The amazing thing about Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series is its combination of consistency with a high level of professionalism. Each of these books is very much the same in execution, and yet they never seem stale – at least to this reader.
I’ve occasionally wondered why, a few years back, Kellerman changed his description of Alex’s cop buddy, Milo Sturgis. Milo used to have a “skunk” pattern in his hair, with white on both sides and black down the middle. Now his hair is just described as black. I suspect that change marked the point where the author decided he would henceforth utterly ignore the passage of real-world time. Neither character will ever age again, as long as the series continues.
Jigsaw, the 41st (!) entry in said series, involves the investigations of the strangulation of a young woman in one part of town, and the dismemberment of an old woman in another part of town. There is nothing to link the two crimes, and yet Alex begins to suspect there has to be. He is, of course, correct.
I found the culprit in Jigsaw particularly interesting. Discovery of that person’s identity is delayed, and the motive kept obscure, in a very effective way. Sort of an out-of-left-field solution, and it was fun to watch the investigators work it out.
I enjoyed Jigsaw precisely as much as all the Alex Delaware books, which is to say, very much. Cautions for disturbing language and situations.