If you love a good mystery with clues a-plenty and complex layers, you'll love The Christmas Jigsaw Murders, by Alexandra Benedict.

Edie O'Sullivan is a professional puzzler, creating crosswords for a job. It's a wonderful passion, until she gets a morbid note in the mail about four murders that would take place before Christmas, and a packet with a few jigsaw pieces. She calls upon her great-nephew (whom she raised when his immediate family died), who is an inspector, to help her once bodies start dropping. There seems to be a connection to him, too, through his husband's running club. Clues continue showing up, and a killer is on the loose at the most wonderful time of the year.

I really enjoyed listening to this book. I received an alc through netgalley and the publisher, and the narration fit the book so well. Edie is an elderly lady, and Sandra Duncan did a wonderful job, especially with the humor of a little cantankerous old lady.

I enjoyed the mystery of this story, but it wasn't my favorite part. Something about the recording and the story itself had this nostalgic sort of feeling about it. I'm not sure if it was because of the elderly MC (for most of the novel), or the Christmasy sort of spirit, but it felt really cozy to me (though I'm not sure I'd necessarily call it a cozy mystery...there are certainly high stakes).

If you're a fan of both mystery and Christmas stories, hey, this is a perfect read for this time of year!

My thanks to Net Galley and Dreamscape for this arc. But I could not get thru it with that stuffy hard to understand narrator and audio output.

I felt the plot was good. I felt the characters and writing were okay.. at ti es the language was a little of
F as well as the slexual innuendos. I had difficulty understanding the narrator at times. On a whole the book was satisfactory.

Edie O'Sullivan, an 80-year-old introvert, is a pro at crafting and solving crossword puzzles. So when a mysterious gift shows up on her doorstep, it turns out to be a real-life puzzle, and she’s challenged by someone calling themselves “Rest In Pieces” to piece it all together before more bodies start piling up. Edie decides to enlist her nephew Sean, a detective inspector, for help, but she keeps some details to herself. As more gifts keep arriving, Edie tries to crack the case on her own, but with each new victim, another puzzle piece comes to light. This cozy mystery is a delightful read set during the Christmas season! I truly enjoyed listening to this audiobook.

I really liked Ms. Sandra Duncan's narration and her ability to change her voice for different characters.She had a soothing voice that I enjoyed,

**I would suggest reviewing trigger warnings**

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for a complimentary copy of this audiobook

I read The Christmas Murder Games last year and I really enjoyed it. I wanted to read this one badly, but unfortunately I think the audio format and the narrator just did not do it for me. I wasn't able to push through and keep listening. I might try it again but in ebook form !

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Alexandra Benedict for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC audiobook for The Christmas Jigsaw Murders coming out October 8, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I enjoy this author. I love murder mysteries and I think her books feel a lot like Agatha Christie novels. I enjoyed the narrator and I think she did a great job. Edie was a great character and I could relate to her homebody ways. She’s a little grumpy though. The mystery was good and I enjoyed the Christmas theme. There were a couple times the novel felt a little long. It could’ve been slightly tighter. I would check out other books by this author though.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys murder mysteries!

This cozy mystery had such a fun concept with Edie, the Christmas hater and puzzle pro, facing a super creepy challenge! I loved how the puzzles added a unique twist to the whole thing, but, like, there were just way too many characters for me to keep track of. 🙈

Also, the constant mentions of Edie's ex? Major overkill, like, we get it already! But, like, the different points of view did bring some excitement, which I totally appreciated!

In the end, I thought this was an adorable holiday read, but it definitely wasn’t the best of the festive mysteries I’ve encountered. I’m giving it three stars!

Thanks a ton to NetGalley for the audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion!

Calling all fans of the Thursday Night Murder Club by Richard Osman this book is for you! This book had me on the edge of my seat waiting for the puzzle to be solved!

I enjoyed Edie O'Sullivan's character and how she was the Pension Puzzler solving a mystery/murders that includes her own past. This book took so many twists and turn yet the reveal was thoroughly explained which was much appreciated!

I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the performance by Sandra Duncan and also enjoyed that the phone calls in the book sounded like an actual phone call!

One thing Alexandra Benedict does very well is write unlikeable main characters. In each of her Christmas mysteries, I have absolutely despised the main character, here Edie O’Sullivan, yet still wanted to push through to the end. Which is pretty impressive!

Edie hates Christmas for a bunch of legitimate yet extreme reasons, and she humbugs her way through the season. She is mean, rude, and selfish, meaning she is alone and lonely. It's hard to feel sorry for her, honestly. And eventually, her horrible behaviour comes back to haunt her, in the form of puzzle pieces delivered anonymously with a tauntingly threatening note attached. If she can't solve the puzzle, people will die, including her beloved nephew.

This is the best of her three Christmas mysteries so far, and even though they don't rate terribly high, I still want to read them. I'm a weirdo I guess. But also, the plot is just what I like. I think the common theme is that there is one point in the book where everything goes off the rails, and the reader's suspension of disbelief is just pushed too far.

I received a free audiobook copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Eighty year old Edie has turned into a recluse who avoids all of her neighbours, except for one. One morning, she receives a weird package from an anonymous stranger, containing jigsaw puzzle pieces. The puzzle is incomplete, but it represents a murder scene. She must solve the puzzle with the help of her son Sean, a detective inspector, in order to save the life of the target...
I have read The Christmas Murder Game by this author last year, and I absolutely loved it! So when I saw this one, I had to get my hands on it. Sadly, it fell flat for me. I'm not sure the audio book was the best format to get the full experience (to solve the puzzles in the book), none of the charcaters are likable, and the ending came out of left field, which I hate in a mystery, because there was no way for the reader to guess who the murderer was. I liked the sillyness and lightness (despite the murders), but I would recommend The Christmas Murder Game before I'll ever recommend this one.
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Edie loves puzzles. She creates crosswords for the paper and solves jigsaw puzzles in her spare time, but when she receives some jigsaw pieces promising that people will die if she can't solve the puzzle, she's thrown headfirst into a race against the clock and has to use her skills to solve a murder mystery.

I really enjoyed the narrator. She did an excellent job of bringing life to the various characters. And her voice really added to the cozy vibes of the story.

It did start off slow for me- I wasn't really fully engaged and invested until around the 50% mark.

Overall, I did enjoy the story- for some reason it really reminded me of watching Murder She Wrote, and I didn't call the reveal of the culprit. But I found the pacing off and never really felt connected to the characters and it holds me back from giving this a higher reading.

If you're looking for a cozy, holiday murder mystery, you might enjoy this!!!

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ALC. My opinions are my own 💕

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

Sandra Duncan does a wonderful fob with the narration on this book! All the characters were performed to perfection, which is a difficult task for a single narrator. I found the story itself lacking a bit and it made it hard for me to concentrate on the story. At about the half way point I found myself getting more into it and it flowed more smoothly from there. If you’re a fan of murder mysteries, you might enjoy this book!

So, I wanted to listen to this soooo bad, however I do not like the narrator. It was a bit difficult to understand even on 1.25x speed. Would rather have read this myself sadly. 🥲 I kept trying but it wasn’t working out

Quick Summary: A holiday whodunit

My Review: The Christmas Jigsaw Murders by Alexandra Benedict is a contemporary mystery/thriller. This book was released in 2023, however, the audiobook is scheduled to be released in October 2024.

About the Book: Puzzler extraordinaire, Edie O’Sullivan, receives a mysterious package in the mail during the Christmas holidays. Inside she finds a jigsaw puzzle and a cryptic message. Once she enlists the help of her nephew, who just so happens to be a detective, the story unfolds. As it does, suspects are questioned, clues are examined, and murder takes place again. Who might the killer be?

About the Narration: Sandra Duncan narrated this book.

My Final Say: This was a fairly suspenseful read. Although pacing was a little slow in spots, overall, it was alright. Multiple relationship conflicts were a large part of the story and often propelled the movement. The characters were acceptable, however, I found myself not warming up to them, which was an odd outcome that I did not expect.

Other: Readers who enjoy mysteries that contain family drama and relationship woes should like this.

Rating: 2.5/5
Recommend: -
Audience: A
Status/Level: 💬
Audiobook: Yes
Narration: +/-
Other: LGBTQIA representation
Genre Listings: General Adult Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Thank you to the author, to the publisher (Dreamscape Media) and to NetGalley for providing access to an ALC of this title in exchange for an honest review. The words I have shared are my own. I appreciate the opportunity.