ARC Review: Picking Up the Pieces by J. B. Abbott

Picking Up the Pieces
Author: J. B. Abbott
Publication: Crooked Lane (August 12, 2025)

Description: A dedicated group of jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts must put their problem-solving skills to the test when one of their own is murdered, for fans of Kate Young and Richard Osman.

After her mother’s passing, Katie Chambers returns to Cedar Bay, a serene enclave nestled in the southwest corner of Washington State’s Whidbey Island to support her newly widowed father, Jim Chambers. Stepping into her mother’s footsteps, Katie takes on the role of graphic designer at Cedar Bay Puzzles. With the help of her father, she resurrects her mom’s cherished initiative, the South Island Jigsaw crew, a group of puzzle enthusiasts who gather weekly at the library to test and tackle the latest Cedar Bay Puzzles creations. But when a member of their club is murdered and Jim is the last person to see her alive, resulting in his arrest, Katie and the rest of the gang must use all of their resources to obtain justice for both.

To prove her father’s innocence, Katie reaches out to Connor Crozier, a firefighter and her former flame who shattered her heart seven years ago. With problems piling up at work and a competitor outright accusing CBP of stealing his designs, it is up to Katie to puzzle out the mystery before it’s too late.

Perfect for fans of The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers and The Marlow Murder Club, this charming and fun mystery will have readers puzzling over the mystery until the last page.

My Thoughts: Katie Chambers has returned home to Cedar Bay on Whidbey Island to support her father after her mother's death. Like her mother before her, she takes a job as a graphic designer at Cedar Bay Puzzles.

She becomes part of the South Island Jigsaw crew which is a dedicated group of jigsaw puzzle fans. The members include a high school student, a long-retired elementary school teacher, a retired defense attorney, a car salesman, and Elena Larrson, another employee from Cedar Bay Puzzles. They gather weekly to try out new puzzles and socialize. 

Things go awry when Elena Larrson is found murdered and Katie's father Jim is arrested for the crime. Katie pulls together the rest of the South Island Jigsaw crew to solve the murder and free her father. Things get difficult when it seems like Lieutenant Crozier of the local police is convinced that her father is guilty. She had a bad breakup with his son Connor before she went off to college in Colorado. Now Connor wants to be part of the investigation to prove her father innocent which brings up all sorts of mixed feelings in Katie.

The story was filled with red herrings and a wide variety of suspects. But the crew manages to use their puzzle-solving skills to find the killer.  

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.