We’re almost through the thriller phase of this Advent of Mystery – we just need to cover the first Alexandra Benedict on our list. The Christmas Jigsaw Murders is Benedict’s most recent release, and it contains her hallmark twisted puzzles and holiday settings. Just a couple of factors throw it from a mystery to a thriller for me…

A thriller, replete with twisty puzzles

First up, we have the mystery element. The Christmas Jigsaw Murders follows an ornery crossword setter, Edie O’Sullivan, who discovers that a serial killer has decided to clue her in on a murdering spree. As time wears on, she receives pieces of a jigsaw puzzle with clues from the murderer; each clue she fails to solve results in a death. It seems clear from the outset that this murderer is motivated by something personal, and it’s up to Edie (with some help from her police nephew and a lovely neighbor) to solve the mystery before the killer ends their spree.

Alexandra Benedict is great at putting together puzzle stories, and The Christmas Jigsaw Murders is no exception. It’s replete with mysterious clues and hints (several are anagrams, which my brain simply cannot process). But because the crime is so personal, many of the clues require Edie’s knowledge and history to solve. This ups the tension as readers hope that Edie can confront her demons – but reduces the element of fair play, as it’s pretty tricky to try to deduce what Edie knows.

The other element of the storytelling that throws this into “thriller” territory is the many murderous interludes. The Christmas Jigsaw Murders is the first of Benedict’s works to contain repetitive passages told from the perspectives of the murderer and the victims. This drives both suspense and dramatic tension, but reduces the pure puzzling element of the story.

A sinister small-town Christmas

What about the holiday side? Benedict’s stories tend to feature characters who struggle with the Christmas season, learning to find their home and their family. The Christmas Jigsaw Murders is no exception, and we get the additional joy of touring a small town at Christmastime for Peak Cozy Holiday Vibes. Benedict is toeing the line here between “Christmas as setting” and “Christmas as theme” – but I think her focus on themes of forgiveness and redemptions puts this just over the edge in the holiday spirit.

That said, and this is just my personal preference, I found the numerous scenes of violence (and the murderer steeling themselves for the same) to be quite jarring in the holiday theme. It’s hard to focus on the protagonist’s Christmas story when you’re imagining blood spatter and screams in real time.

Reader’s notes and rating: 🎁 🎁 🎁

I quite enjoy Alexandra Benedict’s writing, but I appreciate her mysteries more than this thriller. It contains plenty of Christmas and puzzle elements for those who are excited by those pieces; if you’re not also put off by violent scenes , this may be the right book for you. (It’s also got multiple queer protagonists, which is neutral for me but feels worth sharing!) For me, it was a little too long, and a little too violent, without the solvable payoff I most enjoy from Benedict.

3 Christmas presents.

Tomorrow, the Alexandra Benedict spree continues with The Christmas Murder Game. Until then – stay cozy, and stay curious!