THE FIXER – HelenKay Dimon
Games People Play , Book 1
Avon
ISBN: 978-0-062-44130-0
December 27, 2016
Romantic Suspense

Washington, D.C. - Present Day

Wren is a Fixer.  If someone in government or the private sector needs a nasty problem taken care of, they contact Wren.  Most clients are referred to Wren, but he's not on-line, has no website, and nobody knows the umbrella company's name that he works under.  When his assistant, Garrett McGrath, informs him somebody has been searching non-stop for him, it is time to put an end to it. Wren doesn't need people snooping after him and maybe stirring up a hornet's nest.  Wren has a past he prefers to forget, and an icy cold exterior that keeps himself separate from other people.  Very rarely does he allow a woman in his life, and when he does it's only for a short time.  Now he just needs to get this person to stop looking for him and invading his privacy.  Going to the coffee shop that day to confront this person will turn his life upside down.

Emery Finn works for the Jane Doe Network as a researcher, searching for information to match missing persons to unidentified victims, and bring a close to cold cases and family pain.  She is enjoying her morning coffee at her favorite coffee shop when a strange man comes to her table and starts warning her about searching for Wren.  Thirteen years ago Emery's cousin Tiffany went missing one evening.  Emery was supposed to meet her, but her father caught her before she could leave.  That night Tiffany went missing, never to be heard from again.  Tiffany's father died soon after, never knowing if she ran away for fun like a spoiled brat, or to cause everyone pain, like Emery's father suggested.  Emery is still haunted by Tiffany's disappearance and has all the records from the police and goes over them often.  She found the name “Wren” in her uncle's notes; perhaps he is a person suspected to have taken Tiffany.  The man in the coffee shop who calls himself Brian warns her to stop looking for Wren.  Even a senator warns her away, but Emery is going to get the truth.

When Emery learns who Wren is and how his name came to be on her uncle's notes, she is surprised when he starts to help her in her search, especially when her apartment is broken into and her notes are taken.  Obviously someone knows she is getting closer and is determined to stop her anyway they can.  Wren can't understand why he is opening himself up to Emery, but he can't believe how dedicated she is to the search for her cousin after all these years.  These seem to be two vastly different people, but then their personalities certainly are similar, determined and hard working for what they want.

HelenKay Dimon has a deft hand with all her exciting, suspense filled stories.  This is a particularly intriguing subject of searching for a missing cousin after many years.  The cops have given up the search, and no new evidence has come up.  When Wren decides to enter the search, things begin to happen, and apparently the mystery of who took Tiffany is still angering the person who was responsible, and knows what Emery is doing.  Told from Emery's and Wren's points of view, Emery is obviously a determined person, almost making the search for Tiffany her entire life.  Wren is totally different; with secrets in his past, he plays everything close to his chest, and does his best to keep undercover and behind the scenes.  Important people know how to contact him in emergency situations, and he is excellent at what he does.  A woman in his life just would get in the way of the carefully crafted bubble he lives in.

Secondary characters are few:  Garrett, Wren's assistant, and Emery's father, who continues to ridicule her search for Tiffany, and is generally not supportive of her at all.

THE FIXER is another of HelenKay Dimon's excellent mysteries.  You have the feeling all the way through that they will find out what happened, and it won't be good.  This is a must read for HelenKay's fans, full of outstanding characters and the growing feelings of love between two people with other demons in their lives who slowly open up to each other.

Carolyn Crisher