I have to admit that this book did get to me many times while I was trying to finish reading this story. It doesn’t hold back on any murders, and I couldn’t stand how detailed some of the deaths were.
The story follows a woman named Henley, a detective who is determined to catch a copycat killer who is mimicking a serial killer she put away a long time ago in prison named Olivier.
I was quite surprised that I was thrown straight into the story of Henley’s story with Olivier. I honestly thought that I had accidentally purchased the sequel to this book, but it turns out, this is actually the first book.
The author pretty much wants her audience to already be familiar with Henley’s past and character, and I thought this was a pretty smart direction to take the novel in!
The direction the story takes Henley and her team is unpredictable and exciting, it was a great horror/crime adventure, but damn…was it gory.
Henley is determined to catch a copycat killer.
The main character and her team both realize that a monster they once put away now has a copycat killer who is committing horrible murders like Olivier once did.
The victims were part of a jury that put away Olivier for life, and each of them begin to get picked off one by one.
I couldn’t stand this aspect of the book, because even though I love gore, I couldn’t believe how violent the kills were portrayed. It felt too real, and you will actually feel so bad for the victims.
The copycat killer would literally paralyze his victims, and they wouldn’t feel any pain, as he made them watch getting their own limbs sliced off.
This messed with my head so bad.
I can’t imagine that. Bleeding out…without feeling any pain as your limbs would be detached from your body. That sounds like a literal nightmare that you pray you will wake up from….it’s the worst kind of torture.
Olivier eventually learns about this copycat killer, and he devises a plan to break out of the prison to hunt this killer down.
Olivier breaks out of prison and now Henley has to deal with two serial killers.
I gotta admit that Olivier’s plan was pretty damn smart. He pretends to fall in love with a police officer, and he uses her to help him break out of prison.
What’s crazy is that she still loved him, even when he takes out one of her eyes with a fork. Love…comes in many shapes and forms, I guess.
Henley and her team are pulled into a horrific murder pattern game of sorts. The copycat killer would murder, and then Olivier would murder. And it didn’t help that the murders were getting ten times worse as the book progressed.
At this point of the novel, both killers were in a weird competition with each other. It came off so childish…if you can even call it that.
I kept reading more of the story, hoping that the two killers would face justice. This moment happened much differently than I anticipated.
The killers run into each other.
I did like the twist reveal of who the copycat killer was. It turned out to be one of the jurors who was responsible for putting Olivier away. A man named Dominic Pine was angry at the people who found him guilty.
As a sick sort of revenge and obsession, he begins to murder the jurors. He eventually runs into Olivier, and I couldn’t believe how stupid Pine actually was.
He reveals to Olivier that he is obsessed with him, and is disappointed that Olivier didn’t appreciate his work. Like dude, what were you expecting?
It’s a serial killer! Not a football player that you’re a huge fan of.
Dumbass.
I almost laughed in this scene, because Dominic didn’t seem that thrilled with Olivier’s reaction to this new killer. Dominic pretty much threatens to do better than him, and he gets the worst karma ever.
Even though I was hoping he would get sent to prison, his ending is pretty crazy. Olivier kills him the same way that Dominic murdered all his victims. He was even scared in his final moments.
Now that is true justice right there.
Unfortunately, Henley is stuck with dealing with Olivier for the final showdown.
Henley and Olivier both fight in a bloody battle royale.
I was so scared in this scene, because Olivier is a terrifying monster.
Henley literally gets into an actual fight with him, and puts him in his place. She smacks him with her police baton, and even sticks a broken wine glass in his face.
That part freaked me out, and it was awesome to see that Olivier finally underestimated an opponent. And he got really pissed off.
That’s what you get, you bastard!
Olivier then is pushed into the water from a high height, ending the fight between Henley and the serial killer. She saved two of her colleagues, but she didn’t exactly feel like a hero.
The novel ends in a bittersweet/sad way for Henley’s character.
After defeating such a horrible evil, the book ends with Henley calling her husband, to let him know that she was going to need therapy.
The trauma of what she went through with him in the past and present finally caught up with her, and she decides that she needs to take care of herself.
I was happy that Henley was finally going to consider treatment, she suffered through so much during the entire novel. Getting exposed to that much violence would make anyway go crazy…shit.
Now as much as I loved this book, I have to mention one con for those who are interested in checking out this story.
The only con in The Jigsaw Man: The stupid love triangle between Henley, her husband, and a colleague of hers.
I couldn’t stand this aspect of the book. In my opinion, it should never have been included. The characters were already so human and interesting, we didn’t need a love triangle to put thrown into the book.
I got so irritated whenever Henley kept cheating on her husband with her colleague. Her husband was a good man, and they even had a sweet kid together.
But she wanted to keep on cheating with some asshole…for some reason.
I struggled to even root for Henley’s character when it came to this part of the book. It was even worse that her husband knew about the affair, and he was so broken when he found out.
I found myself rooting for the husband when he decided to leave temporarily with their kid, to give their marriage some space, and also for their safety, because of you know…the serial killer.
Henley will piss you off in every single part of these scenes. I only felt bad for her husband and her kid. They were the real victims.
But oh wait, we gotta feel bad for Henley, because of the serial killer.
Whatever.
Sorry for getting super critical here, I just can’t stand some love triangles in books sometimes. I don’t even like including them in my own stories.
Love. Triangles. Are. So. Annoying.
So yeah, The Jigsaw Man is a great book, (without the stupid love triangle), and the kills are tough to get through. I wouldn’t recommend this book for everyone, because the murders are sick, but the story is fantastic.
The characters are so well done, you will love the majority of these characters, like Henley’s partner named Ramouter. That dude was freaking awesome!
I can’t wait to check out the sequel! I will be sure to write a review on that book next!
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