A review by jennyrbaker
The Fixer by Joseph Finder
3.0
The Fixer is my first introduction to Joseph Finder’s novels and I must say I have mixed feelings about it. The novel has a plot that’s compelling and engaging with well-developed characters that are both interesting and likeable. There’s immediate tension at the beginning, but the pacing tends to drag at times. It has a satisfying ending, but there aren’t a lot of surprises.
The story starts out strong when Rick Hoffman finds over three million dollars behind a wall of his father’s abandoned house that’s in desperate need of renovation. Rick had his share of glamorous jobs when he worked as the executive editor for Back Bay magazine and as an investigative reporter for The Boston Globe. His father is in a nursing home and can’t speak because of a stroke he had over 18 years ago, so Rick has to put his investigative skills to the test to find the origin of the money. During his investigation, he learns about his father’s secret past and realizes just how little he knows about him.
My excitement fizzled about 60 pages into it during a boring dating scene, but you learn the significance of the date much later in the novel. The story picks up steam again when Rick discovers dangerous people are following him and threaten his life. He connects with different people when he begins researching his father’s business connections and each piece of the puzzle gets more intriguing, but the story loses steam again with some of the backstories. Half way through the novel, I still wasn’t sure if I liked or disliked the book, but I kept reading and I’m glad I did.
Rick quickly learns that he’s in way over his head, but of course that doesn’t stop him. The more he probes to find the source of the money, the more dangerous Rick’s situation becomes. The last half of the book has outstanding suspense. This is when you can’t put the book down, so if Joseph Finder had maintained this level of suspense from the beginning, this would have been a four-star novel.
If you enjoy mystery/thrillers that have good action scenes and haven’t tried Joseph Finder, he’s still worth reading.Jenny's Book Bag The Fixer Review.
The story starts out strong when Rick Hoffman finds over three million dollars behind a wall of his father’s abandoned house that’s in desperate need of renovation. Rick had his share of glamorous jobs when he worked as the executive editor for Back Bay magazine and as an investigative reporter for The Boston Globe. His father is in a nursing home and can’t speak because of a stroke he had over 18 years ago, so Rick has to put his investigative skills to the test to find the origin of the money. During his investigation, he learns about his father’s secret past and realizes just how little he knows about him.
My excitement fizzled about 60 pages into it during a boring dating scene, but you learn the significance of the date much later in the novel. The story picks up steam again when Rick discovers dangerous people are following him and threaten his life. He connects with different people when he begins researching his father’s business connections and each piece of the puzzle gets more intriguing, but the story loses steam again with some of the backstories. Half way through the novel, I still wasn’t sure if I liked or disliked the book, but I kept reading and I’m glad I did.
Rick quickly learns that he’s in way over his head, but of course that doesn’t stop him. The more he probes to find the source of the money, the more dangerous Rick’s situation becomes. The last half of the book has outstanding suspense. This is when you can’t put the book down, so if Joseph Finder had maintained this level of suspense from the beginning, this would have been a four-star novel.
If you enjoy mystery/thrillers that have good action scenes and haven’t tried Joseph Finder, he’s still worth reading.Jenny's Book Bag The Fixer Review.