The Christmas Jigsaw Murders; deliciously dark cosy crime

What a Christmas cracker of a crime novel this is! It’s cosy crime with a dark edge. I love it! I really hope this is the first book in a quirky and brilliant crime series…

The Christmas Jigsaw Murders is the new, festive novel by bestselling writer Alexandra (AK) Benedict. It is the story of eighty-year-old Edie O’Sullivan, a notorious bah humbug when it comes to Christmas. Edie’s severe dislike for the festive season is not the only thing she is known for as Edie is a renowned puzzle setter, developing cross words for newspapers and magazines. She is also a lover of anagrams and jigsaws.

I’m sure you can imagine how Edie’s puzzler curiosity is piqued when, just a few days before Christmas Day, she mysteriously receives jigsaw pieces on her doorstep showcasing part of a bloody crime scene. Included with the jigsaw pieces is a cryptic message directly addressed to Edie:

You are known for your cross words, but can you set your sights on a murderer? Four, maybe more, will be dead before midnight on Christmas Eve, unless you can put all the pieces together and stop me. Make sure you do it properly, you never were a good cheater. Yours, Rest In Pieces

Alarmed but excited, Edie contacts her closest relative, her great nephew Sean who is also a detective in the local police force. However she holds one jigsaw piece from Sean as the image it reveals is too personal to them both. And then a local teacher is found almost dead with a jigsaw piece in his hand. Even though Sean repeatedly tells Edie to stay away as she is interfering with the investigation, Edie cannot stop sleuthing.

As the body count rises, Edie is sent more jigsaw pieces by the mysterious Rest In Pieces. With more of the cryptic clues being sent directly to her, Edie realises with a dreaded certainty that she is personally connected to the horrible murder frenzy. She also realises that she is the only one who can solve the killer’s murderous puzzle. But to do so, she will have to confront her own ghosts of Christmas past.

I love this quirky festive thriller; is so unique, emotive and twisty. I also love that Alexandra Benedict planted puzzles and games for her readers to solve while they were reading her novel. Although I am dire at solving anagrams, I really enjoyed this game aspect, feeling it gave my reading experience an extra fun dimension.

Thank you to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to the blog tour of The Christmas Jigsaw Murders. At times a bit of a bah humbug myself, this is a novel that has helped me to get into the festive spirit, even though it’s all about murder! Thank you also to Laurie McShea from Simon & Schuster for my advance, gifted copy of this festive crime treat.

The Christmas Jigsaw Murders was published in paperback on 24 October 2024, so is available for you all to read. It will also make a great Christmas gift! 🙂

To follow the blog tour, please see below.