The Fixer by T.E. Woods (#1 Justice series)

3.5 out of 5 stars -- An assassin with a conscience. You can hire this hit woman and she will only accept your case if she decides that it will be delivering JUSTICE, not revenge.

Though the premise of this suspense thriller was not exactly new (remember the DEXTER series), the story was one with several unexpected twists, so it was an enjoyable and quick read for me. It is the first in the "Justice" series featuring detective Morton (Mort) Grant of the Seattle Police. Mort, a widower, teams up with his journalist son who is in pursuit of a story about an unusual death -- and the search leads them to uncover related murders that might be the work of a hired killer. A killer who might be a beautiful woman.

From another perspective in the alternating narrative, Lydia Corriger, a psychologist with her own emotional baggage, is visited by a client with even more severe issues -- Savannah Samuels -- who brings a convoluted tale of how she has hurt others. Lydia meets Mort to find out if there are any clues that might link Savannah to recent suspicious deaths and offers her services.

The victims in recent cases seem to be connected to the university and the politics and petty squabbling of the leadership, the department heads and the researchers come to a head when a horrible case of animal cruelty comes to light. In addition, there's a money angle. Mort has his hands full as he tries to see how and why Lydia and her patient are possibly connected. Can Mort find out who hired the hits and see that the person or persons are held responsible?

I won't say more to avoid giving spoilers, but since the series continues and is named "Justice" and has the same two main characters, I think readers can imagine how this one ends. I found that to be a bit of a stretch, but I think many of us like to imagine that horrible people who can't be touched or punished appropriately by the courts and the law get what is coming to them in a sort of vigilante way.

There are now 4 books in the series and #2 and #3 are only in kindle format (not at my library), but I intend to check out #4 shortly to see what's come of the duo. I would imagine that the hit woman has not gone into retirement!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Alibi for the e-book ARC to review.