Sandy M’s review of Fatal Series by Marie Force
Romantic Suspense published by HTJB, Inc 2021-2024
I’ve read Marie Force for years now, but for some reason her Fatal series is one I never got to. Until now. And once I started reading, I couldn’t stop. I read the entire series – 16 books! – within a month’s time, which is good for me. That’s mostly because I just had to find out what happened next in every story. I’m not going to review all 16 books of course, but I will do my best to give you a reader’s overview of the series.
All the characters in these books are absolutely wonderfully written. Nick and Sam, the leads in every edition, are soul mates, finding each other again after a few years of no contact after a glorious one-night stand. Tragedy brings them together again out of the blue, and what a ride we get when that happens. With the death of his best friend and boss, Nick becomes a US Senator and Sam is a DC Metro homicide detective (she later becomes a lieutenant and that just adds layers to the stories). Thus, we pretty much know where the series eventually will take us, but it’s the getting there that is the meat of it all.
Our nation’s capital is a hotspot for murder and mayhem, keeping the homicide squad hopping. And, boy, are they good at their jobs. Gonzo, young grasshopper Freddie, Doc McNamara, and others are all featured throughout. Getting to know them is like getting to know long-lost family. Nick’s team, as he climbs the political ranks, are just as much family, especially when his team begins to meld with Sam’s. There’s nearly as much lovin’ going on as there is murder! Christine and Terry are foremost from Nick’s staff, and they bring a whole new look to everything as the series goes on. There’s also Sam’s core family at home whom we get to know quite well.
Your heartstrings will be pulled to near breakage when Ms. Force’s imagination (and a bit of research, I assume) gives us hit after hit for not only the homicide team’s but also the political team’s tragic circumstances that give us cliffhanger after cliffhanger – all on top of every case of murder that comes the MPD’s way. I encourage you to have every book lined up, ready to go when one story ends, because you will not want to wait any time whatsoever to begin the next – you are left hanging that precariously time and again.
After you’ve recovered from reading this series, there’s the First Family series to get into, so have that one lined up as well. A true romance reader will not be disappointed at all in this series.
Grade: A+
Summary:
For Fatal Affair, Book 1:
D.C. Metro Police Detective Sergeant Sam Holland needs a big win to salvage her career—and her confidence—after a disastrous investigation led to tragedy. What she doesn’t need is sparks flying with a former one-night stand, who also happens to be chief of staff to a dead U.S. Senator.
Senator John O’Connor is found brutally murdered in his bed, and Sam is assigned to the case. Things get complicated when Sam has to team up with Nick Cappuano, O’Connor’s friend and chief of staff…and the man Sam had a memorable one-night stand with years earlier.
Their sexual chemistry still sizzles, and Sam has to fight to stay focused on the case. Sleeping with a material witness is another mistake she can’t afford—especially when the bodies keep piling up.
