The Jigsaw Man

A modern take on the classic Frankenstein story for the ages. This is my first novel by Rollo and simply put, it won't be my last. I've read some amazing books in 2014. Jigsaw Man is now not only my favorite for this year, but many other years as well. The writing is crisp and the story is one twisting turn after another. Some you can see coming. Most of them you can't. And boy does Rollo grab you by the throat with an iron-like vise of a grip. He had me believing the unbelievable every step of the way. At no point was I like "Oh that's BS. I can't buy that!". No, Michael Fox was a sympathetic character you could relate to and you rooted for him, gasped with him, and experienced his dread as if you and him were one and the same. Dr show more Marshall and his henchman Drake were deliciously evil without being a cardboard cut out of the stereotype. You hated them with every fiber of your being. That's impressive and hard to do. We've all read stories where the villains weren't realistic. You couldn't buy in and be completely invested. That's not the case in Jigsaw Man. I couldn't put it down. I had to see what was around the corner. And every corner I came to had something lurking that was even worse than the previous one. This story was a roller coaster ride that you didn't want to ever end. This may have been my first read by Gord Rollo, but it won't be my last. Before this review, I downloaded everything else of his I could get my hands on. If the rest of his work is only half as good as Jigsaw Man, I will consider it money well spent! Enough gushing on my part. The Jigsaw Man needs to be the next story you read. Period. show less

A modern take on Frankenstein, Mr. Rollo has come up with a winning combination of interesting characters and chilling plot.

Michael Fox, a homeless man living on the streets, is at the end of his rope. His wife and son died a few years ago in a car accident leaving only his daughter who wanted nothing to do with him. The knowledge that his wife and son would still be alive if not for him, caused the spiral into his homeless existence.

To aid his daughter and end his pitiful existence, Michael had scraped together whatever he could to purchase a life insurance policy and then to end his life with the help of a moving train.

On the day he had chosen to die, a long car pulled up alongside of him with a man with a staggering proposal. For show more Michael's right arm, he would be given $2 million dollars. A top surgeon doing work on nerves needed subjects to test his research.

Michael was convinced that this was the answer to his prayers. $2 million dollars to help his daughter. He said yes. That answer brought him to a facility and to a doctor that plunged him into a nightmare he could not have even imagined. Little did he realize that Dr. Marshall had no intentions of paying him nor of stopping with his right arm.

The facility was littered with remainders of men who had also agreed to sell off a body part for big money, but who instead were reduced to living torsos praying to die and to be put out of their misery.

This book intrigued me. Great writing, excellent characters, and an enthralling plot. Though this book tends to make you cringe and may even make you feel uncomfortable, I feel the results of pushing the envelope was worth it. I would highly recommend it. show less

Even though it was SO cheesy, I'm still giving it 3 🌟. Reviewers I saw complained about this and that, ie lousy character development, unrealistic timeline, etc. But the storyline, though gory as heck, was pretty entertaining. I mean, who doesn't like a Frankenstein story? Besides, there's a darn good moral to the story: don't sell your soul for MONEY!

"The Jigsaw Man" is author Gord Rollo's modern-day version of Frankenstein, but with a "heart". The book revolves around a billionaire doctor's attempt to make his crippled son "whole" by using arms and legs from donors who exchange their limbs for dollars. One of those donors is a down-on-his-luck drifter by the name of Michael Fox who attempts to repair his failed role as father by providing his daughter with the $2 million dollars he'll receive from Dr. Nathan Marshall for his right arm.

Deep down, Fox believes the deal is too good to believe, but after agreeing to it and then seeing Marshall's facility (and crippled son), he's ready for the tradeoff. As the date of the operation arrives, Fox finds out that Marshall's plan may not be show more as steeped in honor as he originally thought and tries to back out of the deal. Fox quickly finds out that it's too late for that and realizes that he could be losing more than just an arm.

Rollo cranks up the suspense and the horror as the novel moves along at a brisk pace. Not for the squeamish, those diving into this book should be prepared for moments of true gore and shock. Rollo gets a little carried away at times the moments of gore and borders on the fringe of gratuitousness. But, I do challenge readers not to pull hard for Fox and his friends as they battle for their very existence.

While I wouldn't exactly give my right arm to read another book by Gord Rollo, I'll certainly have my eyes peeled for it. show less

this book was not what I expected at all, that's not a bad thing though. I loved it! the mix of comically bizarre situations and truly horrifying situations reminded me of Jeff stand. if this book had been given a "wanted add" title it could have been Andrew mayhem number five. it was gory, it was funny, it was really messed up in parts but it was also well written with great characters and hard to put down.

Where to start. The plot is original, and most of the characters are quite unsavory. A play on the Frankenstein story, but much more twisted and really just plain sick. I mean, there is a scene where the character Drake is sodomizing a severed head that is being kept alive with experimental science, while menacingly holding a knife to the victim's eyes. That is twisted, really. There are scores of scenes such as this. I was not crazy about the timeline jumps; I felt like there must have been some important information missed when the story would just appear 13 months later. All in all, I found this to be a highly entertaining read, with some over-the-top characters that made one dance with glee when they finally met their end. I give show more this 4 stars simply because the plot was just more imaginative than anything I have read in quite a while. Hopefully, Mr. Rollo's future work will be a little more structured, because some of the characters could have used some further fleshing out; many times I found myself wanting more back story on certain characters. While this may not have been the most polished writing I have read, the story itself kept me glued to the pages. show less

Slammed through this novel, simply couldn't put it down! Highly disturbing!
OK Just a tad predictable, but that is ok, I didn't expect any real surprises. I enjoyed the characters, no matter if they were cruel!
This made me squirm, and feel nauseous and terrified.
Couldn't have chosen a better novel to start the fall season with. I recommend to all horror lovers, especially` ones who enjoy anything in the genre of medical settings.