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Feb162012
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Fatal Affair’ by Marie Force
by Laura • Posted in 3.5 Star Reviews, Authors E-H, Book Reviews, Carina Press, Marie Force, Reviews by Laura, Romantic Suspense
Title: Fatal Affair (Fatal #1)
Author: Marie Force
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication Date: June 2010
Ebook: 294 Pages
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Source: Review copy from publisher
Reviewed by Laura
SUMMARY:
Washington, D.C., Metro Police Detective Sergeant Sam Holland needs a big win to salvage her career–and her confidence–after a disastrous investigation. The perfect opportunity arises when Senator John O’Connor is found brutally murdered in his bed, and Sam is assigned to the case.
Matters 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. (Goodreads)
REVIEW:
I read ‘Everyone Loves A Hero’ by Marie Force last year and really loved it, so I was really looking forward to picking up ‘Fatal Affair’. It’s a different genre, romantic suspense and it’s also the beginning of a new series following Detective Sergeant Sam Holland and Nick Cappuano.
Nick, best friend and chief of staff to Senator John O’Connor, walks in on him one morning to find he has been brutally murdered. Sam is the lead detective placed in charge of the case, but she also happens to be a woman Nick had a one-night stand several years ago. A night they both still think about years later.
This is a great romantic suspense, it pairs together both elements nicely with two strong, likeable characters. I really liked both Sam and Nick. I enjoyed the fact that Sam and Nick were equal partners. Sam was far from a damsel in distress needing her hero to come and rescue her. She is intelligent, brave and confident in her own right. This didn’t mean that Nick was weak or lacking in hero-appeal, far from it.
The mystery/suspense of the story kept me guessing until the end. I kept changing my mind on who the culprit was as I was reading and just when I had it figured out, I’d change it again or the story would throw another twist at me. In the end I got it completely wrong and this is just how it should be. The supporting characters were also superb. I developed a real soft spot for Sam’s partner Freddie and wanted to see more of him. Sam’s father is also a fascinating edition. I hope both characters are explored further in subsequent books in the series.
As much as I did enjoy the book, there were a few problems with it too. At times this book felt like it was the second in a series and I missed the first. I’ve whinged a little before about books where the hero and heroine have got together before the novel has started. And then the book continually refers to what has happened in the past without even letting the reader actually see it. I wish we could have a prologue to experience that giddiness and passion without it being referred to all the time. I found it quite frustrating. But it wasn’t just the romance element where I felt I was catching up on. Sam had a big crime scene that went wrong in the past for which she was still testifying in, which also impacted the greater story.
Nick went along with Sam to nearly all of the crime scenes relating to the Senator’s case and I found this very odd. I understood it was good from a plot point of view, but in real life I cannot imagine it would ever be allowed. So it needed a bit of stretch for me as the reader to make it believable.
There some elements of the story that were missed in the conclusion. I can’t tell you what they are without giving away some spoilers, but I finished the book thinking well what happened with that and that. Perhaps Marie Force intends to pick them up in the next book, but they felt missed rather than add intrigue for the next instalment.
VERDICT:
Despite some of my problems with some of the story elements, I still really enjoyed ‘Fatal Affair’. I’m fast becoming a big fan of Marie Force and look forward to reading more of her books.
RATING: 7/10 – Very good, would definitely recommend
Marie Force Online:
This book counts towards the following BCC Reading Challenges:
4 Comments
I've heard great things about this author. I think I may have some books by her somewhere in my pile of books??? Will definitely look now. Thanks for the review
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I'm really intrigued with this series now, maybe I'll pick it up one day, it does sound fun.
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@Dalene oh do pick up one of hers if you have a book, I do really like her writing
@BookChickCity I really like Marie Force's writing and I'm interested to see where the series goes
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I started this series all wrong. Las year I read Fatal Destiny, and loved it. It's a novella and after this I had the hole series on my wishlist. Now I have the forth for review and didn't even know how the met.
Will definily buy the other books, because her writing is really fascinating.
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