The Big Fix
Kensington Books (March 25, 2025)
Katherine Center’s The Bodyguard meets The Fall Guy starring Ryan Gosling in a modern blend of screwball action and romantic attraction when a case of mistaken identity lands a college professor on the run with a mysterious—and dangerously hot—fixer . . .
When bookish Penny Collins reluctantly lets her sister drag her to an estate sale at a neighbor’s house, she’s hoping for a little diversion rummaging through dusty antiques. Instead, she ends up in a public squabble over candlesticks with the deceased owner’s nephew, Anthony—right before a dead body tumbles out of a closet.
Penny’s plan for the summer involved finalizing tenure at the university where she’s a computer sciences professor. Instead, she’s suddenly on the run with a man she barely knows, scaling walls, evading bullets, and accidentally stabbing henchmen. It seems the wrong people have got it in their heads that she’s Anthony’s girlfriend and, by association, in possession of something they desperately need—and will do anything to get.
As for Anthony, he has a top-secret occupation as a fixer, but a recent fix went dangerously awry, and now he and Penny are dodging both a ruthless billionaire and the FBI. And it’ll take all of Penny’s plentiful savvy and common sense, in addition to Anthony’s particular set of skills, to survive long enough for her to see the next semester . . .
The Big Fix was a low-level thriller with a twist of humor at the expense of our female MC. Penny is a young university professor hoping to make tenure, and she falls into a messy situation during an estate sale. In reading the synopsis of this book, I had assumed that the adventure would begin immediately upon the shocking discovery during the estate sale. I was a little taken back that “action” would be a slow-burn before it eventually sizzled up. There were a few days of strange occurrences and awkward exchanges between her and him, which kind of fell a little flat for me.
This story was entertaining, it just didn’t provide what I expected from a story of two people on the run. Perhaps I was expecting to be a little more like Jason Bourne? In this case, Anthony, our male MC is a little more average. It can be charming at times and fits into the fade-to-black romance storyline. Their chemistry is sweet and believable. Ultimately their survival is based on near-misses and overall luck rather than an action hero save-the-day story.
I’d recommend The Big Fix to friends who enjoy light-action with a dash of cozy love. It has the right amount of humor to balance the adventure and romance. Perfect for a weekend read cuddled on the couch.
Kristin lives in the PNW with her husband, and three kids. She loves to read YA fiction, fantasy, and romance. She enjoys a few side-hustles, including creating bookreels/booktoks for authors. The only shows she watches are re-runs, and if she’s not reading a book, she’s listening to one.
