I've loved the last two Christmas books that Alexandra Benedict wrote and this one is no different. I was hooked from the first chapter. Absolutely recommend if you love a good Christmas mystery

I love puzzles….i love mysteries…I love Christmas - so what could be better? I really enjoyed The Christmas Jigsaw Murders. The main character Edie was complex and fun. Her relationship with Sean was great. Alexandra Benedict did a great job building characters and suspense. She threw in some red herrings that kept you guessing until the end. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy. For a good, fast paced mystery, I highly recommend The Christmas JigsawMurders.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

I wanted to like this more than I did, and mostly it was because of the main character. Unlikeable characters aren't uncommon in mysteries, but this one just didn't make me care if she solved the murder.

Edie O'Sullivan is an eighty year old crossword setter. One December evening, a mysterious package is left on her doorstep. It contains a few jigsaw pieces and. A note telling her that unless she can solve the puzzle to stop it, four people will be dead by Christmas Eve.

As someone who lives Christmas and puzzles, this book sounded perfect for me. Unfortunately, Edie doesn't like Christmas. In fact, she doesn't seem to like a lot of things, except for the few people she has in her life.

From the beginning, I found Edie to be unlikeable. She spends a lot of time remembering her past and dwelling on the ways she has pushed people away over the years. This backstory is useful and does help the story along, but it did make it hard for me to feel connected to Edie. I kept reading however, curious to see how the mystery would unfold and how Edie's character would develop. I'm glad I did. While I never really got to love Edie, she was beginning to grow on me towards the end. I enjoyed a lot of the other characters, and found the story gripping and easy to read.

There are sections written from the killer's perspective, which I found quite an interesting idea, although possibly the writing of these sections suffered a little from trying not to give anything away about their identity.

Overall, I would have preferred reading about a main character who enjoys Christmas at this time of year, but I still enjoyed the book on the whole. I would happily read another book by this author.

With thanks to NetGalley for a review copy.

We saw this one in Waterstones on a trip to London and immediately added it to our "to buy" list once we were back Stateside... so I was shocked to see I was approved for the eARC!!

I'll admit, I wasn't keen on the FMC at first. I'm in my 30s, she's in her 80s, and I didn't find her all that relatable. But once I got more into the story, and Edie's cantankerous personality started to shine through, I realized how relatable she really, really is. She's definitely a Scrooge, but for good (and heartbreaking) reasons.

Alexandra Benedict crafted a fun mystery set during the holiday season. Some of the twists and turns I expected, others caught me off-guard. The LGBTQ+ representation was wonderful, especially Edie and Sky's story (as sad as it was). There were some surprisingly dark themes throughout, including fertility struggles (and other spoilers) which kept this from feeling too much like a fluffy holiday story.

It wasn't perfect, but it was a great quick read (started and finished in one day) for the holiday season!

This Christmas-themed mystery was such a delight! I absolutely loved the older protagonist—so much personality and wit. She was complex, flawed, and incredibly likable, which made the story even more engaging.

I went into this expecting a light, surface-level read, but wow, was I wrong! For a story centered around puzzles, it took a surprisingly dark and mature turn, and the ending? Absolutely fantastic.

My only regret was not pairing it with a jigsaw puzzle—talk about missed opportunities! Overall, such an enjoyable read that’s perfect for the holiday season.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I thought this was a great holiday mystery! I had a list of suspects and not one of them was the murderer.
It was a great story with a happy ending. I really enjoyed it!

**3.5-stars rounded up**

In The Christmas Jigsaw Murders we follow octogenarian crossword puzzle setter, Edie O'Sullivan, who on December 1st finds a hand-delivered Christmas gift on her doorstep. Upon opening it, Edie is intrigued: a jigsaw box containing 6-puzzle pieces. Once she's pieced them together they reveal a portion of a crime scene, with blood splattered across black and white tiles and the outline of body.

How odd. What could this mean?

The Sender knew Edie might need a little help, so included the following message: ‘Four, maybe more, people will be dead by midnight on Christmas Eve, unless you can put all the pieces together and stop me.’ Signed, Rest In Pieces. Edie's great-nephew, Sean, who she raised as her son after his parents were tragically killed, happens to be a Detective. She contacts him about her special gift and they intend to work together to figure it out.

Shortly thereafter, a local man is found close to death with a puzzle piece gripped in his hand. This pushes Sean over the edge. Edie could be in real danger and he expects her to shut down her little investigation into Rest in Pieces right away. Octogenarians aren't so easily controlled, however. Anyone with elderly parents knows that...

As bodies continue to drop, Edie realizes she is this key to this all. Only her knowledge can solve it. Going against Sean's wishes, Edie digs in deeper with the hopes of uncovering the identity of Rest in Pieces before anyone else can be killed.

I really enjoyed this detailed Adult Mystery. It's probably my 2nd-fave out of the 3-books that I have read thus far from this author. I liked the incorporation of the jigsaw puzzle pieces as clues left by the murderer. I also grew quite attached to Edie. She's a bit of a curmudgeon, which I can get behind, and has quite the Scrooge character arc within this story. While this wasn't as Christmas-focused as I was expecting, it was still just enough to get my spirits up as we soar into the holiday season.

I do want to mention that I feel like some Readers may expect this to be a Cozy Mystery, maybe due to the inclusion of Christmas in the title, or just the basic synopsis, but it's really not. This is a straight Adult Mystery with some heavier topics explored throughout. I feel like a couple of Benedict's earlier books could have fallen victim to this quandary. Readers going in expecting one thing, getting another and not being happy about it. That's the only reason why I am mentioning that.

I enjoy Benedict's mysteries. They intrigue me and I enjoy that the MCs are often dealing with some pretty significant real life things in addition to the mystery elements. While her characters may be hard for some to understand, or get behind, I always end up rooting for them. Edie is someone I would want to be close to in real life. She's a grump and so am I. I find that endearing. I can relate.

I'm hoping Benedict has a few more Christmas Mysteries in store for us. I would definitely be picking them up. Thank you to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press and Dreamscape Media, for providing me with copies to read and review. The audiobook was fantastically narrated and I absolutely recommend that format for this one!

It appears I always have a hard time starting books in this series, and like the first one, I needed a few tries to get started. sadly, the plot didn't reel me in, and the writing style felt a bit "clunky". However, you have got to give it to the publisher for the sleek marketing visuals. I mean the cover is gorgeous and exciting. It really got my hopes up, maybe a bit too high, which led to a bigger disappointment than anticipated.

this was….confusing? the characters and what drives them is unclear and underdeveloped. did enjoy the extra puzzles sprinkled in though

Thank you so much to netgalley and Poised Pen for this ebook. While the premise sounded good, this book was not great. I felt no connections towards any of the characters and no one was likable. The closer it got to the end, I didn’t care who the killer was. I think there were some good themes in this book however there were too many parts to it. There were a ton of characters and I think some of it went over my head. Unfortunately this book was not for me.

🎄🧩 THE CHRISTMAS JIGSAW MURDERS by Alexandra Benedict 🧩🎄
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Length: 288 pages
Pub. Date: Oct. 8, 2024
My Rating: 🧩🧩🧩🧩🧩!

Thank you to Net Galley and Poisoned Pen Press for the e-ARC of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own.

Synopsis:
Edie O'Sullivan is an 80-year puzzle creator/cat-loving self-proclaimed hater of all things Christmas. One day in mid-December, she receives an envelope through the mail slot that included several puzzle pieces with a personalized note from the anonymous, 'Rest In Pieces.' The message said that there would be 4 murders by Christmas Eve and only Edie had the knowledge to solve or stop them. Edie clues in her great-nephew (adopted son), Sean, a local Detective Inspector, to help her solve the case. Unfortunately, there is a secret in Edie's past that she is unwilling to reveal that is vital to the puzzle's solution...

Opinion:
This was a very pleasant surprise! It incorporated a very puzzling (no pun intended) mystery with an intriguing cast of characters/possible suspects. I absolutely loved Edie as the octagenarian and Scrooge-like main character. She had so many layers to her and seeing the mystery unfolds with her keen intellect was very engaging. It was nice see the author represent an older person as extremely astute and able, which I think people do not always do. I loved how it also showed that we are never too young to atone for our past mistakes and grow as a person. Another awesome part of this book was that the author provided 3 fun puzzling games before the story that the reader could solve separately from the story as you read! Great idea and I love puzzles, so I enjoyed that challenge as well as solving the murder mystery. GREAT book!

Here is the third Christmas themed story by Ms. Benedict. The last book that I read by her, Murder on the Christmas Express, was complex and twisty. Ms. Benedict is at it again here.

This time, readers spend time with Edie. She likes puzzles and often writes her own. However, the latest puzzle to arrive (anonymously) on her doorstep is a bit different. It is a jigsaw and it depicts a crime. Edie is taunted to solve the case in order to prevent additional deaths. It is a fiendish task and one for which the capable Edie will enlist the help of her nephew, Sean, a DI.

What will happen as they try to solve this case? How many will die? Readers will surely want to know. Along the way, readers will enjoy spending time with 80 year old Edie (fun to see an older protagonist) and her cat. They will also find that their puzzle solving skills are tested.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

“Cats, puzzles and tea. Edie’s triumvirate of solace.”

This was a fun holiday mystery! It was like glimpsing my future, an 80 year old lady obsessed with puzzles and cats. Edie and Riga had the funniest relationship and I laughed out loud so many times. This mystery has many layers to it and is a race against the clock. If you love solving puzzles, this is an especially fun one.

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the gifted copy.

I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by this story and I couldn’t put this book down. I loved the puzzles that were secretly scattered throughout the book and the story itself was very intriguing. A perfect murder mystery to read during Christmas time!

The Christmas Jigsaw Murders was a fun read, but the writing style wasn’t my favorite.

It reminded me a little of Vera Wongs Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (but not as good! The characters there were amazing. This fell short)

An older woman sets off to solve 4 murders before they happen. None of the characters were super likeable so it wasn’t as endearing as it could have been.

The ending was pretty anticlimactic, and I hate when the twist is a character we’ve rarely met. Seems unfair for the reader.

Fun seasonal mystery read!

I enjoyed the mystery itself. However, the highlight for me was the protagonist herself Edie. Edie is an 80 year old queer woman who creates word puzzles for a living. She is grumpy, outspoken and hates Christmas and I loved her. If Benedict decided to write a series of Edie books, I would be one of the first people picking up those books.

The built-in word puzzles aren't really of interest to me so I decided to ignore them and focus on the mystery and it was delightful. Just what i had been hoping.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Poisoned Pen Press for this advanced ready copy. Please know that the words and opinions in this review are my own.

There are only a few things Edie loves in life. That is her nephew, her cats, and solving puzzles. If you didn’t know, Edie is a loner, but that hasn’t stopped her from being a renowned puzzler. Edie is thrust into a murder mystery before the holidays when someone leaves a jigsaw box on her front porch. Inside the box, she finds six jigsaw pieces that, when put together, ensembles into a crime scene. The killer “Rest in Pieces” is someone from Edie’s past. They are holding a grudge and will not stop until Edie has answered for her mistakes. To get Edie’s attention, the killer is leaving her jigsaw pieces of the puzzle that will uncover the next murder victim on the killer’s list. Will Edie be able to solve the murder mystery before the killer claims another victim?

The Christmas Jigsaw Murders was filled with personality and wit. I loved the characters' banter and their loving relationship with and for each other. This book put me in the holiday spirit, especially the hidden puzzles throughout based on the author’s love for Fleetwood Mac songs and the anagram characters at the beginning of each chapter.

I will say this book was entertaining and thrilling. I enjoyed the characters because even though they were not at times likable, they were relatable. Edie got on my nerves! She hid clues and withheld information that would have helped her nephew solve the crime. She was a know-it-all and didn’t take the advice from the people surrounding her. But I will tell you that I understood Edie. The book combines a murder mystery and an emotional rollercoaster of Edie’s past. Edie’s past was something she never confronted or addressed. It happened, and she moved on. Her entire family died on Christmas, and Edie was left to raise her nephew even when she pledged herself to never wanting kids. She shied away from letting people get too close to her, which ultimately made her realize her path in life if she continued this way. The author did a great job of keeping the reader in suspense. I couldn’t solve the murder mystery even with the author’s clues. I had my suspicions. They were excellent ones but did not come close to what truly unfolded.

If you are a natural puzzle solver and are interested in a story with lots of twists and turns mixed with characters with so much personality and sass, this is the book for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an early release copy of The Christmas Jigsaw Murders by Alexandra Benedict.

The Christmas Jigsaw Murders ended up not being a good read for me at least. Some things I did like about it though are the lgbt relationships, this was a pleasant surprise for me (I didn’t know there were going to be queer relationships in here) while I didn’t particularly like the main relationship I enjoyed Liam and Sean. The addition of the mysterious killer perspective was interesting to read from, I enjoyed those chapters and I liked to see how they were leading up to certain moments. The ending of the book is nice and sweet, it was a good way to wrap things up.

It was hard for me to get invested into the mystery, I thought about quitting the book a few times but there was always something going on towards the end of the chapter that made me want to continue. I have mixed feelings about Edie, I didn’t like the way she kept thinking about crosswords and anagrams. I found it to be confusing and a bit annoying at times. I skipped over a lot of her jumbo about anagrams. The puzzles and clues seem jumbled at times, I didn’t understand how, or why things were coming together. It was just confusing at times. Overall the writing is decent, the characters feel well written, the mystery elements were a little disappointing/confusing, and the ending was sweet.