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In each book in the Justice series, author T. E. Woods explores the ideas of crime and justice and family. She develops characters and builds tension. And in the sixth book in the series, Dead End Fix, she introduces a new case while bringing an ongoing storyline to a breaking point.
The story begins as Seattle Chief of Detectives Mort Grant is desperately searching for his young granddaughter, Hadley, who’s been taken by someone more dangerous than the average kidnapper: Mort’s daughter, ruthless crime boss Allie Grant. Angered by her family’s recent rejection, Allie has decided to create a family of her own—just her and her niece. But Mort has a secret weapon: the former vigilante known as the Fixer. And as she and Mort search for Hadley, Mort’s team remains on the streets of Seattle, investigating the drive-by shooting of an innocent young boy.
With each installment in her Justice series, Woods takes full advantage of her day job as a clinical psychologist. Each book delves deep into the psyche of her characters as they find themselves in challenging positions. Here, it’s Allie’s mindset as she struggles with her family, her business partners, and the disloyalty of the men who work for her. It’s the Fixer’s anxiety over Allie’s next moves. It’s Mort’s concerns for both his family and the innocent boy who was gunned down in the street. And it’s a young gang member’s desperation to find a family—even if it’s a family of drug dealers and killers. Each character here is fascinating—though their actions and reactions don’t always make perfect sense. And each aspect of the story is tense and thought-provoking.
Really, though, Dead End Fix often feels more like two or three different novels: one involving Allie’s latest moves to grow her international criminal empire, one involving the Fixer’s ongoing rivalry with Allie, and one involving murder and gang warfare on the streets of Seattle. Each story is absorbing in its own way, but they’re so dissimilar that they sometimes make the novel feel disjointed. At times, the stories are so engrossing that the jump from one story to the next feels jarring.
Together, though, these interwoven stories build page-turning action and drama. There are some surprising moments and some surprisingly emotional moments—and that makes it a smart and often thrilling read.
Despite its flaws, Dead End Fix is still one of the most gripping installments in the Justice series. Fans of the series won’t be disappointed. If you’re a newcomer to the series, I recommend downloading these e-books to your favorite reader before your next vacation; they’re all easy, entertaining reads.
Listen to the review on Shelf Discovery:
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