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

Lay Death at Her Door - Blog Tour

Synopsis:
Twenty years ago, Kate Cranbrook's eyewitness testimony sent the wrong man to prison for rape and murder. When new evidence exonerates him, Kate says that in the darkness and confusion, she must have mistaken her attacker's identity. She is lying. Kate would like nothing better than to turn her back on the past, but she is trapped in a stand-off with the real killer. When a body turns up on her doorstep, she resorts to desperate measures to free herself once and for all from a secret that is ruining her life.

Review:

Elizabeth Buhmann toys with readers, using her intriguing writing style and untrustworthy narrator, in her new novel, Lay Death at Her Door. This novel is a thriller from beginning to end as it is a confession from the main character, Kate. A confession of love and lies both laced with deceit. 

Readers are introduced to Kate as the narrator, a seemingly reliable source, and as the main character. Throughout the first few chapters, Kate admits that she twists the truth and as readers, we expect her story in conjunction with that confession to be true. Though it isn't. As the novel evolves, we learn that Kate cannot be trusted. And in the end, everyone will regret thinking otherwise. 

Kate is a manipulative character, full of wit and ready to play on the sympathy of others. She uses this to her advantage with every other character in the novel. If I didn't dislike her so much, I swear I'd love her. It's a torn relationship that Kate shares with readers. She makes herself out to be the victim and it's so easy to believe. Why would she lie to her readers? Because we set ourselves up to be lied to. And I think readers will thoroughly enjoy the wild mental goose chase that Kate sends them on. In fact, they'll probably recommend it to a friend. 

The plot of the novel is fantastic, though at times it is hard to follow. With a stream of conscious narrative that flashes between the past and present, the facts get a bit blurry. Add that the narrator is a compulsive liar and the line between fact and fiction vanishes completely. Buhmann doesn't even flinch getting dirty with the truth as Kate's biggest lie comes into the light: she sent the wrong man to prison. On purpose. Now she has a lot of loose ends to tie up, more people to convince she's the innocent one, and not enough time to get away from the real killer. 

Rating: 4/5 Cups

Lay Death at Her Door

Meet the Author:

Elizabeth Buhmann is originally from Virginia, where her first novel is set, and like her main character, she lived several years abroad while growing up. She graduated magna cum laude from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, and has a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh. For twenty years, she worked for the Texas Attorney General as a researcher and writer on criminal justice and crime victim issues. Elizabeth now lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, dog, and two chickens. She is an avid gardener, loves murder mysteries, and has a black sash in Tai Chi.

Elizabeth Buhmann's Webpage / Like Her on Facebook

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Into the Realm of Rush

Fairytale by Maggie Shayne was a magical novel. I was completely swept away with the characters and the plot. It was truly enchanting and I found myself pretending that I was Brigit, one of the main characters in the book.

Brigit was dropped off at an orphanage when she was a baby with a storybook and a beautiful necklace. She grew up on the streets and worked as an art forger to make money. But she wasn't as alone in the world as she thought and now her twin sister Bridin is searching for her so they can return to the Fairy realm of Rush.

Suddenly, I found myself trying to break free of the criminal world, praying that Raze's illness would improve, and that I could heal the hurt in Adam's eyes. Most of all, I was hoping that magic really did exist.

The plot of this novel had plenty of twists and turns to keep it moving at a steady pace. And there definitely were not any disappointing parts. Shayne made Brigit very relatable and real. She was a woman with a past, regrets, love, fears, hopes, and qualities of both the good and bad. If you're in the mood for a new character connection (aka friend), Brigit is your girl, fairy tale story included.

Fairytale on Amazon