The Jigsaw Man

I wanted to love this book so bad, but it was very ok. The subject matter made it interesting and got me through 500 pages to the end, but I kind of felt like:

• The prologue was completely unnecessary and kind of set a weird tone for the beginning of the book (felt like a rushed infodump that we would have discovered anyways)
• Most of it was incredibly predictable
• The “plot twists” happened in the last 40 or so pages (again, out of 500)
• I still don't completely understand why Delaney or Elliott died??
• Overall, I felt that the plot was very lackluster with some sprinkled in gore that keeps the reader going

I wanted to like Henley, but I feel like the reader is kept at an arm's length, and not because of her personality. She is stuck in a weird 2D/3D limbo where she is constantly on the brink of character development (or at least more realized or likable to the reader, maybe?) but we never quite get there. The chapter where Olivier confronts the copycat lacked gusto - not what I would have hoped for in the rising action.

I will say that I appreciated the character diversity and the way the author shines a light BIPOC discrimination within law enforcement. Again, the book wasn't my favorite, but I think it was a great start for the author. Not sure if I plan to read the next Anjelica Henley installment, but maybe I'll pick it up on a whim one day and give it a shot.