Saturday, December 4, 2010

Review: Fatal Affair by Marie Force

Title: Fatal Affair
Series: Fatal
Author: Marie Force
Read copy: eBook
Published: June 21, 2010
Publisher: Carina Press
ISBN: 1426890265
ISBN-13: 9781426890260

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.

My rating:

A U.S. Senator is brutally murdered in his own home. His best friend, and chief of staff, is not only "fortunate" to find his mutilated body, but the lead Detective on this case is the same woman Nick spent one night with sex years ago, and never heard from her again.

Sergeant Samantha "Sam" Holland hasn't the time to think about the night she spent with Nick. She has bigger fish to fry, she desperately needs a "win" after a bust gone wrong recently, and finding the Senator's murdered just might do the trick.
And that means no PDA in public or in private with the witness, Nick Cappuano, despite the fact they both want more than PDA.

The murder investigation comes first. But is the killer trying to lead them down the wrong path? Was it politics, was it rivalry or was it a fatal affair?

(Sorry, couldn't resist that one.)

For one week in September Carina Press gave one of their books for free a day in one of my favorite ebook stores on the web. This was the first of the bunch, and I grabbed it after a quick perusal of the blurb. Mostly it was the cover that did it for me (minimalistic, yet conveying-almost-everything this book is about...and I loved the colors).
Boy, am I glad today I grabbed it.

Marie Force is a completely new author for me, but she caught my attention immediately and didn't let go until the last e-page of this intriguing romantic suspense novel.
It had it all - romance, tension, blood, gore, intrigue, drama, suspense, politics, sex, fetishes, dark secrets, double lives, stalkers, etc. Ticking it all off it maybe sounds a bit crowded, but let me tell you, it wasn't. Ms. Force did a truly amazing job with this book.

The characterization was great, I loved both Sam and Nick, their mutual past didn't detract from the main story, but added a nice little spin on it all. An the secondary cast created a nice backdrop for this strong leading couple. The pacing was excellent, everything flowed nicely without any of those gray spots of boredom. The mystery was nicely-crafted, with all the requisite red-herrings strewn here and there, the villain's identity remained an enigma until the moment Ms. Force decided to reveal it, which usually doesn't happen, and I'll admit I was fooled as well, never expecting what happened...

Gosh, I could go on and on about this story, but I'll stop and let you see for yourselves (if and/or when you decide to read this one).
Just one more thing. Usually publishers and authors like to give away for free stuff that sucks (short-stories, mostly). Well, this one was a long freebie that actually worked, delivered on what it promised, and took this satisfied reader on a great, exhilarating, passionate, sparkling, intriguing, and intense ride.
I can't wait for the next book (even if it won't be for free 😉).

A highly recommended book!



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