All Fixed Up

Grimes’s humorous fourth Ciel Halligan contemporary fantasy (after The Big Fix) starts to crumple under the weight of its leaden love triangle. Ciel comes from a long line of facilitators, chameleonic people who are able to absorb and imitate the aura of anyone they come into contact with. She makes a living working as a double for celebrities and taking occasional government assignments. Usually the gigs go well, but when Ciel poses as a NASA astronaut, she inadvertently creates an opportunity for the powers of the facilitators to become public knowledge, putting her and her entire family in danger. To make matters worse, her relationship with handsome Billy Doyle has hit a very bumpy patch—and government agent Mark Fielding is happy to pick up where Billy left off. Moments of hilarity mix well with elements of intrigue and mystery to create a solid continuation of Ciel’s story, but the by-the-numbers love triangle adds little to the plot and ends up pulling the reader out of the well-developed world. Agent: Michelle Wolfson, Wolfson Literary Agency. (May)