The Fix

The Fix by Robert Downs revolves around the life of Johnny Chapman and the troubles he finds himself in after a series of losses. Johnny has borrowed money from a loan shark, Harrison, and is unable to repay it. Harrison wants Johnny to fix a dog race in lieu of payment, but Johnny finds that, although he may be a selfish individual on many levels, he has a heart for the dog. Harrison, not being thrilled with Johnny’s choice, pursues Johnny in order to make him repay the debt. The story continues with many twists and turns as Johnny fights his way from Harrison’s control. In the mix of the story, Downs also involves Johnny’s ex-girlfriend, Gwendolyn. Gwendolyn, who seems to have a love/hate relationship with Johnny, ends up back together with Johnny in the end. The book is filled with violent beatings and gunshots and small amounts of raciness. Overall the story is a quick read, and Downs’s detailed writing style keeps the story interesting. I found the character of Johnny Chapman well developed, and could even picture him doing a lot of the actions that were explained throughout the story. My struggle was following each chapter. Sometimes the chapters seemed to flow into the next, and sometimes I couldn’t tell if it was moving forward or backward in time, which I found a little confusing. I didn’t find a great deal of depth to the story. I had actually wished that there was more about the actual dog and Johnny’s relationship to it or why Johnny felt a connection to the dog. I felt like he had very little connection to anything else in his life, so it surprised me that he would have an affinity for a dog over his own life. I think that Downs’s writing style shows promise and with a little more clarity on the timing and plot, I think I would have given the story 4.5 stars.