The Christmas Jigsaw Murders by Alexandra Benedict


The Christmas Jigsaw Murders

 by Alexandra Benedict 


The Christmas Jigsaw Murders by Alexandra Benedict
  was published on 24th October 2024 by Simon & Schuster.
 My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me copy to review and to 
Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour.







On 1st of December, renowned puzzle setter, loner and Christmas sceptic Edie O’Sullivan finds a hand-delivered present on her doorstep. Unwrapping it, she finds a jigsaw box and, inside, six jigsaw pieces. When fitted together, the pieces show part of a crime scene – blood-spattered black and white tiles and part of an outlined body. Included in the parcel is a message: ‘Four, maybe more, people will be dead by midnight on Christmas Eve, unless you can put all the pieces together and stop me.’ It’s signed, Rest In Pieces. Edie contacts her nephew, DI Sean Brand-O’Sullivan, and together they work to solve the clues. But when a man is found near death with a jigsaw piece in his hand, Sean fears that Edie might be in danger and shuts her out of the investigation. As the body count rises, however, Edie knows that only she has the knowledge to put together the killer’s murderous puzzle. Only by fitting all the pieces together will Edie be able to stop a killer – and finally lay her past to rest.







My Thoughts



What a brilliant idea for a book. Not just having a story to keep me occupied, especially as I was trying to solve the murders, whilst also wondering who was going to be next, but also lots of puzzles to try and solve, find, at the same time. 

I spent so much time looking for anagrams of Charles Dickens novels and Fleetwood Mac songs I sometimes forgot to actually read the story. To top it off there are even a couple of recipes at the end of the book.

Edie is a great character who changes as the mystery progresses through reflections on her past and what she could have done differently. She is determined to get to the bottom of the murders and find out who is responsible and why. She has her stalwarts to help her on the way and I’m sure you will find similarities with a certain Dickens novel.

This is definitely a book that you will want in your Christmas stocking to keep you occupied in a variety of ways over the festive period and it will also make a great gift.

Absolutely loved it and hope that Alexandra will write another one for next year.



About Alexandra




Alexandra (AK) Benedict is a best-selling, award-winning writer of short stories, novels and scripts. Educated at Cambridge, Sussex, and Clown School, Alexandra has been a indie-rock singer, an actor, RLF Fellow, and a composer for film and TV as well as teaching and running the prestigious MA in Crime Thrillers at City University. She is now a full-time writer and creative coach. As AK Benedict, she writes acclaimed short stories, high-concept novels and award-winning audio drama for Big Finish, Audible UK, Audible US and BBC Sounds. Her previous Christmas mysteries, The Christmas Murder Game and Murder on the Christmas Express, were both bestsellers. Alexandra lives on the south coast of England with writer, Guy Adams, their daughter, Verity, and dog, Dame Margaret Rutherford




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