The Christmas Jigsaw Murders

THIS CHRISTMAS, A KILLER TAKES FAMILY GAMES TO A MURDEROUS NEW LEVEL. On 19th of December, renowned puzzle setter, loner and Christmas sceptic 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. Praise for Alexandra Benedict’s Christmas mysteries: 'The perfect gift for quizzers and mystery addicts . . .' Val McDermid ‘Whatever you unwrap for Christmas, you had better hope it’s this book This is 21st-century cosy Christmas crime that doesn’t shy away from the darkness’ Janice Hallett ‘A thrilling journey from start to finish. Highly recommended’ Elly Griffiths ‘It’s wonderful! A page-turning homage to the Golden Age, with a dash of Poirot and a dark, modern heart’ S J Bennett

Alexandra (A. K.) Benedict is a bestselling, award-winning writer of short stories, novels and scripts. Educated at Cambridge, Sussex and Clown School, Alexandra has been an indie-rock singer, an actor, an RLF Fellow and a composer for film and TV, as well as teaching and running the prestigious MA in Crime Thrillers at City University. She is now a full-time writer and creative coach. As A. K. Benedict she writes acclaimed short stories, high-concept novels and award-winning audio drama for Big Finish, Audible UK, Audible US and BBC Sounds, among others. She won the Scribe Award for her Doctor Who radio drama The Calendar Man, and was shortlisted for the eDunnit Novel Award for The Beauty of Murder and the BBC Audio Drama Podcast Award for Children of the Stones. As Alexandra Benedict she writes puzzle-filled Christmas mysteries, of which The Christmas Murder Game and Murder on the Christmas Express were both bestsellers and The Christmas Murder Game was longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger. Her first festive thriller to feature Edie O'Sullivan, The Christmas Jigsaw Murders, was published in 2023. She lives on the south coast of England with writer Guy Adams, their daughter Verity, and dog Dame Margaret Rutherford.Follow her on X @ak_benedict and Instagram @a.k.benedict