The Big Fix

Computer science professor Penny Collins has been dragged by her sister to a tag sale being run by Anthony, who’s recently deceased uncle has left him—as handsome as he is aloof—with his estate, which he is now trying to unload. Things go from bad to worse when Penny’s toddler nephew yanks open a closet door, only to have a dead body tumble out. From there, Anthony tries to avoid Penny and her 101 questions, while Penny can’t stop herself from trying to get to the facts. Or at least get to Anthony (did I mention how handsome he is?). Sooner rather than later, the two end up locked together in their own closet, and when they finally emerge, they agree to work together. Anthony, it turns out, works as a “fixer,” but one of the good guys: he doesn’t kill, he just, well, fixes things. There is a lot swirling around these two, including the missing wife of a technology billionaire—Anthony is involved—and eventually the FBI arrives on the scene. There are so many remarks from Penny about how Anthony smells, it’s quite remarkable; this could well be the first olfactory novel. In any case, I’m planning to splurge on a bottle of Tom Ford’s Eau d’Ombre Leather for when reading the next volume, which I sincerely hope comes along sooner rather than later.