Book Review: The Puzzle Maker by Ty Hutchinson

Genre(s): Thriller / Suspense

Content warning: There are scenes of violence and some descriptions of crime scenes.

FBI agent Abby Kane is asked to assist with a local investigation regarding a serial killer who seems to be taking skin from his victims as trophies. She and her partner, Kyle Kang, travel to an area near Sacramento for what they believe is a brief consultation. They wind up staying to help more thoroughly, while trying to determine the killer’s motive and why he chooses the victims he does.

When I picked up this book, I didn’t realize it was book 13 in a series. With the way it was written, it didn’t seem to matter (at first) that I hadn’t read the previous 12 books. There was enough context about the main character to understand her role without that background information. After reaching the end of the book, things may have made more sense if I had read the previous installments, but I’m not sure.

The story itself was decent, but I had a few issues with the book. The first is just a matter of personal preference; the book jumps between third person (often from the killer’s perspective) to first person (Agent Kane’s). I’ve read other books where the author successfully transitions between first and third perspectives, but this one I really struggled with. I’m not sure if it was a style thing, or the frequency of the switches, but it wasn’t for me.

The second, and larger problem I had, was that the first 28 chapters are all focused on the same investigation, the same characters. That’s great. All of the sudden in chapter 29, the book goes to a completely different, unrelated character and location, and another crime (abduction?) that has no bearing on the first half of the book. When I reached that point, I almost stopped reading. My initial reaction was Why?! The other storyline was just starting to get interesting. (It does go back to focusing on Abby’s investigation after a couple chapters.)

That secondary story doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the novel – until the last page, when it suddenly comes together. I’m glad I didn’t stop reading when the book made that sudden shift, as the last 25% of the book was pretty good. That’s where the bulk of the action came in, the big revelation regarding the investigation, and a few unexpected twists occurred as well.

The story was engaging enough to keep my interest, in spite of the issues I had with it. Again, the perspective shifting may have just not worked for me, and other readers may not have a problem with it. I will note the book ends on a cliffhanger, so if you’re expecting a full conclusion to both parts of this book, you’ll have to continue reading the series to learn what happens.

Author website: tyhutchinson.com

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