Fixed in Blood: A Justice Novel
By: T. E. Woods
Rating: 5 of 5
“Fixed in Blood” was a high speed mystery thriller of a read. It turns out that it is the fourth in a series; however, it is the first book that I have read by T. E. Woods. I often read books out of series to see if they can be read as a stand-alone book. This one is easily read by itself; however, it is so well-written that you, like me, will probably want to read the whole series. It does contain information that can probably be construed as plot spoilers for the first books. I skimmed over those portions as I fully intend the read the prior three books. As soon as I finished reading “Fixed In Blood”, I purchased the three-book bundle which is available for the Kindle.
The book is set primarily in Seattle and follows Mort Grant as he tries to solve the murders of two young women. The murders are gruesome enough on their own; however, “snuff” movies that record the events of their deaths turn up shortly on the internet.
The Fixer gets involved when one of her patients goes missing. She comes to Mort for assistance and turns out assisting him in his investigation. She has to fight her need for Justice and work within the confines of the police department. I am not sure how much of a spoiler this character is for earlier books, so while she is one of the integral people in the story, I’m not going to speak too much about her except to say that I enjoyed her character and how she is positioned in the story. More than anything, this is the character that convinced me to go back to read the earlier books.
At the same time, Mort’s daughter Allie is the mistress of the one of the world’s greatest and worst criminals. He was on the verge of killing her brutally for something which occurred in an earlier book and she was able to sway him into a physical relationship which saved her life. She is trying to do so good but in such weird ways that the good is perverted.
The various plot lines converge and resolve though enough is left open that I am sure that there will be future Justice books (and I am sure to be reading them.)
I really enjoyed reading this book. It kept me on the edge of my seat. I did solve the whodunnit a bit earlier than revealed in the book but not so early that it interfered with my enjoyment of the chase. The book does have considerable violence against women (and men), so be aware of that in reading it. My recommendation is for adults who enjoy a fast-paced murder mystery and who don’t object to fairly graphic violence.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, Alibi (Random House) via Netgalley.
“Fixed in Blood” was a high speed mystery thriller of a read. It turns out that it is the fourth in a series; however, it is the first book that I have read by T. E. Woods. I often read books out of series to see if they can be read as a stand-alone book. This one is easily read by itself; however, it is so well-written that you, like me, will probably want to read the whole series. It does contain information that can probably be construed as plot spoilers for the first books. I skimmed over those portions as I fully intend the read the prior three books. As soon as I finished reading “Fixed In Blood”, I purchased the three-book bundle which is available for the Kindle.