The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews
Mary Kay Andrews owns homes on Tybee, and her bio says she splits her time between here and Atlanta. I know people who know her. This past Saturday, she was at an event signing books in a shop two blocks from my house. The event (“Galentine’s Day”) wasn’t up my alley, and I don’t keep 99% of books after I read them, so I didn’t go. I had stocked several of hers – in used paperback form – on the bookshelves here as vacation reads for renters, but had never read any myself. I chose The Fixer Upper first because I have renovations on my mind.
Dempsey, the protagonist, works as a lobbyist in D.C. until her crooked boss sets her up to take the fall when he gets busted for bribery. Framed and fired, her father offers her a “get-out-of-D.C.” card in the form of a dilapidated family house in Guthrie, Georgia, a small town north of Macon and southeast of Atlanta. In exchange for a place to live, dear old Dad gives her an inadequate budget to prepare the house for sale. Dempsey quickly meets a cranky old cousin and her terrier, along with the town’s horndog, its Mr. Nice-Guy, its Matlock and a wise old handyman. It doesn’t take long for the FBI to find her, or for her to learn the whole town knows her business. While meeting the challenges associated with the house, she’s forced to decide the extent to which she’s willing to cooperate with the FBI in order to clear her name.
The author does many things well. Her imagery is strong; it’s easy to visualize the appearance of all the characters, the house and the town. The story is told with just the right amount of humor. The contrast for Dempsey between life in D.C. and small-town Georgia is well-depicted. The main characters are well-developed. Dempsey isn’t perfect, but I rooted for her and was motivated to finish the book to find out what happened. The adult repartee is fun. There is one steamy sex scene.
My edition includes questions for discussion, ten tips for fixing up a fixer upper and some recipes. Good book club discussions might revolve around how others would react to the scenario forced upon Dempsey, the believability of some things (like the horndog painting her house for free and the ending which I won’t reveal), and whether Dempsey’s mother, her cousin or any of the other characters remind readers of people they know.
Will I read more Mary Kay Andrews? Yes, because this one was so much fun.