THE CHRISTMAS JIGSAW MURDERS by Alexandra Benedict is her third Christmas mystery filled with games, songs, and puzzles to entice readers to play along as a ruthless killer challenges a grumpy, crossword compiler to solve a puzzle and stop the killings before midnight on Christmas Eve.
Edie O’Sullivan hates Christmas. She lost too much during the holiday season in the past. She prefers her cats, tea, and compiling her famous crossword puzzles for the National. On December 19th, Edie receives a box on her doorstep that includes six jigsaw pieces that complete a crime scene in a box. A note is included enticing Edie to solve the puzzle before people start dying. Edie enlists her great-nephew and adopted son, Sean, who is a detective inspector. What Edie doesn’t relay to Sean is that an image of his watch is included in the jigsaw pieces. Is Sean a target? When a man is found injured in the woods with a jigsaw piece nearby, the game begins, and Edie and Sean race against the clock to identify a killer who is bent on revenge.
THE CHRISTMAS JIGSAW MURDERS is a fun, Christmas-themed mystery puzzle featuring a Scrooge-like character who calls herself the Pensioner Puzzler. Edie is cantankerous and can be off-putting, but she eventually comes around and realizes the true meaning of family and the holidays. The mystery is intriguing with the jigsaw puzzle pieces left at the crime scenes and other cryptic clues sprinkled throughout the story. The danger is palpable as Edie receives each new delivery, and the stakes rise when Sean is put in the crosshairs. There are past hurts, regrets, relationship drama, and suspicion, but through it all, Edie grows and solves the puzzle with a nice twist that surprises the killer at the end. A great Christmas mystery to enjoy this season. Includes puzzles and recipes inspired by the season.
A puzzling new Christmas mystery from USA Today bestselling author Alexandra Benedict!
Rest. In. Pieces.
On 1st of December, renowned puzzle setter, loner, and Christmas curmudgeon 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.
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