Book Review: The Fixer by T.E. Woods

The Fixer by T.E. Woods

Completed: February 13, 2014
Length: 312 Pages

T. E. Woods delivers a fast-paced thriller—the first in an electrifying new series—peopled with sharp, intriguing characters and more twists and turns than a corkscrew.

Never a doubt. Never a mistake. Always for justice. Never for revenge. She’s the person you hire when you need something fixed—permanently. With a strict set of criteria, she evaluates every request and chooses only a few. No more than one job per country, per year. She will only step in if it’s clear that justice will not be served any other way. Her jobs are completed with skill and precision, and never result in inquiry or police investigation. The Fixer is invisible—and quite deadly. . . .

In the office of a clinical psychologist in Olympia, Washington, a beautiful young woman is in terrible emotional pain. She puts up walls, tells lies, and seems to speak in riddles, but the doctor is determined to help her heal, despite the fact that she claims to have hurt many people. As their sessions escalate, the psychologist feels compelled to reach out to the police . . . but it might be too late.

In Seattle, a detective gets a call from his son. A dedicated journalist, he wants his father’s expertise as he looks into a suspicious death. Together they follow the trail of leads toward a stone-cold hired killer—only to find that death has been closer than either could have imagined.

I am reviewing this book as part of a tour hosted at TLC Book Tours.

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre?: Thriller. Fiction.

What lead you to pick up this book?: I have been getting into thrillers a bit lately. I thought this one with a female lead sounded interesting and decided to take a chance on it.

Summarize the plot: The Fixer gets the job done, but she has rules. We learn from the very beginning that she is not out for murder. She is out for justice and only takes the cases where she feels the person is in the wrong. She fixes the situation for you permanently. No one knows who she really is. She is invisible, deadly, and smart. The book also includes a psychologist whose newest patient has some troubling secrets that are bringing her pain. The psychologist, Lydia Corriger, is determined to get to the bottom of things. There is also Mort Grant, Chief of Detectives, who is trying to get through his own pain and bring a sense of justice to the world.

What did you like best about this book?: It surprised me. I was reading it last night and kept getting distracted. So, I admit I wasn't paying the best attention. But, there were lots of twists and turns in the book that impressed me. Originally I was hesitant about this book. This might be why I only read it at the last minute. I enjoyed the back stories and the strong characters. I look forward to where the series is going to go after all the reveals in this book.

What did you like the least?: hm... There was nothing really terrible about it. I find with thrillers, though, they are page-turners. This means that you might finish the book caught up in the story and then start nit-picking as time goes on.

What did you think of the writing style?: It was engaging and fast-paced. I wasn't sure about things in the very beginning, but once I got going it was a good read. I feel like what I want to say about the writing might reveal more than I should about the story, but Woods definitely keeps you guessing and intrigued.

What did you think of the main character?: One of the reasons why I was hesitant about this book in the beginning was because there seemed to be so many characters. Once they started to repeat, though, and things started to fit together it wasn't a problem. Obviously, the title makes one thing The Fixer is the main character, and she definitely was a readable character in the book. But, there was also Lydia Corriger and the skeletons in her closet. We see sides of her that no one else gets a chance to see. Then there is Mort who lost his wife a year ago and still misses her. There are also some secrets to be revealed dealing with his daughter.

What did you think of the ending?: I think the book ended well. It stands alone well, so that is always nice. I see that there is another book out later this year, though, so obviously there is more happening. If there wasn't a sequel, though, I would have been happy with how this book ended.

I was pleasantly surprised by how good this book was. Check it out if you haven't all ready! Recommended.

Thanks to TLC and Alibi Books for my chance to read this one.