Jigsaw, a review by Susan

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Jigsaw
Jonathan Kellerman
256 Pages

Ballantine Publishing

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            For me. Reading Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series is like wrapping myself in a fuzzy warm blanket; it is cozy and comforting.  Although I have certainly not read every book in the series by any means, I have read enough to be familiar with the characters, who largely don’t change, even though the situations do.

            In many such series, one has police detectives and sometimes one has other professionals solving the mysteries.  In the Alex Delaware novels, there are both.  There is Milo Sturgis, a gay police detective who is generally speaking, the odd man out in his department.  Then there is Alex, who is a psychologist.  I am not always a fan of the straight police procedurals but I do enjoy the more “incidental” detectives when other aspects are explored, as in the Delaware books.  I also enjoy the friendship between them.

            Now, not every book in the series is as good as the other.  I have read a few that I thought were slow and did not maintain my interest.  I thought Jigsaw was one of Kellerman’s better of his most recent novels.  It started off with a bang.  No slow burn here.  If anything, there was a point later on, during the investigation, where the pace slowed down for a bit.  Nonetheless, this was a classic and trademark entry in the Delaware series.  It is for those readers that like a twist on the police procedural.  While it helps to have read some of his prior books in the series, it is certainly doable to start here and get a sense of the characters.  It is not for those who are looking for serious literature but that’s all right; we all need diversions now and then.

            Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Publishing for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel.  All of the opinions expressed herein are my own.