I just completed "The Fixer" by T.E. Woods, and am impressed by the writing and storyline. I read an uncorrected copy and only found two small typos.

Having read hundreds of books, it is pleasurable when climbing into the ride of the story, and experience unexpected twists and turns.

The main characters are a psychologist, and a police detective. This is not typical, and the reader will be surprised.

Once I started this book, I could not get it out of my head. After work, I opened my Kindle to continue reading, and for a moment could not locate The Fixer, I panicked. I had to know what happened, and as a library clerk who constantly recommends books in the library, I do not hesitate to recommend this book.

There is no graphic sex, but allusions to past experiences by some of the characters. There is violence.

Be pleasantly surprised and read "The Fixer." This is the first in a series, and I look forward to more from T.E. Woods.

**No Spoilers**

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Vigilante? Or cold blooded killer? The line between the two is definitely blurred when it comes to T.E. Woods' debut mystery, The Fixer. Part murder mystery, part psychological thriller, there are plenty of shades of gray in this compelling whodunnit. An abundance of twists and turns make guessing the killer's identity next to impossible and I have to confess, I was rooting for the murderer throughout the entire novel.

The fixer is who you call when justice has failed and with her clear cut rules, she is certain her victims deserve the punishment she is about to deliver. Carefully planning each killing, silently stalking her victims, her murders have gone undetected for years. Until now. A tenacious reporter reaches out to his cop father and together they uncover a pattern that will lead them to straight to the unsuspecting killer.

Savannah Samuels, a beautiful but emotionally fragile young woman, seeks therapy from Dr. Lydia Corriger, a well established psychologist with a thriving practice. Savannah is quite mysterious and very reluctant to reveal any of her secrets but she is quite clear that she has done horrible things. Lydia is troubled by Savannah's inability to open up, but her perseverance eventually pays off, and she is stunned by Savannah's revelations.

Lydia's concern for Savannah draws her into the murder investigation of a local grad student. In an effort to discover the possible link between his death and her patient, Lydia contacts the cop on the case, Mort Grant. Mort's investigation is at a standstill and he is quite eager to talk to Lydia. Despite his feeling that she is hiding something, Mort is drawn to Lydia and when their paths later cross, they begin forming a tentative friendship.

It takes a while for the various storylines to comes together, but once they do, The Fixer becomes impossible to put down. The characters are fascinating and the mystery is incredibly intriguing but I was consumed with trying to guess the fixer's identity. Just when I thought I had the story all figured out, T.E. Woods throws in a MAJOR plot twist that I never saw coming. All in all, it is a very clever mystery with a unique storyline and I am very eager to read the next book in the series. ( )

We all listen to the news and often, in our opinions, justice is terribly lacking. What if you knew someone that could ‘fix’ it? What if you had the kind of money necessary to pay someone to take care of it … to enact justice? This is the job of ‘The Fixer’. She’s not someone you can hire to knock off a spouse ‘just because’. The Fixer set rules for herself. Some of the rules were set so that she wouldn’t call attention to herself, like “No more than one job per country per year.” Some were set to make a judgement call about a case: “Only when it was clear that justice couldn’t or wouldn’t be served …” Quite simply, she’s a vigilante who will do the dirty work for pay.

The major players were Lydia Corriger, a psychologist; Savannah Samuels, Lydia’s patient who keeps referring to bad things she’s done; Mort Grant, a Seattle detective; and Robbie, Mort’s son and a Denver journalist. Robbie was working on a hunch that Gordon Halloway was murdered. Gordon had gotten rich on money schemes that ruined the lives of many. Originally, Gordon’s death appeared to be a heart attack while enjoying the company of a prostitute. Robbie’s hunch started the ball rolling for Detective Grant as other cases began to come to light.

Early on, the reader gets to see The Fixer make a decision about a job and turn it down. We’re given her standards and we are privy to the fact that The Fixer is a woman. The characters were phenomenal. The author held back on who The Fixer was until late in the book and there were some great twists on that matter. Because of the initial secrecy and unveiling of The Fixer, this first book in The Justice series should be read first. I already knew since I’d previously read book 2, but it was still enjoyable. While I recommend this book for its engaging story line, I do need to state that it is quite graphic in nature. Rating: 4 out of 5. ( )

The Fixer: A Justice Novel by T. E. Woods is a very highly recommended debut novel in a new series of thrillers featuring Detective Mort Grant and psychologist Lydia Corriger. Look for the second book, Red Hot Fix, due to be released on June 10, 2014.

The Fixer is the person people hire when they need something fixed - but we aren't talking about siding or plumbing problems. The Fixer tackles the big jobs, the personal jobs. The Fixer is contacted when an injustice needs to be made right or can only be handled by having someone eliminated to pay for their misdeeds. However, even though The Fixer is a vigilante/assassin, she does follow a strict moral code. She needs to hear the details and then she will decide if she is going to "fix" the problem. And, yes, The Fixer is a woman.

"The Fixer never strayed from the rules she set for herself six years ago. No more than one job per country per year. Never less than two months between assignments. Only when it was clear that justice couldn’t or wouldn’t be served would she consider a case. Her jobs rarely raised a coroner’s inquest, and never a police investigation. The Fixer was invisible."

The Fixer is hired to eliminate Dr. Fred Bastian, chair of the university neuroscience department, because of the extreme cruelty he has shown in his research involving animals. Bastian is believed to have died from a heart attack until a graduate researcher from another department is brutally murdered. Soon it becomes clear that the two cases may be related but the question is how. Mort Grant is on the investigation.

At the same time there is a second mystery. Psychologist Lydia Corriger is seeing a beautiful patient who calls herself Savannah. She won't tell the truth about her life, sharing what she chooses to in cryptic sentences instead, but she claims she is a bad person, broken, and she needs to be fixed. Lydia never knows when Savannah will show up and she is not sure what it is that Savannah has done that is so awful.

The writing was excellent. The story moved swiftly along. Woods provided just the information she wanted us to have for that part of the story until the two mysteries begin to merge. There is a major reveal half way through the novel that had me pause and go back to reread the last chapter to make sure I hadn't inadvertently missed something. The pace is quick and the suspense keeps the tension mounting right up to the end.

All the characters were well developed. Maybe it is because author Woods is a clinical psychologist herself, but there is a keen insight into the characters, what they are thinking about and struggling with, along with how they approach life. They all come across as real people, flawed and wounded, but real.

I really enjoyed The Fixer and am anxiously looking forward to the second book, Red Hot Fix.

Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from Random House for review purposes.
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I almost gave up on this one when, about half way through, there was a big reveal that was very confusing. I stuck with it though, and thought
the second half of the book a lot better than the first. The book has a good story line, but could have used some editing. Otherwise, well written. I liked the ending! ( )