The Fixer: The Killing Kind (Katerina Mills #2)

Kat’s back and in over her head with crooks, cops... and killers.

Christmas is around the corner but professional “fixer” Katerina Mills isn't feeling the holiday spirit, juggling college classes, a lovesick cop, and demanding clients.

Obnoxious hedge fund manager Simon Marcus wants his prized Porsche back from his vengeful wife. The job is hard enough until wise guy Anthony DeSucci shows up and orders her to bring the car to him.

Rock star writer, Paul Patel needs something “special” to finish his next bestseller, something that will get Katerina a “Go Straight to Jail” card if she gets caught.

And what about mysterious Thomas Gallagher? His jobs are simple and easy. Is he just a bored billionaire, or is he watching Kat’s every move, making his own plans for her?

As the jobs heat up, handsome, elusive thief Alexander Winter re-enters Kat’s life to tutor her in all things criminal. But can she trust him?

Katerina Mills is still haunted by her first assignment...and her first assignment is about to come back to haunt her...a deadly enemy who's closer than she thinks...

*May Contain Spoilers*

Would you believe that Miss Katerina Mills is just trying to pay for college and get into law school? Jill Amy Rosenblatt combines action with sarcasm in her novel, The Fixer: The Killing Kind, the second book in the Katerina Mills series. As Katerina attempts to make money to pay for her real career, she dabbles in the criminal sector, working as a fixer. Fixing anything and everything that's thrown at her. But this time, she might be in over her head. 

I didn't read the first book in this series, so I was a little nervous that I wouldn't catch up with the story in this sequel. Though the details are still blurry, I think I got the gist enough to completely understand this book. However, there are a lot of characters right off the bat who obviously claimed their spot in book one. That makes it a little confusing to keep everyone straight, especially with short action filled chapters. 

Regardless, Katerina is the main character and she's drowning in work. It seems a lot of bad people need things fixed. Though she struggles to juggle everything, I feel like she does keep her head above water for the most part. Katerina's character is nervous but committed, afraid but determined, and sarcastic yet smart. The only main flaw Katerina has is that she isn't perfect at being a criminal yet. But when she gets pushed to the edge, it's bravery mixed with stupidity and sharp commands all the way. And there are a few criminals in the bunch who do push her to the edge. Although, one main thing I didn't like about Katerina was the detective boyfriend who, technically, wasn't her boyfriend. The way she treated him didn't sit well with me, even though I understand she needed any information she could gather. (But to be honest, I didn't really like Ryan either. I think he's a bit too pushy.) 

For supporting cast, I really enjoyed Moose's character. He's the owner of a chop shop and steals cars aplenty, or has others steal them for him. The conversations between Katerina and Moose were the most funny to me and added a lighter air to dangerous overtones of the novel. And even though they bartered back and forth about this and that, Moose stepped up when Katerina needed him, proving he was a solid, and dependable, man even though he was also a criminal. And of course, I liked Alex Winter with his OCD and caring nature. I really liked how Rosenblatt associated certain colors (white, cream, beige) with Alex, symbolizing not only his mental anguish for everything to be pristine, but also his work as a 'ghost.' His feelings for Katerina are real, I think, and it will be interesting to see how the next book works to bring them together or threaten their entire relationship.

The most interesting aspect about this novel is that nearly everyone is a criminal, so as a reader you kind of put that aside and draw a line between good criminals and bad criminals. I think it's interesting that an author is able to do that, blur the line between right and wrong, and I think it gives a nice depth to the novel. Once I started this book, it was tough to put it down. The Fixer: The Killing Kind is action packed with surprises behind every locked door.

Rating: 3.5/5 Cups