behind clues for someone she was taunting so specifically, it reminded me of a story arc you'd find in CSI or Criminal Minds! I loved that element.

The only downside for me was that some of the chapters were slow. Even though once you reach the ending and you start putting all the pieces together, it still felt as though some parts of the story were hard to get through. Oh, and one more thing! The chapters weren't named with whose POV it was, and some chapters switched part way through - this was slightly confusing!

All in all I really enjoyed the mystery and trying to solve it, and despite the bah-humbug nature of Edie I thought she was great. I am certainly not going to recommend The Christmas Jigsaw Murders if you're looking for a Christmassy book to get you in the spirit, but if you like a thriller / mystery all year round, then why not try one set at Christmas!

Review will go live on my blog on 23/12/2024

The Christmas Jigsaw Murders was a great holiday thriller. This story is based around a spunky 80 year old Edie and her love of Jigsaw and crossword puzzles. A mysterious person begins messaging Edie with clues to a puzzle, promising to complete a trail of murders if she doesn’t solve the clues. We see the character Edie, a jaded, Christmas hater discover things about herself and the world as she takes on the case, proving we all continue to learn and grow no matter how old we get if our heart is open and willing. This book is heart felt, funny, and thrilling. Definitely worthy of Agatha Christie comparison. I would gladly read more stories about Edie in the future.

“𝐀 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐝𝐚𝐲.”

I really enjoyed Alexandra Benedict’s The Christmas Murder Game a year ago. I love a cozy mystery this time of year, and knew I had to read her latest too.

Benedict states at the beginning of the story that Charles Dickens is one of her very favourite writers, so it is no surprise to see this story take on a Christmas Carol vibe with a cantankerous, Scrooge-like character, Edie. Although Edie is closed off and pushes people away through a façade of anger, I found her quite loveable especially when you learn that she built boundaries around her amid a life of chaos; she is especially protective over great-nephew and adopted son, Sean, a DI for the local police force. I liked that Benedict didn’t shy away from showing the good and the frustrating in their relationship; Sean rightfully gets annoyed with Edie but also fiercely admires her tenacity. Although he doesn’t appear much, I also really loved Sean’s husband, Liam, and their side-story of adoption; their solidarity as a couple was refreshing to see, even when things looked a bit awry in spots. The mystery kept me appropriately intrigued, although I didn’t think many of the characters were developed enough to feel a ton of impact when they died, but the ending was definitely satisfying. I also enjoyed the wink to Benedict’s previous novel of three murders on a Scottish sleeper train - it’s always fun when an author’s works take place in the same world!

The Christmas Jigsaw Murders is a story of revenge, mistakes of the past, listening, and letting people in. It’s a fun cozy festive mystery with characters that I wouldn’t mind returning to in the future. Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

I was really excited about the premise of this book. I’ve been a lover of mysteries and solving clues since a child, plus Christmas is my favorite holiday, so I figured this would be a great blend for me. Unfortunately, this story fell flat for me. The dialogue was very dry and other parts were confusing for me to understand, maybe because the story included a lot of British lingo that I’m not knowledgable on? It was also hard to root for Edie since she was written to be so grumpy and Scroogelike with secrets that we only know about. Thank you for allowing me to read this story and I look forward to reading others by Alexandra Benedict to see if I find another story that aligns with my tastes better!

This mystery was a great way to get into the holiday spirit! I enjoyed the writing and found it to be thoughtful, cheeky, and humorous at times. I loved Edie and Sean as characters. The unraveling of the mystery at the end fell a little flat for me, but overall I really enjoyed this book!

Unfortunately, this one was just not for me. I like cozy mysteries that are more lighthearted than this one ended up being. I loved the older main character, I liked the LGBT+ representation, and I liked the premise. But I really didn’t like the on-page gore and being in the POV of the killer. I also didn’t love how negative the life of the main character was. The whole thing just made me sad and uneasy and it just wasn’t my kind of story. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book!

This was a decent fun Christmas based mystery that involves a jigsaw puzzle and a murder to be solved. Our main character was Edie O'Sullivan- a crossword setter who was tasked by an anonymous person to solve a murder that had yet to happen. This book was mysterious, keeping the reader guessing until the last page. I wasn't ready for the twist that is for sure. I'm going to be honest, I didn't love our main character of Edie. I found her to be insufferably rude most of the time, making it hard to root for her. The best character in the book was Sean, her great-nephew who she adopted and lovingly calls her son. I think that they did try to redeem the character of Edie by making Sean so great, but it was almost too little too late. This was entertaining, but it is likely one that will not stick with me forever. Nevertheless, I still have a decent time reading it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.