The Jigsaw Man

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I started off enjoying this, but it really began to wear of me as I continued reading. Much of the material in the book is deeply disturbing and even as someone usually unfazed by crime, I began to worry irrationally about serial killers breaking into my house. Anjelica Henley wordt belast met een wel heel lugubere zaak. In de buurt van de Theems worden verschillende lichaamsdelen aangetroffen, die sterk doen denken aan het werk van Peter Olivier. Echter zit deze seriemoordenaar in de zwaar beveiligde Belmarsh gevangenis en is er dus een copycat aan het werk. Het blijft ook niet bij één aan stukken gehakt lichaam. Al snel volgen er meer doden en de Serial Crime Unit heeft haar handen vol. Zeker als Peter Olivier ontsnapt en opnieuw achter Henley aangaat… This is a dark, gritty and violent serial killer thriller that at times is graphic enough to send chills down your spine and I could not put it down. With every twist and turn of this intricate plot, I was surprised. DI Anjelica Henley is a protagonist that was completely focused on her job and finding justice for the crime victims, but her personal life is very messy. Peter Olivier, the Jigsaw Killer is brilliant and terrifying and I liked that there is a question mark surrounding his demise. All the members of her SCU team are fully fleshed and I am looking forward to reading how Ms. Matheson continues to use them in future investigations.

Although I enjoyed the storyline, I did not find it that original, as while reading I found some scenes, dialogues and situations similar to other books that I have read (“Silence of the Lambs”, “The Alienist”, “Irene”, “13”... just to name a few), or at least that’s the impression I had. I was surprised about the level of information Britton gives on some very well known crimes and so if you are interested in true crime then this is a book for you, I think that it helps if you remember the main cases that he talks about but this isn’t essential as he will give you more than enough detail. I really did enjoy reading it and found it fascinating, but I would have liked Britton to make himself more human and show that he isn’t perfect and did sometimes get it wrong, and perhaps what he learnt from that. His failure to do that makes me question the book and how true to life it really is, especially when, for example, he states that he believed that The West’s had eaten some of their victims due to marks on the bones, I have not been able to find anything else to substantiate this and even though I know that it would be impossible for it to be proven given the death of Fred West and the silence of Rose, it is something that I would expect to be discussed somewhere if there had been any evidence of that. In her gruesome debut The Jigsaw Man, Nadine Matheson has readers chasing down a horrific serial killer through the streets of London. Inspector Anjelica Henley is pulled from her desk assignment to the field when dismembered body parts from multiple victims start showing up near the river. Immediately, Henley connects the specific method of dismemberment to a previous case, Peter Oliver, the Jigsaw Killer. Thank you so much to Hanover Square Press, HarperCollins, and Nadine Matheson for this ARC that comes out on March 16th. Naast onze 2 hoofdpersonen leren we ook de leden van de SCU wat kennen en duiken er verschillende verdachten op. Daarnaast hebben we ook een goed beeld geschetst gekregen van Peter Olivier, de originele Puzzelman en over zijn handelswijze. Hij is zeer geslepen en kan zeer goed mensen naar zijn hand zetten. Mede door dit sterke personage, werd het verhaal in mijn ogen een succes. It was a good but frustrating read. I’d still read more books by Paul Britton but I’d definitely take what he says with more of a pinch of salt than I did when I started reading this one.

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Paul Britton tells stories about cases in which he was involved, including the case of Fred & Rosemary West who tortured and killed 12 people (2 were their own children).

What he searches for at the crime scene are not frinerprints, fibres or bloodstains - he looks for the 'mind trace' left behind by those responsible: the psychological characteristics that can help the police to identify and understand the nature of the perpetrator. Alongside the central police procedural plot, we also follow Henley and, to a lesser extent, Ramouter's personal lives. Both are dealing with significant additional pressures based around their marriages and family situations, and are well-developed into flawed, yet sympathetic and three-dimensional characters. The supporting cast of fellow SCU detectives, civilian staff and forensic specialists provide additional sub-plots, character relationships and create an enthralling fly-on-the-wall experience as the details of the gruesome crimes are elucidated.His appearance before the British Psychological Society stems from a complaint about Colin Stagg's treatment. It is understood that it has taken so long for the society to put the allegations before Britton because of the possibility that civil action would be taken against the psychologist. As well as his psychological profiles, Britton talks about his personal experience with working with the police, and how his personal life was affected. He also mentions his NHS career in psychology.