I received this book for free from the TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Fatal Invasion by Marie ForceSeries: The Fatal Series #13
Published by HQN Books on November 27, 2018
Genres: Adult, Crime, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Pages: 416
Source: TLC Book Tours
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First the fire, then the heat…
A brutal home invasion. Two small traumatized survivors who may have witnessed the horror. Lieutenant Sam Holland has never worked a case quite like this one, in which her eyewitnesses are five-year-old twins. But when Sam steps up in a big way for them, she risks her heart as much as her career.
While Sam and her husband, Vice President Nick Cappuano, go to battle in more ways than one for her tiny witnesses, her colleague Sergeant Tommy “Gonzo” Gonzales battles his own demons. Months of unbearable grief and despair come to a head in an unimaginable way that threatens Gonzo’s status with the department and his relationship with his fiancée, Christina.
With trouble both at the precinct and on the case, Sam struggles to keep her priorities straight at home and at work while trying not to lose her heart to her latest crime victims.
I’ve been a big fan of Marie Force’s Fatal series for a while now, and the latest book, Fatal Invasion delivers everything I expect from this series: danger, intrigue, fast-paced action filled with Sam’s snark and Freddie’s choir boy goodness, and great romance to offset the often dark tone from the crimes throughout the book. With one week left until Sam’s partner Freddie’s wedding, and coincidentally the same amount of time until her vice president husband is set to go on a three-week diplomatic trip abroad, the homicide unit is experiencing an unusual lull in cases. That is until they’re called onto the scene of an arson in the exclusive part of town, where two bound and burned bodies are found among the ruins of a very large home–along with two very much alive five-year-old twins cowering in a closet.
Against Sam’s better judgement, she takes temporary custody of the children while she investigates the case into who murdered the children’s parents. As her close knit circle of family, friends, and coworkers bond with the children–including their adoptive son Scotty–Sam and Nick don’t know what they’ll do when they have to say goodbye to the twins once the investigation is over. But things grow complicated when the children might have witnessed the murders firsthand, and Sam must work extra hard to retrieve evidence to bring the killers to light.
Sam’s husband Nick is as supportive as ever, even though his job as Vice President of the United States is more demanding than ever. He’s always willing to take on anything that comes their way, and he’s fully supportive of Sam’s job in the police department. He’s one of my favorite male leads in any series.
Meanwhile, Sam’s partner Freddie is marrying Elin in a week. While he’s marrying the woman of his dreams, his last week of freedom turns into a very stressful week both at home and work. The other couple focused on in Fatal Invasion is another detective, Tommy Gonzales and his struggles in the months after his partner was killed in the line of duty. He’s become addicted to prescription medication, and now his relationships–both personal and professional–are on thin ice.
I give Fatal Invasion a 4.5 out of 5. This latest installment isn’t full of red herrings, but instead you’re taken on the investigative journey through all of the leads just as real detectives would discover them, and I really enjoyed this method of storytelling instead of guessing if the killer was hiding in plain sight the entire time. Sam’s struggles with infertility are still fresh, but she’s definitely redirecting those feelings in new directions. I always enjoy Sam’s tenacious will to get her man no matter what she has to go through to get her leads and evidence. She’s always willing to protect her partners at all costs, and her heart is bigger than her mouth (and that is pretty big). While this is book 13 in the series, there’s enough backstory sprinkled in that Fatal Invasion could be enjoyed as a standalone, but maximum enjoyment will be had if you’ve read the series in entirety.
Find FATAL INVASION
Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
About Marie Force
Marie Force is the New York Times bestselling author of contemporary romance, including the indie-published Gansett Island Series and the Fatal Series from Harlequin Books. In addition, she is the author of the Butler, Vermont Series, the Green Mountain Series and the erotic romance Quantum Series. In 2019, her new historical Gilded series from Kensington Books will debut with Duchess By Deception.
All together, her books have sold 7 million copies worldwide, have been translated into more than a dozen languages and have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list 29 times. She is also a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller, a Speigel bestseller in Germany, a frequent speaker and publishing workshop presenter as well as a publisher through her Jack’s House Publishing romance imprint. She is a two-time nominee for the Romance Writers of America’s RITA® award for romance fiction.
Her goals in life are simple–to finish raising two happy, healthy, productive young adults, to keep writing books for as long as she possibly can and to never be on a flight that makes the news.
Join Marie’s mailing list on her website at marieforce.com for news about new books and upcoming appearances in your area.
Connect with Marie Force
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads
Marie Force’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS for FATAL INVASION:
Instagram tour:
Monday, November 26th: @jennblogsbooks
Tuesday, November 27th: @girlandherbooks
Wednesday, November 28th: @_ebl_inc_
Thursday, November 29th: @novelmombooks
Friday, November 30th: @sarahandherbookshelves
Saturday, December 1st: @mandyvoss
Sunday, December 2nd: @remarkablylisa
Review tour:
Monday, November 12th: Write Read Life
Tuesday, November 13th: A Holland Reads – excerpt
Wednesday, November 14th: Bewitched Bookworms
Thursday, November 15th: Becky on Books
Monday, November 19th: Book Reviews and More by Kathy
Tuesday, November 20th: From the TBR Pile
Wednesday, November 21st: Jathan & Heather
Tuesday, November 27th: The Book Diva Reads – excerpt
Wednesday, November 28th: What is That Book About – excerpt
Thursday, November 29th: Natalie the Biblioholic
Monday, December 3rd: Mystery Suspense Reviews
Tuesday, December 4th: The Sassy Bookster
Wednesday, December 5th: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom
Thursday, December 6th: Stuck in Books
Friday, December 7th: Books & Bindings
Monday, December 10th: Evermore Books
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Thanks for being on the tour!
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